This tight-knit crime film, the forerunner of many others about 'wetbacks' - illegal immigrants or workers scuttling across the border from Mexico to the United States - is similar in structure to another good thriller also directed by Anthony Mann: T Men. One particular death scene, though drawn out, is most uncompromising for the 1940s, and tension is kept on high throughout by the director and his formidable cast. A pity, though, about the flag-waving tones of the narrator at the beginning and end. Otherwise, it's tough, unusually realistic stuff.

©ipc tx. Film content from TVTimes