FAQ

Trinidad and its sister island Tobago, along with numerous small islands, lies in the Caribbean Sea about seven miles off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. The capital of Trinidad and Tobago is Port-of-Spain.

At first, the police believed that Neil Emery committed suicide based on the gunshot wound to his head, but the coroner's report later determines that he died of a blow to the head and that the gunshot wound was inflicted after he was already dead. It's implied throughout the rest of the movie that Neil was working with Max Fabian (Alexander Scourby), who is known to deal in political intrigue such as recruiting saboteurs and selling military information. Fabian supposedly paid Neil by buying his paintings for much more than they were worth. However, it is never specifically explained how Neil was involved or why he was killed.

In his letter, Neil mentioned only that he had a "job" for Steve (Glenn Ford) in Trinidad. What that job entailed is not revealed. Assuming Steve was working with Max, Neil may have been trying to bring Steve in for a part of the action. It's also possible that Neil just found out about Max's plan to make Trinidad a base for an enemy attack on major cities in the U.S., and he contacted brother Steve (ex-military who flew B-29 bombers during the War) to help him stop Max. What is known is that the letter was written on the 22nd, the same day Neil was murdered.

Chris (Rita Hayworth) goes back to the guest house to look for her scarf but can't find it. She opens the door to leave and is met by Max, Franz (George Voskovec), Walters (Karel Stepanek), Veronica (Valerie Bettis), and Olaf (Gregg Martell). They lock her in a bedroom while they pack in preparation for leaving Trinidad now that their work is done. Meanwhile, Steve also packs up to leave Trinidad, still believing that Chris is going away with Max. Dominique (Juanita Moore) convinces him that Chris is not in love with Max and was, in fact, afraid of going to his house that evening. Steve sneaks into Max's house just as Olaf brings Chris downstairs to take her with them to the airport. Steve pulls a gun, and Chris runs to him. As Max tells Steve about Chris working for the Trinidad police, Franz sneaks up behind them and hits Steve in the head. As Steve falls, the gun goes off, shooting Max in the abdomen. Franz rushes to attend to Max. Knowing that he's wounded too seriously to travel, Max orders Franz, Walters, and Veronica to leave for the plane. Max has Olaf lock Chris in the bedroom and then take Steve out to the car, too. Just as they're about to get into the car, the police arrive and start shooting. Steve runs back into the house and fires several more bullets into Max. He then rushes upstairs to free Chris. In the final scene, Steve and Chris stand on the deck of an ocean liner having a final look at Trinidad as they sail away. "You're going to find Chicago kinda cold after the tropics", Steve says. "Am I?", replies Chris. Steve takes her in his arms and they kiss.