It's a Dick Powell semi-noir with a documentary feel about the opium trade. Robert Stevenson directs a trifle stodgily -- as alas, is his wont in this period -- but there are some striking compositions by DP Burnett Guffey. Whichever TCM flack introduced this claimed it came in at a budget of $2,000,000, which strikes me as wrong, considering this is a Columbia production not starring Rita Hayworth. There are some problems due to fighting with the Hays Office, but the result is highly watchable.
Review of To the Ends of the Earth
