Affair in Trinidad

Affair in Trinidad is one of those pretend film noir movies that the public seem to love more than the critics, both back then on release and also now. I was personally hoping that as a big fan of Glenn Ford, and being an admirer of Rita Hayworth, I too would be thumbing my nose at the critics. Sadly not. Directed by Vincent Sherman and with a screenplay by Berne Gilder and James Gunn, the story is set in Trinidad and pitches Hayworth as a recently widowed nightclub dancer and Ford as the deceased man's brother. The death is suspicious and as the law closes in (in the form of Torrin Thatcher) secrets will out and a bigger picture kind of emerges. Ok! Lets not compare to Gilda and Notorious, for obvious reasons, and just accept Affair in Trinidad as its own entity. What transpires is a tired tropical exercise in romance and spy like intrigue. In fact it's a bit of a hack job coasting in on the two leading stars reputations, Ford as a genre presence and Hayworth as some sort of ogle feature. The plot is ridiculous where nothing much makes sense. Character's motivations are sketchy at best, and once the screenplay plays its hand for reveal purpose, you wonder just where are the villains from and what exactly are they up to?! Is that explained or did I have a power nap?... It doesn't help that head weasel Max Fabian (Alexander Scourby) is so not threatening, and boring to boot, that it renders the intended dramatic oomph at pics finale as being akin to a damp squib. Hayworth goes through the motions in the acting scenes, only holding court with her two dance numbers (voice dubbed by Jo Ann Greer), and while Ford can brood with the best of them, his character is so poorly written it doesn't let the actor shine. As for this remotely being film noir? Not a chance, neither visually, thematically or in characterisations does it work on that film making style. Consider me bloody annoyed. 5/10

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.

Certainly not as good as "Gilda", and nowhere even close to being as good as "Notorious", but I still find it a very enjoyable movie. I enjoyed the directing, the song/dance numbers, and was not bothered by the storyline that others on this site found weak. I like Glenn Ford, too, but I found his performance a little too much on the melodramatic side, and less on the believable side, but he was still enjoyable overall. A couple of things reminded me of other films: 1) The moment when Rita opens the door to the guest house to find all the bad guys standing just outside waiting for her somehow reminded me of when Bob Cummings and Priscilla Lane enter the train car of circus freaks in "Saboteur"...both scenes were a little eerie...and both were very nice cinematic moments. The other comparison that was a bit distracting for me was 2) how much Alexander Scourby in "Affair" reminds me of Morris Carnovsky, Bogart's nemesis in "Dead Reckoning"...they have a very similar look, and their characters are also very much alike. A previous reviewer knocked Rita Hayworth's performance as being lifeless...Yes, it could be that it was Rita's lack of enthusiasm, but I wouldn't know her frame of mind, so I don't know if that comment is fair for people to make...to me, I took it as her choice for the character...it made perfect sense for her to be dazed and detached...think about all that her character has suffered in a loveless marriage, an unfulfilling job, the grief she feels for her failed marriage, her husband's death, her own emotional death, then what she is forced into doing in terms of the lies, deceit, and intrigue for the police. Add to that her confusion over her feelings for her brother-in-law and is it any wonder that the character's head was swimming? I think Ms. Hayworth did a fine job with the role...and was she ever gorgeous, too!! "Affair In Trinidad" will never be accused of being a masterpiece, but it is absolutely worth viewing if you're in the mood for some enjoyable, Noirish entertainment.

source: Affair in Trinidad

I am flabbergasted by the low imdb average for this film! From the opening credits onward I was riveted by this film. Like Steve Emery (Glenn Ford) I was fixated on finding out what happened to the late Mr. Emery. This film has intrigue, suspense, and no short amount of sultriness thanks to the gorgeous Rita Hayworth (Chris). Hayworth also performs two stunning dance numbers. Mention should also be made of the terrific performances turned in by the actors who play the motley crew led by Max Fabian (Alexander Scourby). The only drawback to the movie is the absurdness of Fabian's plot. He was helping the Nazis secure launching bases for possibly attacking U.S. cities. This is pure propaganda. The Nazis had no such plan. They couldn't even take Paris. Perhaps this plot point was developed to scare Americans into supporting the Allied campaign against the Nazis. Still Affair in Trinidad is a terrific suspense thriller, 9/10.

