Vashirdfel Simply A Masterpiece

Contentar Best movie of this year hands down!

Kidskycom It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

Senteur As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

classicsoncall This one started out generally interesting, and with a little bit of misdirection by characters Valdez (Marc Lawrence) and Dolores Garcia (Mona Maris), it looked like there was some kind of skulduggery underfoot that placed them in the employ of Nazi agents. With the kind of writing employed today, the story could have taken some twists and turns to make it a riveting espionage thriller, but the attempt got wasted here by the time Captain Bart Manson (Edward G. Robinson) learned that his long time buddy and first mate Fred Adamson (Victor McLaglen) actually sold out to the Germans and was working for the Nazi mob. Adamson's rationale for making the switch was almost laughable (he needed the money), and was about as believable as seeing him decked by Manson for criticizing his girl (Lynn Bari).As for Manson romancing Katherine Hall, I don't even think I have to go there; almost every other reviewer here has mentioned it. Almost twice her age and not what I'd exactly call handsome, Robinson's character is pretty much maneuvered into a whirlwind courtship that winds up in marriage between the principals. The only rationale that makes sense within the context of the story was that compassionate speech he makes to Mrs. Kelly, the survivor of a torpedo attack, when she insists on seeing her husband who died. Miss Hall was there to hear the captain, and one would have to admit, that dialog was the stuff that true character is made of.That whole business with Nazi Kruger (Tonio Selwart) offering a deal to Captain Manson also needed a bit more fleshing out as well if it was going to make one believe that Manson was going to betray his country. The cigarette lighter with the initial 'K' was apparently the ruse required to insure Manson believe his wife was a spy, but when 'Karla' showed up instead, I got the impression that the story was too far out on a limb to tie all the loose ends together.I guess you have to brush aside all the less than believable elements here and just go with the flow of the story without being too critical. Maybe take the Mexican waiter's advice and see this with a shot of tequila - it's good for the heart and it'll clarify your mind. Careful though, more than one will make you woozy.

Martha Wilcox Here we see a much stronger Edward G. Robinson challenging Victor McLaglen who was never really in the contest anyway. The film itself is not that good, but it does explore how people you work with who may appear to be friends are actually spying on you for the opposition. McLaglen plays an unconvincing Nazi spy who betrays Robinson leading to the sinking of his ship.Robinson marries a woman who is rescued from a sinking ship and doesn't have the necessary documentation to get into Mexico. He takes her under his care which is quite touching and shows the sensitive side of his acting repertoire.

Michael_Elliott Tampico (1944) ** (out of 4) Standard spy yarn has Edward G. Robinson playing a skipper of an oil rig during WW2 when the German's are trying to sink all the rigs. He saves a beautiful woman (Lynn Bari) from the sea and marries her but when his ship gets hit by a torpedo his men think the new wife was a spy. This film only runs 75-minutes but there's not really enough story for a twenty-minute movie. Robinson is pretty good in his role as is Bari but the supporting cast, including Victor McLaglen, doesn't add much spice to the story. The direction is pretty uninspired throughout and some of the dialogue is quite laughable.

boblipton Robinson's career as a leading man was on the downslide at this point and he was jerkily moving into starring support roles like his turn in DOUBLE INDEMNITY when he made this one, a handsome Fox programmer with noir lighting in which his role is a bit of a retread, combining the lovesick dope of TIGER SHARK, the mature sea captain and some World War Two intrigue. He's got good players with him too, with Lynn Bari and Victor MacLaglen.... and when it came to playing a role cleanly and honestly in the movie theater, Robinson's only competition was Spencer Tracy. And if they have film footage of either of them reading the telephone book, it will be worth seeing. So this one is worth your time. Which you should have known when you saw his name on the cast list.