L'affaire de Trinidad

In Port of Spain, Trinidad, the mediocre painter Neal Emery is found dead apparently after committing suicide. Inspector Smythe (Torin Thatcher) seeks out Neal's wife, the dancer Chris Emery (Rita Hayworth) that is the lead attraction of the Caribe night-club to tell her about the death of her husband. Soon Smythe finds that Neal actually was murdered and his prime suspect is Neal's friend, the wealthy Max Fabian (Alexander Scourby) and has eyes on Chris. Smythe asks Chris to spy Fabian to find an evidence to arrest him.

Meanwhile Neal's brother Steve Emery (Glenn Ford) unexpectedly arrives in Trinidad to visit his brother and learns that his brother had committed suicide, but he does not believe on the official statement. He stays at Chris house and decides to investigate the murder of his brother. Soon Chris and Steve fall in love with each other, but Chris cannot tell to him the reason why she continues to meet Fabian.

"Affair in Trinidad" is a film-noir with a not well developed story where Rita Hayworth steals the movie and makes it worthy. Glenn Ford's character is too nervous and shows no chemistry with Rita Hayworth. Actually there is nothing to explain why the offensive Steve and Chris falling in love with each other. The cinematography is magnificent and the plot is reasonable, but the rushed conclusion ruins this film-noir. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Uma Viúva em Trinidad" ("A Widow in Trinidad")

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.

This highly entertaining movie was the return of Rita Hayworth to the screen after a brief flirtation with married life and screen retirement. For her comeback, to establish back with the graces of the movie buying public, she is teamed with Glenn Ford who starred with her in her biggest and most popular hit Gilda. This was no guarantee for box office magic because an even bigger budgeted movie "Carmen" starring the aforementioned tanked in 1948. But that was a unoperatic take on the famous opera story Carmen with a woefully miscast Glenn Ford in a Tyrone Power like role. Avoid that movie. But going back here to the mystery and intrigue of Gilda, this movie was a box office hit unlike the earlier comment mistakenly claimed and was one of the 23 biggest hits of its year. ( I don't know the exact rank). And Glenn Ford was wooed away from Columbia by MGM with a bigger paycheck and Hayworth stayed on at Columbia through the late fifties. The plot a mismash of Notorious and the earlier Gilda as Hayworth plays the temptress who is really an innocent who all men cannot resist. Her husband is murdered and his brother shows up to find things more fishy than they really are. One thing about Hayworth, she could hoof for sure and sell sex through dance and the two musical numbers are a delight. Forlorn shadows, dark passages, whispers in the dark follow as Vincent Sherman, a true craftsman, if not an auteur (I do not believe an auteur is superior to a craftsman. An auteur just has a regular theme in the movies he/she directs.) brings sharp direction and well-earned suspense to this fine movie. Catch it whenever it airs or better, just rent it.

Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford re-team for "Affair in Trinidad," a 1952 film also starring Alexander Scourby, Juanita Moore and Valerie Bettis. Hayworth plays Chris Emery, a nightclub performer whose husband Neil dies by apparent suicide that turns out to be murder. His brother Steve (Ford) shows up on the day of the inquest, having received a letter from Neil on the day he died. He assumes the worst about his widowed sister-in-law and her relationship with a wealthy man, Max Fabian (Scourby).

Either I dosed off or the actual mystery was never fully explained. It was explained sort of, but I was never clear what Rita, her husband, or the people in Max's house had to do with it. The story, as the subject line indicates, is a gemisch of "Gilda" and "Notorious" and not as good as either one. Interestingly, the plot predates the Cuban missile crisis by 10 years. Totally amazing. For that alone, it's worth seeing.

Except for Ava Gardner, probably no actress defined the word "hot" like Rita Hayworth. For a woman who was painfully shy and didn't even want to be in show business, she sure could turn it on. And turn it on she does in two musical numbers, "I've Been Kissed Before" and "Trinidad Lady." She wears some gorgeous gowns, too. Glenn Ford and Rita make a wonderful team, certainly one of Hollywood's sexiest film love matches. Juanita Moore is excellent as the all-knowing maid, Dominique, and Alexander Scourby is an elegant villain.

"Affair in Trinidad" is well directed by Vincent Sherman with a nice, dark atmosphere, and one really believes it's Trinidad. Watching Rita Hayworth is never a waste of time; this isn't the greatest movie ever made, but Rita creates a few sparks.

When one approaches a 1940's title like 'Affair In Trinidad', you'll be hard pressed to figure that it's some sort of musical with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, or some madcap Marx Brothers comedy, not a hard edged murder mystery, yet that's what this badly titled movie is. Not that there's nothing wrong with the movie, I liked it. It's just the title is sort of curious. Rita Hayworth is a.. uh.. entertainer in very sleazy club (check out the people "returning" downstairs (cough) and keeps the people entertained by singing and dancing very suggestively to a song called "Trinidad Lady". Actually, she's SMOKING (as in hot!) in this scene, her dress and dancing are amazing. But soon, the police arrive on the scene, her husband has committed suicide, and they want to find out the reasons leading to his death. Glenn Ford, playing as steely jawed as Glenn Ford can, who plays his brother, wants to know too! From there, it's a whirlwind of deception, romance and thrills (well, not really), that is not really suspenseful, because we find out early on who did it, we just have to find out why (and that reason is a silly post-war hokum). Oh well, Hayworth IS pretty to look at, and Glenn Ford is great as usual, so the combination of the two is sorta fun to watch.