not horrible nor great

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

Robert Taylor is his usually surly self in this sluggish crime drama. Playing a federal agent, Taylor tediously supplies voice over on how he is assigned to catch smugglers stealing plane engines in South America. Part of the gang is Ava Gardner. She is legendary as a Hollywood sex goddess and I'm still waiting to see her in just one effective role as a femme fatale. She's pretty much a goody two shoes here and does little to show off her sultry assets. The pace is brutal as the film plods ahead with little or no suspense. This film is a complete waste of time despite what seems on the surface to be a decent cast. This is the bottom of the barrel where crime dramas of the 40's are concerned. Try, 'Out of The Past' with Robert Mitchum and Jane Greer instead.

This one really works, because the performances from the stars are so strong. Robert Z. Leonard was the director, and he had worked before with three of the male leads, Robert Taylor, Charles Laughton, and John Hodiak, so it was an old pals' act. Vincent Price is also in the cast, being creepy as usual. Into this mix steps the amazing Ava Gardner, aged 27, slim as a withy and already a veteran of numerous films, such as as the powerful noir, WHISTLESTOP (1946, see my review). Everything is very intense, and frankly I believe that apart from ADVISE AND CONSENT (1962) I never saw a better performance by Charles Laughton. This is one of those confusing stories where it is not possible to be certain who is a good guy and who is a bad guy, not unsimilar to much of that strange thing we live sometimes called Life. Robert Taylor, with his calm and commanding voice and his authoritative presence, is an undercover cop, but will he compromise his principles for love and accept a bribe? Or indeed will he be killed if he fails to accept the bribe? Is Ava Gardner a wicked siren or an innocent victim? Is John Hodiak a scheming conniver or a pathetic dying man with a heart condition? Is Charles Laughton as stupid as he looks, or is he as clever as a fox? And if he is clever, then whose side is he on? Or is there any side for him but his own? All of these ambiguities add vastly to the suspense. The film is set in a fictional island off the coast of Central America called Carlota. In fact, the only real Carlota Island is in the Philippines. But never mind, this is a movie. The War is over and a lot of military scrap is being sold, but mixed amongst the scrap are a lot of military airplane engines which are being stolen and sold at high prices in a scam by criminals. Taylor is sent from the USA to investigate, though he has no powers of arrest in this foreign location. He is told that Hodiak and his wife Gardner are suspects. Investigating Ava Gardner is something anybody would like to do, and Taylor succumbs immediately to her charms, from which in any case no man was safe. (Those lingering looks, and lines such as 'Why don't you kiss me?', make temptation overpowering.) Well, it is all good, indeed very good, Hollywood stuff, and entertaining aplenty. And trying to figure out who the real criminals are, and wondering about Ava Gardner (in between admiring her) keeps you engaged all the way.

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!

"The Bribe" is a somewhat slow noir drama starring Robert Taylor, Ava Gardner, Charles Laughton, John Hodiak, and Vincent Price. With a cast like that, nothing is all bad. Though the story drags in spots and the bad guys are somewhat obvious, it still makes for good viewing. Taylor is Rigby, a fed investigating war surplus violations involving the sale of airplane motors in a place called Carlotta in South America. The suspects have been narrowed down to two Americans, Tug Hintten (Hodiak) and his wife, Elizabeth, a singer (Gardner). Once in Carlotta, Rigby meets J.J. Bealer, portrayed by Charles Laughton, and Carwood (Vincent Price). They're worth watching, too, though Rigby becomes instantly distracted by Elizabeth. Their love story develops overnight, which might seem strange, but it's Ava at her most gorgeous and Taylor at his most ruggedly handsome. You can hardly blame either one of them. The questions for Rigby are: Where are the motors being hidden, who's the head guy, who's involved...and how involved is Elizabeth? The movie, with the exception of the finale, is fairly routine stuff. Laughton and Price have the best roles. Laughton is fabulous as a slovenly loser whose feet hurt, and Price is excellent. Everyone else is good, including Hodiak, his career in major nosedive as he appears in a supporting role, though a showy one as a drunk with a weak heart. The big action takes place at the finale, which is exciting and visually marvelous. We could have used a little more of that type of thing throughout the film.