Santiago

The problem is that the heroes are supposedly fighting for the Cuban cause (against the Spanish invaders) but Cuba fell into American hands the same year;it would have been acceptable if Cash had remained an arms dealer ,just working for .....cash;but he tries to redeem himself,he's got a high moral conscience :he was a military man and he could never get over his shame,his demotion.His sense of honor is still intact and when he meets the beautiful Isabella,the rebels' Passionaria ,he is ripe for rehabilitation.

If you forget history-and the "cultural"lines at the beginning-you have a watchable adventures movie which begins as a western ,continues as some kind of pirate tale and ends with a long walk through the jungle.

As for Ladd,he did much worse than that :" guns of the Timberland" and mainly "Orazio e Curiazo " in which he plays like a zombie.

Alan Ladd plays Cash Adams, an ex-West Point officer who was dishonorably discharged from the military. Now he's a gun runner selling weapons to the highest bidder. He arrives in Tampa to sell guns to Cubans, who are fighting Spanish oppressors. Right away he's thrown a curve when he is told he must deliver the weapons to Cuba before he is paid. It is a switch of plans but he agrees but for double the original price. He delivers the cargo to large paddle boat operated by Captain Jones (Chill Wills). There, he is surprise to see Clay Pike (Lloyd Nolan), an old nemesis who is also selling weapons to Cuba.

Adams tells anyone who will listen that he is only interested in money. The viewer suspects that Adams doesn't quite believe that himself. On the boat, we meet Dona Isabella (Rossana Podesta), a Cuban patriot, who has been collecting funds in America. It becomes apparent that the rivalry Pike and Adams runs very deep and the two men seem to hate each other.

The boat arrives in Cuba, but there is another change of plan. The Spanish now control the roads. So the weapons will have to be transported through the heavy bush and jungle.There are a couple of close shaves but the group eventually manage to deliver the weapons to the specified destination. Adams learns that the Cubans were attacked by the Spanish and have gone into hiding. Pike has had too many changes to the plan and too many scrapes with death. He decides right then and there that they will forget the delivery and sell the weapons to the Spanish. Adams disagrees with his proposal.

Now the long running battle between the two men will come to a close. The fight to the death that both men had envisioned is about to take place. If Pike wins, the weapons will be sold to the Spanish. If Adams wins, they continue on in their journey to deliver the weapons. It's a solid little adventure film. The two leads, Nolan and Ladd, run the show and deliver as one would expect. Some reviewers really seem to dislike the film. It's no masterpiece, but a typical 50's adventure film, aimed at the youngsters.

I thought Alan Ladd would have produced this movie thru his Jaguar Production company, but no. Very strange. Anyway, I don't think it would have changed anything.... It is a western set in Cuba, no more no less the predictable and common Warner and Gordon Douglas association result. Nothing special to notice. Everything is efficient, a good time waster, as any Gordon Douglas's film. Alan Ladd is as wooden as usual too, but that belonged to his "charm". Rossana Podesta proceeds here her Hollywood adventure shortly after HELEN OF TROY, made by Robert Wise, the very same year. So, don't despise this adventure movie, even if it is not a masterpiece.

I admit that this film is far from great, but it is entertaining enough to get you through a rainy night. Alan Ladd has good on screen chemistry with Lloyd Nolan and the two off screen friends play well off each other. Again, they are not Redford and Newman, but they both give a decent enough performance. So, if you are a fan of Alan Ladd, you will find this easily forgetful film decent entertainment. If not, you haven't lost much.

It's not easy to explain what went wrong with SANTIAGO. It has a basic good story, a top-level cast, and an experienced director; yet it lies virtually flat as a pancake as it unravels on screen. It suffers a serious failure to involve the audience in either the adventure or the romance.

This picture was made by Alan Ladd's production company. To Ladd's credit it's next to impossible to see this picture. Never issued in VHS or DVD, never re-issued, difficult to ever find a listing on eBay.

Leave this one alone and seek out Iron Mistress, Boy on a Dolphin, or two dozen other very good films starring Alan Ladd.