Before he helmed harmless Disney movies like "The Absent-Minded Professor" and "Son of Flubber," director Robert Stevenson made one of the earliest, semi-documentary, anti-narcotics epics. Initially, the Production Code Administration (PCA) not amused at the prospect of Hollywood depicting opium smuggling. According to the third commandment of the Code: No movie could deal with "the illegal traffic in drugs." Presumably, the film was made and produced because it focused on the ultimate efforts of the police to thwart the smuggler and destroy their opium. Furthermore, the filmmakers adhered to the rules that the criminals could not profit from their dishonest endeavors. Oddly enough, the Code also usually rules against anyone committing suicide. Virtually every one of the narcotics criminals took their own lives once they were exposed as criminals.
The first-rate, white-knuckled, noir-themed thriller "To The Ends of the Earth" is as captivating a saga from start to finish now as it was when it came out. This exciting, eye-opening, 109-minute, black & white, Columbia Pictures' classic spans the globe. Moreover, it provides audiences with a primer about not only the evils of opium but also the way organized crime has sought to use this infamous flower to enslave mankind.
Stevenson and scenarist Jay Richard Kennedy of "I'll Cry Tomorrow" chronicle the unflagging efforts of a Federal Bureau of Narcotics agent, Commissioner Michael Barrows (Dick Powell of "Murder My Sweet"), to track down the opium and arrest the smugglers. Everything gets off to a hair-raising start when Barrows, attached to the San Francisco Treasury office, learns about a suspicious Japanese freighter, the Kira Maru out of Shanghai, that has attracted considerable attention since it appeared off the coast of Peru. Barrows summons the Coast Guard when the tramp is sighted off the California coast. As they pursue it, Barrows stares at it intently with a pair of binoculars. He watches as the Kira Maru plies into international waters, beyond the twelve-mile jurisdiction of the Coast Guard.
Imagine Barrows' shock when he witnesses the villainous captain jettisons100 or more Chinese slaves, shackled to a chain, sending these ill-fated souls plunging to their collective deaths in the ocean with a chance of rescue. Clearly this constituted an early example of human trafficking since these unfortunate people were going to be used to harvest the poppy plants. This devastating act of homicide burns itself indelibly into Barrows' brain cells and prompts him to launch an investigation. He travels to Shanghai to contact the Japanese and complain about the captain. Indeed, a court convenes and the captain, who isn't in attendance, is tried and convicted and given 30 days detention if or when the authorities manage to catch him. Naturally, Barrows is upset about this travesty of justice. He argues that such a light sentence is what is typically given to a person convicted of reckless driving. As he is leaving the courthouse, he encounters Commissioner Lum Chi Chow (Vladimir Sokoloff of "The Magnificent Seven") who asks Barrows if he can meet with him at his office. He hands Barrows his business card; Chi Chow sells rugs. When he shows up at Chi Chow's business, Barrows learns Chow is a Chinese Commissioner of Narcotics and he plays a recording about a man who died recently. This individual had told the British and Egyptian narcotics authorities in Cairo about a place where slaves were taken to harvest poppies.
As it turns out, the fields where the poppy flowers were grown were rose fields. The Egyptian authorities were unable to investigate the property, but Barrows and his two opposite numbers in British and Egyptian narcotics enforcement visit the farm after dark. Barrows unearths a poppy from dirt by the rose bushes. The roses had been grown to prevent the authorities, who had scheduled flights over the fields, from spotting the opium plants. The Egyptian narcotics chief sets out to stop the caravans of camels transporting the opium to a slaughter house. Barrows and the British Narco chief steal like phantoms around the farm. They notice the telltale indications that poppies were harvested and cooked. Stains on the forefingers of the workers, who were sleeping when our heroes caught glimpses of them, provide proof. Before they can get away, the land owner stops them. When he learns our heroes not only have proof but also agents to back them up, he leaps to his death from the cliff our heroes had scaled earlier to get a look at the rose fields without attracting attention to themselves. Repeatedly, every time Barrows and company confront members of this worldwide opium ring, these fiends commit suicide. Barrows and company learn the camels and going to be driven to a slaughterhouse. Later, when the unsuspecting camel driver halts the camels for the night, our heroes slip in and the use portable but primitive X-ray technology to scan the bellies of the camels. Presto, they find containers in the bellies of the camels! Barrows and company. Once the camels have been slaughtered, the opium is shipped off to Havana, Cuba, where Barrows convinces the Narcotics Bureau chief to let the shipment go through. Predictably, the Bureau Chief isn't happy, but he obliges Barrows.
