Devil's Cargo

Cinephile deep dive

The take

John F. Link Sr. directs. Walter Strenge behind the camera. Asa Boyd Clark cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

• 1Tight 64-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.
• 278 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
• 3Part of the "The Falcon Series" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
• 4Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
• 5Directed by John F. Link Sr., shot by Walter Strenge. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
• 6Editor Asa Boyd Clark shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
• 7John Calvert and Rochelle Hudson and Roscoe Karns carry the top of the cast.
• 8Marketing tagline: "Here's Danger... That Crackles with Gunfire. Here's Thrills... in a Stampede of New Adventures.".
• 9IMDB entry: tt0040287 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
• 10Only 11 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography

Walter Strenge

Editing

Asa Boyd Clark

Makeup / hair

Ted Larsen

Runtime

64 min · 1h 4m

Status

Released

Original language

EN

IMDB

Devil's Cargo (1948) ↗

Part of

The Falcon Series

The movie series from the 1940's featuring the detective The Falcon...

• 
  The Gay Falcon

  1941
• 
  A Date with the Falcon

  1942
• 
  The Falcon Takes Over

  1942
• 
  The Falcon's Brother

  1942
• 
  The Falcon Strikes Back

  1943
• 
  The Falcon in Danger

  1943
• 
  The Falcon and the Co-Eds

  1943
• 
  The Falcon Out West

  1944
• 
  The Falcon in Mexico

  1944
• 
  The Falcon in Hollywood

  1944
• 
  The Falcon in San Francisco

  1945
• 
  The Falcon's Alibi

  1946
• 
  The Falcon's Adventure

  1946
• 
  Devil's Cargo

  1948 · this one
• 
  Appointment with Murder

  1948
• 
  Search for Danger

  1949

Also by

John F. Link Sr.

• 
  Call of the Forest

  1949 · ★ 6.0

Community reviews

What people are saying

• CinemaSerf2024-12-10
  ★ 6/10

  OK, I quite enjoyed this. It continues the rather derivative series of "Falcon" adventures with John Calvert in the title tole, but there are some enjoyable moments along the way as he has to track down a murderer. That's made more complicated because "Delgado" (Paul Marion) has confessed to him about perpetrating the crime, and police inspector "Hardy" (Roscoe Karns) is all too ready to believe him. Thing is, "Delgado" is playing quite a ricky game that relies on the police actually investigating his confession and discovering that the motive lies elsewhere. With whizz lawyer "Mallon" (Theodore von Eltz) now defending him, he feels sure of acquittal until, well suffice to say there's nobody to acquit! Who did what to whom, and why? That's what our intrepid investigator has to find out! There's a little fun to be had with some daft magic tricks; Calvert does quite enough with the basic script and production and Rochelle Hudson adds a little mischievous glamour to the proceedings as widow "Margo" to keep this moving along to a conclusion that's not so blindingly obvious as with many of these afternoon features. Nope, you'll never remember it, but it does pass an hour easily enough.

  Read full review ↓

Production companies

Who made it

• FA

  Falcon Pictures Corporation

  US

Key crew

• CharactersMichael Arlen
• ProducerPhilip N. Krasne
• EditorAsa Boyd Clark
• Makeup ArtistTed Larsen
• HairstylistGale McGarry
• Production ManagerRichard L'Estrange
• Assistant DirectorMack V. Wright
• SoundGlen Glenn

Release history · US

When it landed

• Theatrical1948-04-01