Well crafted programmer from RKO. The premise is a nail-biting natural-- namely, guys transporting highly explosive nitroglycerin from storage to oil fields where it's used in drilling. One false move from the handler and it's smithereens. Not only are the guys affected, it's the families too, never knowing whether the mister will be coming home. The 60-minutes deals as much with family as with the nitro.
Carey's the movie's actual star, carrying the storyline in a gruffly likable manner. He's like the foreman of the nitro crew, while Eilers plays his comely daughter. The romantic angle amounts to a cliché where she has to choose between rich guy Eric and nitro handler Beal. Her heart inclines toward Beal, but Carey dreads her becoming a young widow.
Using quirky actor Paul Guilfoyle as a traumatized ex-handler was an inspiration. In weirdly disturbing fashion, he dramatizes the emotional toll of the work, well paying though it is. Eilers is effective in her conflicted role, even though Beal appears too bland in his. The highlight is the nitro-loaded plane trip to Tampico. Because of happy endings, you usually know how a dangerous trip like this will turn out. But that's not the case here since there's reason to believe both ways. Thus the plane ride's a genuine nail-biter. All in all, I was highly entertained by this blue-collar example of studio craftsmanship.
