Dangerous Passage

Joe Beck leaves his job at an oil company in the British Honduran jungle to meet with shifty lawyer Daniel Bergstrom in the port town of St. Angel. Bergstrom informs Joe that his Texan grandfather has died and left him a $200,000 inheritance. After Joe proves his identity with a birth certificate and various affidavits, Bergstrom sends a thug to follow him, but Joe kills his assailant. Dawson, a ship steward who is passing by, helps Joe and allows him aboard his ship, the Merman , which is leaving immediately. The disreputable crew of the rustbucket is comprised of Captain Saul, Buck Harris and Dawson, who repeatedly warns Joe to get off the ship early. Joe's fellow passengers are Vaughn, a representative of a cruise line, and Nita Paxton, a cabaret performer with whom Joe falls in love. Joe is not sure whom he can trust after an unseen attacker makes an unsuccessful attempt on his life. Not long after, he discovers Dawson has been killed in his cabin, and throws the body overboard to avoid being framed for the murder. The ship then docks in Los Altos, and Joe and Nita spend a romantic day ashore. When they rejoin the ship, Joe discovers that Bergstrom has boarded with an impostor he calls "Joe Beck." Joe accuses Nita of being involved in the subterfuge, and she reveals that when she met Dawson he was working as an undercover insurance investigator on the trail of Vaughn, Saul and Harris, who had scuttled some heavily insured ships. Dawson befriended Nita and, out of gratitude, she took to working with him and now plans to complete his assignment. When Joe returns to his cabin, he is confronted by Bergstrom and Mike Zomano, the impostor, who demand his identification. Joe grabs Mike's gun, but allows them to leave with only a warning. That night, Joe is awakened by the ship's severe rocking, and discovers that Saul is steering the ship directly into some rocks. When Joe attemptes to stop Saul, he knocks Joe unconscious and locks him in his room. After the ship crashes, the crew boards a life raft, while Nita opens Joe's door with an axe. By the time Nita and Joe reach the deck, the crew has disappeared, and they are left alone with Bergstrom and Mike. Bergstrom claims to have given up his greedy inclination to kill Joe for his inheritance, especially after Joe informs him that he mailed all his identification to Galveston, but when Bergstrom hears a radio report that rescue planes are being sent out to the ship, he tricks Joe, who slips and falls into a deep pit in the ship and is knocked unconscious. Joe awakens three days later in a hospital, and immediately leaves for his grandfather's home in Galveston. Once there, he learns that Nita has picked up his package. Joe locates Nita's apartment and while standing outside the door, overhears Bergstrom and Mike threatening to kill Nita if she does not give them Joe's papers. Just as Bergstrom finds Joe's papers, Joe comes in from the balcony and shoots Mike in self-defense. Bergstrom calls the police to have Joe arrested for Mike's death, but is forced to surrender to Joe and wait for his own arrest. Their ordeal over, Joe and Nita kiss.