by Hal Erickson
synopsis
Per its title, Wetbacks deals with the smuggling into the US of illegal Mexican aliens. The villains are played by John Hoyt and, of all people, Harold "The Great Gildersleeve" Peary. Hoping to smash Hoyt and Peary's smuggling operation is fishing-boat skipper Lloyd Bridges, who, unbeknownst to himself, is being monitored by the US immigration service. Nancy Gates costars as a supposed femme fatale who turns out to be one of the good guys; likewise deceptively cast is veteran screen heavy Barton MacLaine. Wetbacks was directed by Hank McCune, a part-time comedian whose early-1950s TV sitcom was allegedly the first such program to utilize a recorded laughtrack.
characteristics
- Smuggling
- Smuggler
- Mexico