Altogether, Stevenson doesn't wear out his welcome, and "To The Ends of the Earth" qualifies as a snappy little black & white saga with a slam-bang finale you won't forget!
The first-rate, white-knuckled, noir-themed thriller "To The Ends of the Earth" is as captivating a saga from start to finish now as it was when it came out. This exciting, eye-opening, 109-minute, black & white, Columbia Pictures' classic spans the globe. Moreover, it provides audiences with a primer about not only the evils of opium but also the way organized crime has sought to use this infamous flower to enslave mankind.
Stevenson and scenarist Jay Richard Kennedy of "I'll Cry Tomorrow" chronicle the unflagging efforts of a Federal Bureau of Narcotics agent, Commissioner Michael Barrows (Dick Powell of "Murder My Sweet"), to track down the opium and arrest the smugglers. Everything gets off to a hair-raising start when Barrows, attached to the San Francisco Treasury office, learns about a suspicious Japanese freighter, the Kira Maru out of Shanghai, that has attracted considerable attention since it appeared off the coast of Peru. Barrows summons the Coast Guard when the tramp is sighted off the California coast. As they pursue it, Barrows stares at it intently with a pair of binoculars. He watches as the Kira Maru plies into international waters, beyond the twelve-mile jurisdiction of the Coast Guard.
Imagine Barrows' shock when he witnesses the villainous captain jettisons100 or more Chinese slaves, shackled to a chain, sending these ill-fated souls plunging to their collective deaths in the ocean with a chance of rescue. Clearly this constituted an early example of human trafficking since these unfortunate people were going to be used to harvest the poppy plants. This devastating act of homicide burns itself indelibly into Barrows' brain cells and prompts him to launch an investigation. He travels to Shanghai to contact the Japanese and complain about the captain. Indeed, a court convenes and the captain, who isn't in attendance, is tried and convicted and given 30 days detention if or when the authorities manage to catch him. Naturally, Barrows is upset about this travesty of justice. He argues that such a light sentence is what is typically given to a person convicted of reckless driving. As he is leaving the courthouse, he encounters Commissioner Lum Chi Chow (Vladimir Sokoloff of "The Magnificent Seven") who asks Barrows if he can meet with him at his office. He hands Barrows his business card; Chi Chow sells rugs. When he shows up at Chi Chow's business, Barrows learns Chow is a Chinese Commissioner of Narcotics and he plays a recording about a man who died recently. This individual had told the British and Egyptian narcotics authorities in Cairo about a place where slaves were taken to harvest poppies.
As it turns out, the fields where the poppy flowers were grown were rose fields. The Egyptian authorities were unable to investigate the property, but Barrows and his two opposite numbers in British and Egyptian narcotics enforcement visit the farm after dark. Barrows unearths a poppy from dirt by the rose bushes. The roses had been grown to prevent the authorities, who had scheduled flights over the fields, from spotting the opium plants. The Egyptian narcotics chief sets out to stop the caravans of camels transporting the opium to a slaughter house. Barrows and the British Narco chief steal like phantoms around the farm. They notice the telltale indications that poppies were harvested and cooked. Stains on the forefingers of the workers, who were sleeping when our heroes caught glimpses of them, provide proof. Before they can get away, the land owner stops them. When he learns our heroes not only have proof but also agents to back them up, he leaps to his death from the cliff our heroes had scaled earlier to get a look at the rose fields without attracting attention to themselves. Repeatedly, every time Barrows and company confront members of this worldwide opium ring, these fiends commit suicide. Barrows and company learn the camels and going to be driven to a slaughterhouse. Later, when the unsuspecting camel driver halts the camels for the night, our heroes slip in and the use portable but primitive X-ray technology to scan the bellies of the camels. Presto, they find containers in the bellies of the camels! Barrows and company. Once the camels have been slaughtered, the opium is shipped off to Havana, Cuba, where Barrows convinces the Narcotics Bureau chief to let the shipment go through. Predictably, the Bureau Chief isn't happy, but he obliges Barrows.
Altogether, Stevenson doesn't wear out his welcome, and "To The Ends of the Earth" qualifies as a snappy little black & white saga with a slam-bang finale you won't forget!
