AFFAIR IN TRINIDAD (1952, USA, 98m, PG) ***
Crime, Drama, Mystery
dist. Columbia Pictures; pr co. The Beckworth Corporation; d. Vincent Sherman; w. Oscar Saul, James Gunn (based on a story by Virginia Van Upp & Berne Giler); pr. Vincent Sherman; ph. Joseph Walker (B&W | 1.37:1); m. George Duning (uncredited); ed. Viola Lawrence; ad. Walter Holscher.
cast: Rita Hayworth (Chris Emery), Glenn Ford (Steve Emery), Alexander Scourby (Max Fabian), Valerie Bettis (Veronica Huebling), Torin Thatcher (Inspector Smythe), Howard Wendell (Anderson), Karel Stepanek (Walters), George Voskovec (Dr. Franz Huebling), Steven Geray (Wittol), Walter Kohler (Peter Bronec), Juanita Moore (Dominique), Gregg Martell (Olaf – Fabian’s Chauffeur), Mort Mills (Martin – Wittol’s Henchman), Ralph Moody (Coroner).
Nightclub singer Chris Emery (Hayworth) discovers that her husband has been murdered and resolves to help the police find his killer. Soon she is caught between two men — her late husband’s friend Max Fabian (Scourby) and her brother-in-law, Steve (Ford), who begins his own investigation into his sibling’s death. As the evidence begins to point to Max as the killer, Chris finds herself in an increasingly dangerous situation as she begins to uncover Max’s true intentions. Borrowing heavily from elements of Hayworth and Ford’s 1946 smash hit GILDA as well as Hitchcock’s NOTORIOUS from the same year, this overcooked melodrama fails to hit the heights of either of those productions. Sherman’s direction is a little too static and the performances generally lack subtlety, but Hayworth’s song and dance numbers momentarily light up the screen and otherwise, technical attributes are strong, including Walker’s creative use of lighting and Jean Louis’ gowns for Hayworth.
AAN: Best Costume Design, Black-and-White (Jean Louis)
