Il traditore dei mari

No big budget for that war spy movie, just the names of Edward G Robinson and Victor Mc Laglen. Not specially exciting story we've seen dozens time, this is a typical ordinary B movie you forget after the vision. The director is German and it is felt in the moody night scenes.

Robinson's career as a leading man was on the downslide at this point and he was jerkily moving into starring support roles like his turn in DOUBLE INDEMNITY when he made this one, a handsome Fox programmer with noir lighting in which his role is a bit of a retread, combining the lovesick dope of TIGER SHARK, the mature sea captain and some World War Two intrigue. He's got good players with him too, with Lynn Bari and Victor MacLaglen.... and when it came to playing a role cleanly and honestly in the movie theater, Robinson's only competition was Spencer Tracy. And if they have film footage of either of them reading the telephone book, it will be worth seeing. So this one is worth your time. Which you should have known when you saw his name on the cast list.

A discreet low-budget production but a true classic of the spy and war genre. Filmed and released during World War II, it undoubtedly serves a cautionary role for all those in the service of the war effort: the enemy is listening, always pay close attention.

The plot is quite simple but well narrated and developed. The actors are quite believable, though not spectacular. It's an average movie, but it's a good cinematic product, without great fanfare but without major disappointments, and it deserves to be seen. The only drawback is that its duration is a bit short, around 75 minutes, and everything seems to want to resolve quickly. Everything happens quite rapidly: an encounter, falling in love, a drink, marriage, betrayal, doubt, and the final outcome. In this short time, there's no room to delve into the characters or construct a more intriguing narrative, but alas, I fear the budget didn't allow for more; the war effort demanded enormous resources.

Oil tanker captain Edward G. Robinson picks up shipwreck survivors during WW2. Among them is pretty Lynn Bari. The middle-aged captain falls for her and the two are married, despite the objections of his friend and first mate, Victor McLaglen. Later, after his ship is sunk by a torpedo, his new bride is suspected of being a German agent. Eddie sets out to uncover the truth and hopefully clear her name.

Perhaps only in the fantasyland of movies can a woman as attractive as Lynn Bari be into a guy that looks like Edward G. Robinson (without him being rich, of course). I was able to keep my inner cynic in check on this part of the story. The rest of it is a little more far-fetched but I won't spoil all of it for you. Let's just say what Robinson does to investigate I've seen in older movies before and it always stretches credulity. Eddie's good and Lynn's not bad, either. Victor McLaglen is wasted in his blah part. It's a watchable WW2 flick. Robinson fans will like it more than most.

When sea captain Edward G. Robinson finds a naked woman in his bunk, it's quite a nice surprise. It sounds more scandalous than it is; his ship has just rescued a lifeboat of survivors from a U-boat attack, and there isn't enough room for everyone. Uninjured, but still tired and frightened, the very alluring Lynn Bari found her way into his room and settled in for a good night's sleep. In the morning, they have a fun and frisky conversation as he shaves and she slinks out of his bathrobe into his sweatshirt.

The first mate, Victor MacLaglan, warns Eddie G against falling for Lynn. She doesn't have a passport and could be trying to cozy up to him for less than admirable reasons. Eddie G is a red-blooded man and disregards his friend's warning. He takes her to a nightclub, gets rip-roaring drunk, dances the rumba, and wakes up to her kisses in bed. What? This movie was made in 1944, during the Production Code, wasn't it? Then how did all this naughtiness get past the censors?

You'll have to watch Tampico to find out. There are parts of the movie that are very good, but others really threaten to ruin the whole picture. I liked the romance and the full-fledged character of Eddie G; Lynn was also good in a tailor-made Linda Darnell role. If you're looking for a war movie, you might be disappointed. There's far less emphasis on the war than you'd initially expect.