by Mark Deming
synopsis
Fred Zinnemann directed this short documentary produced as part of M-G-M's long-running "Crime Does Not Pay" series. Forbidden Passage examines the plight of illegal aliens during World War II, often desperate to receive asylum in the United States, and willing to pay a high price for the privilege. However, some aliens find out too late that the claims of high-priced smugglers often turn out to be false, with their customers facing danger and death in return for their bid for freedom. Forbidden Passage won an Academy Award as Best Short Documentary of 1941.