On the orders of Columbia studio head Harry Cohn, Rita Hayworth was transformed from a latin B player to an A picture love goddess, her high spirits passing as all-American in titles like Cover Girl and Gilda. However the curse of the beautiful is that they become possessions by collectors, just as Rita told screenwriter of Gilda, Virginia Van Upp - "Men fell in love with Gilda but woke up with me". Her greatest collector was Prince Aly Khan, and the idea of capturing a movie star predated Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier in the 1950's. However the Hayworth/Khan marriage failed and Rita returned to Hollywood. Perhaps in a depression, unhappy with the vehicle provided for her comeback role, or simply older, Hayworth's sparkle had dimmed. That's not to say that she doesn't look beautiful in the film. Whilst not lit as gorgeously as she was by Rudolph Mate in Gilda, she has a moment here standing in repose in shadow, smoking. But even with her character being a recent widow, her voice is dead and she carries herself like a somnambulist. She is best when she is dancing as she does twice here. In the first, Trinidad Lady, is the Carmen Rita - barefoot and tossing her dress. The framing distances us - director Vincent Sherman may be more interested in the crowd around the stage, but she looks happy performing. The second, I've Been Kissed Before, has obvious parallels to her Put The Blame on Mame from Gilda. She wears a shimmery black dress as fetishistic as the famous black satin sheath, the number is schematically arranged to present her as a tramp to later be rewarded with a face slap, even the choreography recalls that of Mame. However her announced intention to dance, even if contextualised, is a dramatic change of characterisation. She gives us the Gilda we want, and not the woman we have accepted up to this time - the one we have woken up with. The Gilda connection is made in the film by the casting of Glenn Ford as her romantic partner, thankfully treating her a little kinder this time around, Steven Geray in an amusing supporting role as her employer, Alexander Scourby as a pseudo-George Macready but without the menace, the locale being Trinidad as Gilda was set in Buenos Aires and a plot about German-ish hoods investing in shady activities that pose a threat to security. Ford tells us he was a pilot in the war and since he isn't old enough to mean WW1, we know that Upp and her co-writers have written their screenplay in a rush, explaining Hayworth's own reluctance to participate. Scourby is give the witty lines like "Some people are mellowed by drink. Have another" and "At the risk of dislocating your personality, try to be calm". He has a funny exchange with Ford about Hayworth - "I think you look lovelier in this color than any other. Don't you agree?" "There's a few shades I haven't seen her in yet". Valerie Bettis who created Rita's dances also appears as the wife of one of the Germans and her drunken energy is very welcome. She has a great laugh and even gets to parody Hayworth's dancing at one point, and Juanita Moore is good as Rita's maid. Sherman provides an exterior of an airport with seemingly limitless open skies, and gives Scourby's interior an imposing staircase. This film is not a bomb, plot holes notwithstanding. Sherman moves things along and at least Hayworth isn't the embarrassment she was in the Hall of Mirrors sequence in The Lady from Shanghai. Perhaps Aly Khan took the best of her and Harry Cohn was left to salvage her career with the little she had left to give.

Trailer—Affair in Trinidad

During the time that this 1952 film was being filmed, its star, Rita Hayworth was thinking of terminating her contract with Columbia Pictures. Why didn't she? It would've prevented her from making films like this. This film plays like an obvious attempt to repeat the big box office success of "Gilda", a 1946 Columbia Picture starring Hayworth as she is reteamed with her "Gilda" costar Glenn Ford. The farfetched plot has nightclub singer Hayworth and her brother-in-law (Ford) joining forces to track down her husband's murderer. In the box office results, the film was a disappointment and it eventually inspired longtime Columbia Pictures contract players Hayworth and Ford to pursue film careers as freelances.

In the British colony of Trinidad, American Neil Emery is found dead in an apparent suicide. His nightclub performer wife Chris (Rita Hayworth) is informed by Anderson from the American consulate and policeman Inspector Smythe. Neil's brother Steve (Glenn Ford) arrives expecting to see Neil. The police discovers Neil was actually murdered and suspects Neil's rich powerful friend Max Fabian. They recruit Chris to investigate the mysterious Fabian but she can't tell Steve. Rita Hayworth returns to Hollywood after about four years married to a prince. This is trying to return to the glory of Gilda reuniting with Glenn Ford and recycling the plot of Notorious. She is a bit older and not quite the same powerful bombshell in her heyday. Everything feels like a mere shadow of former glory. With a lot more imagination, that could have been used to the movie's advantage. This one is pass its prime before it started. This may not be a classic but it is reminiscent of past greatness.

Will people learn to stop comparing.....these movies were made 6 years apart and set out its goal of entertaining us to the hilt. Rita Hayworth alone is enough to watch it all the way....and the black and white cinematography is excellent. Yes the storyline is thin but it still is intriguing and well done. What a good job also done by the supporting actors...even Juanit Moores role turned out to be very important. You think i left out Glenn Ford....no way...some say it is wooden acting....no way. Ford could act without making physical gestures....just look at the expressions on his face. He is simply awesome. OH and by the way the ending is fine for me and i am really happy to own this very entertaining DVD