Wetbacks is a 1956 American crime film directed by Hank McCune and starring Lloyd Bridges, Nancy Gates and Barton MacLane.[1][2] An independent production, the title is a reference to "wetbacks" a now derogatory term for immigrants coming into the United States across the Mexican border. Location shooting took place around Santa Catalina Island and San Pedro in Los Angeles. It has plot similarities to the 1950 film The Breaking Point.

Wetbacks
Directed byHank McCune
Written byHank McCune
Edward D. Wood Jr.
Produced byByron Roberts
Hank McCune
StarringLloyd Bridges
Nancy Gates
Barton MacLane
CinematographyBrydon Baker
Edited byRonald V. Ashcroft
Music byLes Baxter
Production
company
Pacific Coast Pictures
Distributed byBanner Pictures
Monarch Film Corporation (UK)
Release date
  • May 4, 1956 (1956-05-04)
Running time
89 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Plot

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The United States Coast Guard is concerned by the amount of human trafficking going on with large numbers of illegal immigrants being tricked into entering the country by promises of good jobs, only then to be economically exploited as cheap labor. Meanwhile, ex-Coast Guard officer Jim Benson, running a struggling charter fishing boat business, is reluctantly persuaded to carry a consignment of migrants from Mexico to California.

Cast

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References

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  1. ^ Spicer p.422
  2. ^ Craig p.252

Bibliography

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  • Craig, Rob. Ed Wood, Mad Genius: A Critical Study of the Films. McFarland, 2009.
  • Spicer, Andrew. Historical Dictionary of Film Noir. Scarecrow Press, 2010.
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