Across the Pacific Awash in Adventure

Just finished watching this film for the very first time tonight after taping it off TCM earlier in the week. I recorded it primarily for my dad, who's a big fan of the movies of this era. I was just going to check it out briefly to get a sense of it before taking it over to my dad's house tomorrow, but got totally hooked on it myself! I found it intriguing and captivating from first frame to last. One never knew for sure where the plot was headed but all the characters aboard the Genoa Maru freighter to the Orient were compelling and mysterious. One sensed that there was something devious going on but couldn't be certain. Eventually the story gels while the cast is laid up in the Canal Zone, a great place to have all this intigue played out on the very eve of WWII! Bogart was excellent but perhaps the film's most fascinating character was that played by Sydney Greenestreet, a professor at a University in the Phillipines, whose developed a profound respect for the Oriental mind and culture. I won't say more about his, or the others', characters or purposes so as not to spoil viewers' enjoyment of this film for themselves. The movie's fast paced with great atmosphere, especially when the ships' passengers are dropped off in the Canal Zone. I love the grand old hotel and nightclubs, the sense of tropical heat, etc.--a truly different place and time! One minor observation--for everone referring to how hot it is there in the tropical,non-air-conditioned Canal Zone, the principals never remove their coats and ties, although this may've been typical for the time and era portrayed. In a sense, "Pacific's" a man's picture but, of course, anyone can enjoy it. Although not essential, it helps to have some understanding of the early, pre-American entry into WWII. Most viewers of this movie today probably have no clue as to what was going on in the world at this time(1939,'40, and '41), and likely have no conception of Americans'(and Hollywood's) attitudes toward the Japanese, as biased, prejudiced, and antiquated as they seem today. To the movie's credit, though, the Japanese are portrayed as three-dimensional humans, worthy of respect and appreciation, with a few minor lapses here and there. In short, "Pacific" is a nifty little wartime adventure well worth watching. Give it a peek and take the voyage yourself--in the world of Rick Leland and Dr. Laurenz, your life may depend on it!