Certainly not as good as "Gilda", and nowhere even close to being as good as "Notorious", but I still find it a very enjoyable movie. I enjoyed the directing, the song/dance numbers, and was not bothered by the storyline that others on this site found weak. I like Glenn Ford, too, but I found his performance a little too much on the melodramatic side, and less on the believable side, but he was still enjoyable overall.
A couple of things reminded me of other films: 1) The moment when Rita opens the door to the guest house to find all the bad guys standing just outside waiting for her somehow reminded me of when Bob Cummings and Priscilla Lane enter the train car of circus freaks in "Saboteur"...both scenes were a little eerie...and both were very nice cinematic moments. The other comparison that was a bit distracting for me was 2) how much Alexander Scourby in "Affair" reminds me of Morris Carnovsky, Bogart's nemesis in "Dead Reckoning"...they have a very similar look, and their characters are also very much alike.
A previous reviewer knocked Rita Hayworth's performance as being lifeless...Yes, it could be that it was Rita's lack of enthusiasm, but I wouldn't know her frame of mind, so I don't know if that comment is fair for people to make...to me, I took it as her choice for the character...it made perfect sense for her to be dazed and detached...think about all that her character has suffered in a loveless marriage, an unfulfilling job, the grief she feels for her failed marriage, her husband's death, her own emotional death, then what she is forced into doing in terms of the lies, deceit, and intrigue for the police. Add to that her confusion over her feelings for her brother-in-law and is it any wonder that the character's head was swimming? I think Ms. Hayworth did a fine job with the role...and was she ever gorgeous, too!!
"Affair In Trinidad" will never be accused of being a masterpiece, but it is absolutely worth viewing if you're in the mood for some enjoyable, Noirish entertainment.
A couple of things reminded me of other films: 1) The moment when Rita opens the door to the guest house to find all the bad guys standing just outside waiting for her somehow reminded me of when Bob Cummings and Priscilla Lane enter the train car of circus freaks in "Saboteur"...both scenes were a little eerie...and both were very nice cinematic moments. The other comparison that was a bit distracting for me was 2) how much Alexander Scourby in "Affair" reminds me of Morris Carnovsky, Bogart's nemesis in "Dead Reckoning"...they have a very similar look, and their characters are also very much alike.
A previous reviewer knocked Rita Hayworth's performance as being lifeless...Yes, it could be that it was Rita's lack of enthusiasm, but I wouldn't know her frame of mind, so I don't know if that comment is fair for people to make...to me, I took it as her choice for the character...it made perfect sense for her to be dazed and detached...think about all that her character has suffered in a loveless marriage, an unfulfilling job, the grief she feels for her failed marriage, her husband's death, her own emotional death, then what she is forced into doing in terms of the lies, deceit, and intrigue for the police. Add to that her confusion over her feelings for her brother-in-law and is it any wonder that the character's head was swimming? I think Ms. Hayworth did a fine job with the role...and was she ever gorgeous, too!!
"Affair In Trinidad" will never be accused of being a masterpiece, but it is absolutely worth viewing if you're in the mood for some enjoyable, Noirish entertainment.