Gesta heroica

TCM aired this movie the other morning. For around 45 years,this film has not shown up an the TV or released on DVD or video. Filmed in Havana,Cuba in 1959,this film makes mention on how the United States helped Fidel Castro and his followers oust the Batista government and put Castro in power. As it turned out,that was a big mistake for the United States. Rumours circulated that the U.S. government purchased all the copies of this film and destroyed them. Well,not true. Turners classic movies has a copy. As for the film,their in nothing really interesting to see. Other than Cameron Mitchel,and lessor known actress,Allison Hayes,this film was filmed on a cheap budget.

Cheesy melodrama set during the time after the fall of Battista in Cuba. While the film has a man shot in the airport for crimes that a never specified this film seems to be a starting point for Hollywood's fixation with tin pot Latin American dictators/despots. In this film the bad guys are the supporters of Battista and the law abiding guys are working for the Castro Government. The only thing missing is a rally for Che. Not a very good film the acting is surprisingly wooden. I had a lot of good memories of Cameron Mitchell but this film made me question my recollections. The film was obviously shot on sets and very little location work is done. The dialog is uninspiring, and unlike other films of this era this film is not much fun to watch.

Steve Daggett (Cameron Mitchell) heads to post-revolutionary Cuba to look for a missing friend. He's no more than off the plane when he's mixed-up with some baddies who may have more sinister intentions than kidnapping his friend. He's also mixed up with an old flame, Monica Gray (Allison Hayes), which is bound to lead to even more problems. Can he find his friend, not get killed, and still get the girl?

As soon as I saw Cameron MItchell's name in the credits, I knew I wanted to see Pier 5, Havana. I"ve been a fan since I was a kid watching The HIgh Chaparral. Throw in Allison Hayes and I'm definitely watching. Overall, Pier 5, Havana falls into that harmless class of wishy-washy films I rate a 5/10. It's enjoyable enough, but nothing to really get overly excited about. Some of the pro-Castro sentiments in the film are incredibly interesting. Also, some of the street scenes filmed in and around Havana and the aerial shots of downtown Havana are truly special. This is a film that could only have been made at this exact time in history.

As for the movie, like I said, it's okay. Most of the plot is interesting enough (helped by a very short 67 minute runtime), the action works, and Mitchell comes out looking fine. The movie also has a noirish quality to it that i really enjoyed. As for what didn't work quite as well, I'll start with Hayes. In a word, she's awful. Several of her scenes with Eduardo Noriega are cringe-inducing they're so bad. And even though I enjoyed the plot, I admit it is a bit uneven and predictable. Still, despite the faults, I'm glad I finally got around to watching this one.

5/10

Story-line is fresh, even after all these years. Mitchell is OK, the lady is not too good, the bad-guy 'Fernando' is well acted. Set construction is B-grade, with several goofs. Script and dialog are a little better than you would expect. Simple action scenes are on par for this kind of movie. Overall production is about what you would expect for a B-grade movie. Some real shots in/near Havana add a special touch to the film. Trying to protect Castro from pro-Baustista forces seems a bit odd these days, but probably spot-on for 1959. The cast all seemed to work together well.

Good, rainy-day film.

Steve Dagget (Cameron Mitchell) goes to Havana to find out what happened to his friend from Miami, Hank Miller (Logan Field). The overthrow of Batista had just occurred and is the background for this story, wherein Dagget tries to find Miller but runs into ex flame Monica (Allison Hayes) who is now a night club singer and is being taken care of by a wealthy Cuban Fernando Ricard (Eduardo Noriega). Dagget's search for Miller gets him involved with the police who apparently now are defending the new government from being overthrown and retaken by the old order. This is all fairly interesting because at the time this film was made Castro had not yet been declared enemy number 1 by the US. Poor Dagget just wants to find his friend, but Miller had been used by the loyalists because he had expertise they needed, and now that they were done with him, he needed to be liquidated. Miller shows up one evening as night is closing in in a Havana beach house and Dagget, Monica, and him relive there old times together back in Miami. The film seems too stagey at first and would be easy to just turn off, but given a good half an hour to develop, it kicks into gear later. Directed by the super prolific Edward Cahn, none of whose movies I've ever seen before, but the titles sound pretty good.