Illegal Entry (1949)

This stars Howard Duff of Sam Spade radio fame. He is an undercover agent for the Department of Immigration. An immigrant calls the department just before he is murdered, gasping out the name of the Blue Danube Cafe. The head agent is looking for a man who has been in the army. Duff is the man they come up with, a decorated flyer from the war, who knew the husband of a woman (Marta Toren) who runs the cafe and who is a member of the gang. He goes to the cafe to see her, and mentions that he is out of a job. The boss of the alien smuggling gang comes to see here to ask about Duff, and it is then revealed that her brother is in the country illegally, and that that is being held over her head by the gang.

Duff finally is approached by a member of the gang to fly for them. Toren has not become very cold toward him and tells him she does not want to see him again. Duff is assigned to fly her to Mexico to see the head of the organization. On the return trip Duff discovers that the smugglers dump their "cargo" out of the plane. Duff is supposed to be assassinated, but she delays him just enough that another of the gang is mistakenly killed. Then her brother hangs himself, evidently because he was afraid he was getting her into trouble.

The gang finally figures out that Duff is an agent while he is flying the boss and his lieutenants to the states. The immigration officials have the gang on the ground under control. The boss has his gun on Duff in the cockpit, however. He deliberately lands roughly, and is able to slip away from the gang. Toren, because of her help, was not charged.


Image from here


Toren and Duff
Image from here