"Mystery in Mexico" is a pretty good crime film. However, it does suffer from a few writing difficulties....the worst of which occurs near the beginning of the film. An insurance investigator (William Lundigan) is looking for another insurance investigator who has gone missing...and possibly with a $200,000 necklace! The only possible lead is the missing man's sister--who is suddenly bound for Mexico. So he heads to Mexico as well and 'just happens to meet her' on the way to the plane. Now here is a serious problem with the film...he behaves like a boorish pig...sexually harassing the heck out of her during the trip. It's supposed to be some sort of 'meet cute'...but it comes off in 2019 as a guy who needs a sock in the nose. And, later in the film, she inexplicably falls for him!!
So how do I still give the film a 6? Well, the mystery is pretty good and it has a few nice twists. Plus, it's really neat that RKO actually filmed the movie in Mexico...and seeing the countryside and Mexico City was very nice and made it all seem real. Worth seeing....but some folks might really be annoyed by Lundigan's style! My, how times have changed...and in this case, for the better.
By the way, this film also features Ricardo Cortez as a Mexican guy. Well, truth be told, Cortez was really about as Mexican as Chow Mein! He was actually Jacob Krantz, born to Jewish Parents in New York City. Back in the 1920s, there was a Latino leading man craze--with Valentino the biggest star in the world. The studios wanted to capitalize on this and re-christened Krantz 'Ricardo Cortez'...and for many years fans thought he was Mexican. In fact, he didn't even speak Spanish and I was surprised to hear him speaking a bit in the film...though it also didn't sound all that authentic.
So how do I still give the film a 6? Well, the mystery is pretty good and it has a few nice twists. Plus, it's really neat that RKO actually filmed the movie in Mexico...and seeing the countryside and Mexico City was very nice and made it all seem real. Worth seeing....but some folks might really be annoyed by Lundigan's style! My, how times have changed...and in this case, for the better.
By the way, this film also features Ricardo Cortez as a Mexican guy. Well, truth be told, Cortez was really about as Mexican as Chow Mein! He was actually Jacob Krantz, born to Jewish Parents in New York City. Back in the 1920s, there was a Latino leading man craze--with Valentino the biggest star in the world. The studios wanted to capitalize on this and re-christened Krantz 'Ricardo Cortez'...and for many years fans thought he was Mexican. In fact, he didn't even speak Spanish and I was surprised to hear him speaking a bit in the film...though it also didn't sound all that authentic.