The Bribe (1949)

Waste of time

Very well executed

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.

A federal agent tries to bust a stolen airplane motor ring in Central America, but ends up falling for the wife of one of the prime suspects. I've enjoyed Robert Taylor in other pictures (notably HIGH WALL) but here he's merely satisfactory, likable but too stiff. Ava Gardner fares slightly better, a little dull but with an appealing sultriness. As usual, it's the bad guys with the plum roles: Vincent Price and especially Charles Laughton with yet another memorable turn. Laughton is fast becoming one of my favorite actors, consistently the best thing about whatever he appears in. The main problem here is pacing. The first three-quarters are very slow, giving the appearance of doling out information and building the Taylor/Gardner relationship but not actually do much of either. One brief action scene breaks up the tedium, other than that it's rather uneventful until the final 25-30 minutes. Things do heat up nicely then, however, culminating in an amazing fireworks-illuminated climax. Laughton and the ending elevate this one enough to make it worthwhile.

Robert Taylor is a government agent sent to a fictional Hispanic country to track down a gang who is illegally making money off surplus airplane engines--a very esoteric subject to say the least. He is told that the government thinks it's one of two people who is involved with the gang--Mr. OR Mrs. Hintten (John Hodiak and Eva Gardner). When Taylor arrives, Mr. Hintten seems to thrust his wife into Taylor's lap and not surprisingly romantic sparks fly. Only later does Taylor learn that there are many more who are involved--and don't mind bribing or killing him to avoid being caught.THE BRIBE is a pretty good film, though with its stars (Robert Taylor, Eva Gardner, Vincent Price, Charles Laughton and John Hodiak) you'd expect more. And, in a rare case, I don't have a lot of specific complaints about the movie--its more that there is a general aura of slowness about the film. Despite it being a suspense film, it really lacked suspense--that is, up until the exciting finale. I think that there was just too much talking and scheming and not enough action or surprising twists.Not bad...just not all that memorable.

The music, the actors, the sets, the period all should add up to a fab film noir experience. Well, it's great to find out that legendary actors like Laughton and Price can choose the wrong roles. Laughton is hilarious with his clipped affected speech that reminds one of Bette Davis in her dotage. Price is on the sidelines training to become one of Edgar Allan Poe's villains . Ava is beautiful to look at and watch as a young actress but certainly not up to what she might have been. She fades in comparison to say Turner in 'Postman'. Hodiak gives a good performance but he appears to be trying to keep the whole thing afloat and he's not in enough scenes to accomplish that. Taylor seems to be mimicking Garfield and Dick Powell with the voice overs in a lot of the scenes. It just doesn't wash. The plot could've worked with a different cast like say Rita Hayworth, Orson Welles, and others who worked well together. These actors do try to their credit but they don't seem to muster any magic. The film is worth watching if you're a buff and love noir movies. The sets and lighting are fine!

If you like a full cast of great veteran actors, this B&W film is perfect to entertain you from beginning to the very end. Robert Taylor,(Rigby) is a Government Agent assigned to investigate the misuse of Government surplus from World War II and mostly airplane engines that were being smuggled out of Central America and sold to other countries. Rigby is given some information to lead him in the right direction to find out just who is involved in this operation. Ava Gardner, Elizabeth Hintten, is married to John Hodiak,(Tug Hintten) and Rigby gets very involved with this couple and especially Tug's wife. There is a creepy, dirty fat looking guy, played by Charles Laughton,(J.J. Bealer) who follows Rigby like his own shadow. Vincent Price,(Carwood) met Rigby on the airplane going to Central America and met him once again for a fishing trip to catch a swordfish and Carwood gets confused and throws the boat's engine into reverse and causes all kinds of problems. If you like veteran actors giving outstanding performances, this is the film for you.