Woman Trap (1936)

Riley Ferguson, a New York gangster, shoots one of his associates who tried to betray him during a jewel robbery in Los Angeles. A man named Ramirez offers to provide Ferguson with a hiding place until the situation calms down, as the stolen jewels are registered in the US and must be sold in Europe. A police reporter named Keat Shevlin receives a tip and travels by motorboat to a small port in Lower California. On the way, he rescues Barbara "Buff" Andrews, the daughter of Senator Andrews, who was piloting a racing plane that was forced to land. She insists on returning to the harbor in San Pedro and tags along with Keat. When they arrive at the port, Ferguson recognizes Keat and forces him and Buff to join the gang. Ferguson plans to ransom Buff for $50,000 from her father and use the money to fund the sale of the jewels in Europe. Keat, who tries to escape and is knocked out, wakes up tied to a horse with Buff and being taken back into the mountains by the gang. Ferguson does not want to share the profits with Ramirez and bribes one of his associates, Pancho, to guide them to a different hiding place. Ramirez follows them and forces Ferguson to include him in the deal in exchange for guiding them across a waterless desert. Senator Andrews, believing Keat is the kidnapper, drops the ransom money by airplane in a desert location. Ferguson orders one of his associates to kill Keat at the rendezvous point, but Pancho saves Keat and disappears. Ferguson is about to shoot Ramirez, but Ramirez points out that he is the only one who knows how to get out of the desert, and their water is running low.