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Affair in Trinidad Apr 20, 2009
Affair in Trinidad was part of the film noir movement of the forties & fifties. It's not the greatest example of that genre but it's still very good. It stars the lovely Rita Hayworth & was her first film in four years. It also stars Glenn Ford who, in just a few more years, would become a box office bonanza. It's directed by the capable Vincent Sherman.
The film opens with an investigation into suicide. The husband (who's never seen) of Chris Emery (Hayworth) is found dead in his boat. It's ruled as a suicide but Inspector Smythe (Torrin Thatcher) doesn't really believe it. He's gotten another statement from one of the local fishermen that leads him to believe otherwise. Smythe & Anderson, the American Ambassador, go to the club where Chris works to inform her of her husband's death. Here we are treated with a performance number by Chris that's a burner. It's interesting to note that all the dance routines were choreographed by Valerie Bettis who portrays Veronica in the film.
Steve Emery (Ford) is introduced on an airplane that's flying to Trinidad. He has a letter from his brother, who he doesn't know is dead, inviting him down for a job as a pilot. Steve meets one of the co=conspirators on the plane, Bronec (Walter Kohler), who has an unusual reaction when Steve asks him does he know his brother.
Apparently, there's some international intrigue going on in Trinidad & Max Fabian (Alexander Scourby) is behind it all. He has a past of doing this sort of thing previously. Inspector Smythe believes it's Fabian behind the death of Chris's husband. He enlists her aid to get the necessary evidence so that he can arrest Fabian. A sham coroner's inquest is held where the death is ruled as a suicide. Steve doesn't believe a word of what he hears about his brother & initiates his own search for the truth. This puts him at odds with Chris & the inspector. Chris & Steve end up in a love-hate relationship that's resolved at the end of the film.
Juanita Moore (Dominique) has an excellent role as Chris's house servant. She seems to intuitively know things about Chris & Steve. It's great to see a decent role for a non-white actress that's more than a caricature this early (1952) in Hollywood's history.
Affair in Trinidad isn't the best example of film noir, maybe it should be viewed more as a spy thriller. It's a very good film & it's always a treat to watch the lovely Hayworth.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
 "Gilda: The Affair in Trinidad" is like most cash-in movies...just a lot of chicky chick boom chick boom Dec 30, 2008
Affair in Trinidad might have been a reasonably solid movie of murder and intrigue if Columbia Pictures hadn't strained so mightily to remind us of, and cash in on, Gilda. But six years have passed since that hothouse orchid bloomed. Rita Hayworth, returning to movies after four years, a survivor of two demeaning marriages, first to the ego-driven and easily bored Orson Welles and the second to the spoiled, world-class philanderer Aly Khan, looks great but no longer has that fresh, spirited quality she brought to her movies in the Forties. Glenn Ford is finally beginning to look older than a teen-ager, but all he's called on to do is to project the same melodramatic resentment he carried along with him in Gilda. For the villain, Alexander Scourby was a good actor, but there's none of the noxious, smooth danger that George Macready gave off in waves...and none of the homoerotic subtext that spiced up Gilda. All we have is Inspector Smythe's flat-footed description of Max Fabian: "He's a man who deals in international intrigue, secret information, treason...a man who's grown rich by exploiting trouble and unrest wherever they exist..." Yawn.
Chris Emery (Rita Hayworth) is a headlining entertainer in Trinidad's Carib Club. She sings, dances, and knocks `em dead when she undulates across the dance floor. Her husband, an unsuccessful painter, dies. Suicide? It looks that way, but Inspector Smythe (Torin Thatcher) is convinced it's murder. Smythe believes that Max Fabian was behind it. He arms twists Chris to get close to Fabian, who likes her a lot. Her job: Get the goods on him. This will include slimy men with German accents and devices that seem to be nuclear. During the last ten minutes we'll forget Gilda and remember Notorious. But then her husband's brother shows up from the States. Steve Emery (Glenn Ford) quickly resents how Chris is being so friendly to Max. He has no idea she's working for the police and that she has been instructed to say nothing. This three-way arrangement results in Steve showing how tough and angry he can be, in Fabian showing how cool and dangerous he can be, and in Chris showing how conflicted she can be, especially when Chris and Steve realize their love for each other. Fear not; the movie does eventually end. When Affair in Trinidad was released it was considerably more successful than Gilda had been.
Affair in Trinidad hasn't aged well. The script is no better than workmanlike. The acting, especially in the smaller parts, is basic. Even the two musical numbers Hayworth gives us, "Trinidad Lady" and "I've Been Kissed Before," seem like stuffed animals from another era. Instead of the self-aware and amusing heat of Hayworth doing "Put the Blame on Mame," here Hayworth is gorgeous and merely professional. Most of the problem is that the choreography for her is vulgar instead of being sexy.
Picture a small group of bongo-thumping Trinidadians in native dress sitting on stage amongst banana fronds. They sing, eyes rolling with delight...
"A chicky chick boom chick boom
A chicky chick boom chick boom
Announces you're in the room
With the Trinidad Lady
"A chicky chick boom chick boom
A chicky chick boom chick boom
Your ticker goes boom, boom, boom
For the Trinidad Lady..."
Even Hayworth swaying in on bare feet can't do much with material like this. Same with the movie.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
 AFFAIR IN TRINIDAD Nov 24, 2008
just "GREAT" I have waited a long time to see this film and now I own it. To me it is a great film. Rita Hayworth never looked greater.
4 of 4 found the following review helpful:
Hayworth & Ford re-team in Trinidad Jul 31, 2008
Affair In Trinidad (1952) was made to re-team Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford who created such a sensation in Gilda in 1946. On it's own, Affair In Trinidad, is a very enjoyable Film Noir mystery thriller with a couple of steamy song and dance routines executed beautifully, as only Rita Hayworth can do. However, in a side by side comparison to Gilda, it is a disappointment, but still worth watching, none-the-less. For those of you who have never seen Gilda, do yourself a favor, and watch it. Gilda is one of the truly great films of the 1940s. You will not be disappointed in this Film Noir mystery thriller, with great performances, some snappy dialog and a few twists and turns that will hold your attention to the very end.
6 of 6 found the following review helpful:
Excellent "Who-dun-it"... Jul 27, 2008
This is an excellent "Who-dun-it" starring Glenn Ford, Rita Hayworth, and Alexander Scourby. Rita's husband dies of an apparent suicide...BUT...was it really a suicide and not a murder. Glenn Ford is the dead man's brother who comes to Trinidad to investigate and catch the killer. Suspects are the widow herself and a rich man she has a relationship with. Others in the cast add mystery and there are a couple of musical numbers by Hayworth. Sort of Film Noir and a very good mystery. Worth watching.
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