Affair in Trinidad (1952)

People are voting emotionally.

Must See Movie...

It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

In 1946, Columbia Pictures had a huge hit on its hands with "Gilda". Now, six years later, the studio has reunited its stars, Glenn Ford and Rita Hayworth, for a similar sort of film. However, despite the similarities of the plot, this one just doesn't measure up and is a mostly tepid film that could have used a much better script.The film begins with the death of Rita's husband. Oddly, she never seemed all too broken up because of this and when the police ask her to 'dig around', she agrees to hang out with an unsavory friend who probably was responsible for the man's death (which was incorrectly ruled a suicide). Now think about it...the police asking her to walk into a dangerous place AND involve herself in an illegal search! However, the dead husband's brother (Ford) blunders in and mostly spends his time overacting--either screaming at Rita and blaming her for the death OR begging her pardon and apologizing for the outburst--followed by making out with her! Frankly, none of this made a lot of sense. And so, by the time the film was over, I was annoyed--annoyed because the romance made no sense at all (what was the motivation AND didn't Rita's husband just die!?). In addition, the whole thing came off as a bit talky and dull. A disappointment, that's for sure.

Glenn Ford and Rita Hayworth pretty much epitomized classic Hollywood glamour, and "Affair in Trinidad" shows the chiseled pair reunited after the success of "Gilda." By most measures, "Trinidad" is a solid, big budget topliner, but the film's hurried ending and blunted racial archetyping dock it some points. Nonetheless, the performances are good ones, and the picture's murder mystery, at least until the stumbling climax, is consistently interesting and believable. Rita Hayworth is older here, but still stunning, and Glenn Ford is solid in the lead, providing plenty of romantic sensibility, as well as good ol' tough guy moments. The story involves Ford traveling to Trinidad after receiving a letter from his brother, only to find him dead and presumably murdered. What follows is a story of international intrigue, with Ford working to unravel the reasons for his brother's murder, as well as the identity of his killer(s). Meanwhile, his brother's widow (Hayworth) may hold the key to exposing the killer(s), but her cooperation with the British counsel prevents her from telling Ford important secrets. Predictably, there is a love story subplot, with Ford and a nefarious businessman vying for Hayworth's hand, and some of the exchanges are terrific. Again, however, the climax is hurried and disquieting, ending the picture on an unbalanced and underwhelming note, but not so much as to spoil the experience. There are a lot of good moments in this one, and fans of 40's Hollywood should be pleased. ---|--- Was this review helpful?

James Gunn and Oscar Saul concocted this rather simple screenplay from Berne Giler and Virginia Van Upp's original story concerning American nightclub singer in the Tropics whose husband turns up dead; the police, believing it was murder made to look like a suicide, ask the sultry widow to spy on their number one suspect, an urbane millionaire with eyes for the hips-grinding dame. Rita Hayworth, more animated than usual, acquits herself well in this florid potboiler, knocking out two song numbers in a mellow key while falling for brother-in-law Glenn Ford (to whom she's been instructed not to divulge her secrets!). Misunderstandings, steamy clinches, an impertinent native maid, and a misplaced evening scarf all lead up to an exciting climax--although director Vincent Sherman cheats us a bit by skimping on the violent details. The narrative would pretty much collapse if only the two main characters were simply honest with each other--belaboring what Roger Ebert used to call "the idiot plot"--but, nevertheless, it's a fun, glossy affair. **1/2 from ****

When one talks about Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford as a screen team, one is primarily talking about Gilda. There first film, The Lady in Question had them as featured players, second was the classic Gilda, third was The Loves of Carmen with a horribly miscast Glenn Ford. It was after that one, that Rita Hayworth married Aly Khan and was off the screen for four years.When she came back, Harry Cohn decided not to be too adventurous. Her last big success was Gilda with Glenn Ford, she got Glenn Ford. She was a singer stranded in the southern hemisphere in Gilda, she was again a singer stranded in Affair in Trinidad. Stepping into the George MacReady's shoes as villainous mastermind is suave and continental Alexander Scourby.Rita's husband is murdered and the Trinidad police inspector Torin Thatcher knows full well Alexander Scourby is behind it. Scourby is your international man of mystery in the Sydney Greenstreet, Orson Welles tradition. Thatcher wants Rita to spy on Scourby and she agrees to find out exactly what he's up to.In comes Glenn Ford into the picture as her late husband's brother. He wants some answers and nearly succeeds in wrecking the whole project. Good thing Rita's a quick thinking girl, a better thing is that Ford's a man of action, helps them both out in a pinch.Come to think of it, though Alexander Scourby is a fine player, Orson Welles would have owned this part and even better if he had directed Affair in Trinidad. This is just the kind of story that someone like him could have made into a classic. What a film to remember with Rita with her most well known co-star and another ex-husband as well.Harry Cohn probably would have shot anyone who brought him that idea, still it's interesting to speculate.Though Affair in Trinidad got panned by critics it cleaned up at the box office with all of Rita's loyal fans wanting to see her again. It's still a treat for fans of the screen's greatest sex symbol.