The Bribe (1949)

[dfordoom]

<i>The Bribe</i>, a 1949 noir-influenced crime movie directed by Robert Z. Leonard, is a movie that has a fairly poor reputation. I think it’s actually rather good. Robert Taylor is a federal agent tracking gunrunners somewhere in the Caribbean who finds himself tempted by corruption. It boasts a fabulous cast. There’s Vincent Price, giving a somewhat creepy performance as only he could. And there’s Charles Laughton also, and anything with Charles Laughton is worth watching and he’s in sparkling form in this one. Then there are two actors who seem to be considered the weak links in this movie, a judgment that I strongly disagree with. Firstly there’s Ava Gardner. She looks unbelievably gorgeous and sexy, and I think her performance is more than competent. And she resists the temptation to over-act. And then there’s Robert Taylor. He’d been a huge star in his matinee idol days (although never taken seriously as an actor) but those days were behind him by 1949. The boyish good looks were fading. He found himself playing much darker roles, and (in my opinion) he found himself as an actor. In movies like <i>Party Girl</i> and <i>Rogue Cop</i> he played characters who were world-weary, cynical and corrupt and he played them extremely well. He made them dark and often violent, but still human and haunted by the ideals they had abandoned along the way. The Robert Taylor of the 1950s is one of the most under-rated and unfairly neglected of Hollywood actors. <i>The Bribe</i> was the beginning of this period in his career.

It’s also nicely atmospheric in a kind of tropical noir way, and provides plenty of entertainment. It has well fleshed out characters and it has genuine drama, and I recommend it.

[MikeBSG]

This is the movie that "Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid" (the Steve Martin noir parody) lifts the climax from.

Shortly after "Dead men" came out, the UHF station in Cleveland aired "The Bribe." I watched it, but it was mostly to find the scenes that the Carl Reiner-directed film lifted.

The climactic gunfight during the carnival sparkler display has to be one of the most stylish shootouts I've ever seen.

[klondike]

> "The boyish good looks were fading. He found himself playing much darker roles, and (in my opinion) he found himself as an actor. In movies like <i>Party Girl</i> and <i>Rogue Cop</i> he played characters who were world-weary, cynical and corrupt and he played them extremely well. He made them dark and often violent, but still human and haunted by the ideals they had abandoned along the way. The Robert Taylor of the 1950s is one of the most under-rated and unfairly neglected of Hollywood actors. <i>The Bribe</i> was the beginning of this period in his career. "

You're dead on the money there, DfD!
And for me, those insights into Taylor's twilight roles show up nowhere in starker contrast than in '59's "The House of the Seven Hawks", a cat-&-mouse tale of red herrings & fabled contraband, played out across the postwar Rhineland & Baltic shorelines; a moody, texture-rich little popcorn-muncher that promises a lot of stylized thrills, and frankly, gets around to delivering very little . . but you'd never guess watching RT go through his paces! The man gave so much more than this meager script called for, in every nuance of dialogue & physicality, that you could almost recommend this little chestnut . .
Almost, but not quite . . .
Sorry, Bob . . . and thanks for the memories, anyway.

Klondike

[dfordoom]

The man gave so much more than this meager script called for, i

That's something that always impresses me in an actor - giving it everything you've got even when the movie really isn't worth it.

[MissGoddess]

I agree with you 100% d4d---this is a good one and it's one of my favorite of Taylor's pairings with Ava (they worked together in Knights of the Round Table and Ride, Vacquero!). I also think Taylor did find himself as an actor by the 1950s---though I would go back to Johnny Eager as being his first real jump into a different persona. He's fantastic in that one and Lana Turner makes a beautiful foil.

Miss G