AFFAIR IN TRINIDAD (1952)

 After four years away from the cameras, Rita Hayworth, the reigning 'Love Goddess' of Hollywood, made a reluctant comeback in this enjoyable, if formulaic, romantic melodrama. Her last film had been a costumer entitled THE LOVES OF CARMEN (1948), opposite her GILDA (1946) co-star Glenn Ford. Then she married Prince Aly Khan,  became a princess herself, had another child, and tried to break away from the Hollywood rat race. But the marriage eventually fell apart and she was drawn back to her contract with Columbia Pictures, a relationship that had brought her great fame as well as great frustration. Supposedly, when she read the script for AFFAIR IN TRINIDAD, she through it across the room. However, she made the picture, with her own production company, and it turned out to be a bigger financial success than the legendary GILDA.

Set on the exotic tropical island of Trinidad, then a British colony, Miss Hayworth plays an American singer/dancer, Chris Emery, who struts her stuff in a night club. As the film opens, we learn that her husband, Neil, has been found dead, presumably by suicide. Chris is deeply upset by the news, even though she and Neil had been estranged for a long while. She testifies at the inquest that her husband had threatened suicide more than once. He was disheartened by his failure to establish himself as an artist. After the inquest, Chris is told by Inspector Smythe (Torin Thatcher) and a man from the American Consulate by the name of Anderson (Howard Wendell), that they now have evidence that Neil was murdered. They suspect that Max Fabian (Alexander Scourby), a wealthy friend of both Neil and Chris, may have been involved. They also reveal their suspicion that Fabian is involved in criminal, treasonous activity against the United States and the United Kingdom. They ask Chris to help them. Fabian is obviously attracted to Chris, so they convince her to encourage his attraction so that she can find evidence the police can use to arrest him.

Meanwhile, Steve Emery (Glenn Ford), Neil's brother, has arrived in Trinidad from the US to look into a possible job that Neil wrote him about. When he learns Neil is dead, he goes to the police station just in time for the inquest and hears Chris' testimony. Suspicious of Chris and her motives, he confronts her angrily at her home. Soon, however, he apologizes for his behavior and the two begin to bond. The police ask Chris not to tell Steve that she is helping their investigation, which causes confusion between the two, and only makes him continue to be suspicious of her.

One night Chris and Steve are having a rather awkward dinner at Max Fabian's house when four friends of his show up. They are Veronica Huebling (Valerie Bettis) and her husband Dr. Franz Huebling ( George Voskovek), Peter Bronec (Walter Kohler) and a Mr. Walters (Karel Stepanek). As Chris learns, these people are Fabian's henchmen in a scheme to steal military secrets and construct weapons in order to threaten the United States. Fabian's motivation is to increase his personal wealth. Chris gives this information to the police. By this time, Chris and Steve have fallen in love. But Steve is confused and angered by her attentiveness to Fabian. She realizes she can't tell Steve the truth yet, so she lies and tells him that she loves Fabian and intends to go away with him.

While the story is certainly predictable, I don't want to give any spoilers. This movie is too much fun to watch. Let me just say that a happy ending is in the cards. The good guys win, the bad guys lose. And two nice people in love sail away for America. What else would you expect in 1952? Personally, I expect it in 2021, although I'm almost always deeply disappointed.

The gorgeous Miss Hayworth may not have been thrilled to make this movie, but you would never know it. She gives an engaging, sympathetic performance. Her introduction to the story comes early in the film when we see her performing at the night club. Her scorching number is entitled, appropriately enough, Trinidad Lady. She enters the stage area while the band, all local natives, is playing and singing the provocative lyrics:

"A-chick-a-chick  boom-chick-boom

A-chick-a-chick  boom-chick-boom

Announces you're in the room with the Trinidad Lady

Your ticker goes BOOM BOOM BOOM 

For the Trinidad Lady"

And then, over to the Trinidad Lady, who warbles:

"It's only that I do what I love and love what I do

Can't help the mad desire that's deep inside of you

You realize the fault isn't mine, that you are to blame

You want what you can't have, and you're all the same."

