HIGHWAY 13

Pamela Blake as Doris with Robert Lowery

HIGHWAY 13 (1948). Director: William Berke.

A series of mysterious accidents are plaguing a truck company, although the head of the outfit seems unconcerned. Another executive in the firm, Frank Denton (Michael Whalen), finds out that his wife's car has been driven off a cliff and feels he was the real target. Even an undercover detective (Steve Pendleton) hired to investigate comes to a bad end. Driver Hank Wilson (Robert Lowery), who is engaged to personable, pretty waitress Doris (Pamela Blake), is determined to get to the bottom of things. Other characters include Doris' uncle, known as "Pops" (Clem Bevans); his wife, Aunt Myrt (Mary Gordon); the trucking firm's personnel manager, Mary (Maris Wrixon of The Face of Marble); and detectives played by Lyle Talbot and Dan Seymour. Highway 13 could be dismissed as a typical minor "B"  thriller were it not for the fact that it has a good script, interesting characters and performances, and it isn't obvious from the first who the bad guys are. Pamela Blake [Ghost of Zorro] offers a very appealing portrait of the waitress Doris, Lowery is the stalwart hero, and Clem Bevans [Gold Raiders] pretty much steals the picture as the dyspeptic old Pops.

Verdict: Entertaining and suspenseful, with a few surprises and a satisfying wind-up. **1/2.

SKY LINER

Would you want this shifty guy (Greg McClure) on an airliner?

SKY LINER (1949). Director: William Berke.

A diverse group of people are flying to San Francisco on TWA. Few of them realize that George Eakins (John McGuire of Sea Raiders) of the State Department has been murdered and been replaced by a man known only as Smith (Steve Pendleton). Smith, who is hoping to sell important papers on the flight, is accompanied by Eakin's secretary, Amy (Rochelle Hudson of Meet Boston Blackie). Steven Geray [The Unfaithful] plays Bokejian, a representative of a foreign power who is anxious to buy those government secrets. An added complication is the presence on the flight of one J. S. Konigsby (Greg McClure), who is a dangerous jewel thief. But when one of those characters is murdered, Federal agent Steve Blair (Richard Travis) teams up with intrepid stewardess Carol (Pamela Blake) to ferret out the murderer and keep the passengers under control. Sky Liner is not quite as interesting as it sounds, but it's a mildly entertaining programmer with a generally competent cast. William F. Leicester is the pilot, Captain Fairchild; George Meeker is a financier; and Jack Mulhall is Colonel Hanson.

Verdict: There have been worse ... **1/2.