Here's a movie with a great opening, okay second act and an incredibly rushed ending.
Just like every other film from the early forties up into the mid-60s. They're horrible for endings. They have all this setup at all these various plot points which could lead up to some great climax but instead it just ends in a matter of 2 minutes.
So our story takes place in Trinidad back in the early fifties when it was still part of the British Dominion*. And there's a murder that takes place on this island. A murder that's intrigued some of the local British of authorities.
They're suspicious of this dancer who happens to be the wife of the victim. I think they suspected her being the murderer at the beginning but then later on suspected that it was actually the actions of this rich British merchants who has ties to formally supplying the Nazis with weapons in World War. And it's from there that you can kind of guess the rest of the story as it's just This Woman's quest to get close to somebody who was formerly an associate of hers and discover his Horrible Secret of Nazi intrigue. Personally I think it's the weakest aspect of the film having him connect to the Nazis. This guy should have just been a wealthy business tycoon trying to screw over the locals on the island. It would have made for a story with the exact same impact only it wouldn't have the ludicrousness of former German soldiers and scientists trying to create launch platforms the front in the United States.
Speaking of which. I am surprised this movie doesn't have some massive conspiracy behind it.
The (former) Nazis want to set up these intercontinental ballistic missiles on various small Islands were at the Caribbean. The even want to put them on Cuba.
Which is just so uncanny given that this movie came out several years before the Cuban Missile Crisis was even a thing.
At this point Batista was still running the country and nobody care about Cuba. (Sorry Cuba. you know it's true. The Communist put you on the world map, sort-a speak)
Most of the film is just a really basic detective Story Only instead of a detective it's this dancer girl and the brother of the murdered guy. You can kind of tell from the onset that these two are going to hook up at some point and it's a little unsettling to me because I've always been slightly uncomfortable about proceed romances between brother/sister in-law people.
I know it's a real occurrence that happens sometimes, but it just feels a little cliched in movies like this.
Also our American tough guy is a real wiener.
He gets super upset that all these other guys are semi interested in this girl that he barely knows.
And it becomes even more comedic when you realise that she's something of a sex-symbol on the island to begin with.
Even people who have never met her know who she is and acquaint her with her dancing career.
It's like getting really mad at a Playboy bunny that you're dating. Guys are going to notice rather you want them to or not.
So just get over it and realise that the girl wasn't actually cheating on you.
In this case isn't even a relationship with you so you should just hold your tongue and not act like a freaking dick, you dick.
So I know I just spent a few paragraphs making fun of the movie but I think it is generally decent film overall.
It's not pretty good acting, a solid plot, okay cinematography and overall it just flows really well.
There's no stagnant points in the film with the exclusion of maybe one part towards the end of the second half where there's this forced animosity between our two main leads.
I'm not too bothered about putting in conflicts just for the sake of conflict, but you should at least have it last long enough and then impact the story in some way.
Here it just ends within a minute or two becomes completely pointless.
Especially when there's a scene later on in a flick where our two romantic leads have a miscommunication and leads to them both separating for a certain point of time just to Creed more drama towards the end of the film.
*I feel like the movie really missed its opportunity to have more fun with the environment. It's pretty clear that it was most likely all done in a Sound Stage either in Hollywood or in some part of Britain but I still think you could have integrated the island politics a little bit more.
Maybe have one or two exotic scenes with our leads are on a beach or have a little bit more interaction with local people.
Maybe I should be careful what I say with that last one. Lot of these movies don't treat the most basic minorities in the United States all that well and when it comes to anybody outside of the United States they might as well be aliens from Mars.
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