Well. All right then. Pass me another Margharita.

Following her suggestive vocalization, the Trinidad Lady does a dance routine with the kind of sexy moves that could make Britney Spears look like Justin Timberlake. Miss Hayworth does another similar number later in the film, this time to a song entitled I've Been Kissed Before. The Boom-Chick-A-Boom factor is still in force. Chris Emery is kind of a one dimensional character, given that we know nothing about her life before she became the toast of Trinidad. But with her particular dimensions, who really cares? 

The Trinidad Lady goes to work.

Glenn Ford gives his usual, conflicted kind of performance, much like the character he played in Gilda. Rumor has it that he and Hayworth had a long term on-off love affair in real life. Whether or not that's true, they certainly have wonderful romantic chemistry on the screen. Alexander Scourby is perfectly subtle and elegantly evil as the duplicitous Max Fabian. He reminds me a lot of George Sanders, who could have played this role beautifully. 

Juanita Moore, the talented actress who will always be remembered for her Oscar nominated work in IMITATION OF LIFE (1959), appears as Chris Emery's West Indian housekeeper, Dominique. Wearing flowing native clothing, her head wrapped in a turban high enough to receive signals from outer space, Dominique runs the household and dispenses folksy wisdom almost every time she opens her mouth. When she comes to clear the table after Chris and Steve have eaten dinner, we get this exchange: 

Dominique: Why have you not eaten?

Chris: We weren't very hungry.

Dominique: No one can live on grief. Yesterday is yesterday. Tomorrow is tomorrow.

Chris: You forgot today.

Dominique: Today is already yesterday.

Later on she comes out with this serious revelation:

When one day is over, another day begins.

Having firmly established her mastery of all things temporal, Dominique proudly defines the function of a servant:

It is the prerogative of a good and loyal servant to be impertinent. 

Miss Moore plays this character with a completely straight face. I can imagine her having a lot of fun saying these lines.

Glenn Ford, Rita Hayworth and Juanita Moore

The biggest surprise is the actress Valerie Bettis as Veronica. I had never heard of her before, and it turns out she was only in two films, but had a long, successful career as a dancer and choreographer. In fact, she choreographed both of Rita Hayworth's dance numbers in AFFAIR IN TRINIDAD, and would work with the star again in SALOME. Miss Bettis explodes into this movie like a life force. Her onscreen persona is an uneasy combination of Bette Davis and Claire Trevor, with a dash of Ann Baxter added to the mix. When Veronica and Chris first meet, the sarcasm comes out fast and furious:

Veronica: Oh how do you do, Mrs. Emery? I've heard so much about you! I hope we're not too late for the floor show. When does it go on?

Chris: It seems to be on right now.

It's a shame Miss Bettis didn't make more films, as she had a commanding presence on the screen. It's interesting that when the two actresses did scenes together, Chris was always more subdued, not engaging in the kind of flamboyance that Veronica was so good at dishing out.

George Voskovec, Valerie Bettis and Glenn Ford

Another familiar character actor, Roy Glenn, showed up uncredited in one scene. With his distinctive deep voice, Glenn would go on to a long career, making his mark in classic films like CARMEN JONES (1954) and forever remembered as Sidney Poitier's father in GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER? (1967). The director was Vincent Sherman, a veteran of the Hollywood studio system. After his apprenticeship, he made his directorial debut with THE RETURN OF DR. X in 1939. He would go on to make ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT (1942), with Bogart, OLD ACQUAINTANCE (1943) and MR. SKEFFINGTON (1944), both with Bette Davis, as well as many other films for Warner Bros. 

While certainly no classic of the Golden Age of motion pictures, AFFAIR IN TRINIDAD is great fun on the level of pure entertainment. It has a little bit of everything you're looking for when you curl up on the couch on a rainy afternoon and want to escape into a black and white universe of exotic locales, intrigue, and Glenn Ford looking longingly at Rita Hayworth. I guess I can be grateful that Columbia Pictures insisted on Hayworth coming back to work.