Reporter Steve Haines (Boyd), on the trail of a business tycoon, follows his subject onto an ocean liner and gets wound up in a cruise full of intrigue, romance and murder. William Boyd took a break from Hopalong Cassidy to do this B movie mystery for Republic Pictures in which he plays an investigative reporter hot on the trail of a Samuel Insull like utility magnate who is fleeing and absconding with a whole lot of his investor's money.<br/><br/>The culprit Lee Shumway takes a passenger liner bound for Europe and Boyd follows him on board and sails with him. During an amateur theatrical production on shipboard someone slips real bullets into a gun and Shumway is shot dead. There are a host of suspects as a whole lot of people lost money investing with the dead magnate.<br/><br/>Go Get 'Em Haines which sounds like a rousing sports drama instead of a murder mystery is a nicely paced mystery which we have to give some allowances for as it is the product of a B film studio. Herbert J. Yates didn't exactly bust the budget for this one, but Boyd does nicely in the role.<br/><br/>Alas though for his career and for better or worse he was Hopalong Cassidy and the public wasn't going to accept at this point as anything else. The story goes that Steve Haines (William "Hopalong Cassidy" Boyd), a reporter, is trying to get ahold of a business tycoon and chases him onto a ship, only to leave with the ship when it casts off. Inevitably intrigue and suspense start to cautiously tip-toe into the light before taking center stage, as Haines runs into a few people he knows, as well as making a few new friends.<br/><br/>For the first half of the movie, the filmmakers rely mostly on comedy to get the story rolling. All the elements of screwball comedy are at play here, with some clever dialogue. For instance: Steve wants to know the stateroom number of a pretty girl (Sheila Terry) but the steward (Louis Natheaux) can't tell him. Flashing a bill, Steve asks "Would it be against the ship's rules if you were to tell me your age?" "Well, I'm afraid I can't tell you my age," replies the steward, "but I could tell you that, on my grandmother, she'll be eighty-four." A token perpetual drunk (Jimmy Aubrey) appears shortly after the above exchange, and assumes the comic relief responsibilities for the remainder of the film. And like most token comic relief characters of the 1930's (and unlike most comic relief characters of today), this dizzy, amusing character does actually help the narrative along, rather than just appear for the occasional comedy set piece.<br/><br/>I enjoyed this film over all, even though it started to drag a little in a few places. The story was pretty tightly written and it all actually held together quite well, for a B-picture. The ship-board location provides an interesting backdrop, and it seems as though most of the interiors, as well as exteriors, were shot onboard a modest commercial cruise vessel. What exactly it was like to shoot a movie like this I'd like to know. The acting was pretty good, with an excellent scene towards the end, where all is revealed. That's another thing: the movie keeps you guessing, presenting you with several possible outcomes, motives and suspects. If you can find it, it's worth a look.
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