Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

Too many characters, too many nonsensical plot-twists and an ugly view of post-war political intrigue, this seems forced and too perplexing to enjoy. Certainly a predecessor to the many cold war adventures of the 60's, this one isn't among the list of the classics of that genre. Surrounding lead Dan Duryea are some great character performers, but frankly there are way too many of them which made me lose interest after I recognized them.Steamy, foggy photography takes the Shanghai setting to mysterious places and if its attractive to look at, its forced at best. Surrounding the kidnapping of a nuclear scientist, this has good intentions but never really gets off the ground. There's of course a seductive femme fatal, Asian girls who speak very Americanized English and enough seedy characters to fill a dozen film noir. Duryea looks much aged and his anti-hero is a bit sleazy. Standing out is veteran villain Douglas Dumbrille and even Dr. Watson himself, Nigel Bruce, in his last film. Among the Asian actors is veteran Keye Luke. Gene Lockhart is typecast as his typical amoral businessman on the the side of the bad guys. As an early work of director Robert Aldrich, this shows his potential as a filmmaker but lacks in what made him so great later on: complex intrigue and mystery with a touch of the new wave. This lacks even the status of being an interesting failure.

Despite having seen him mentioned in a number of posts on IMDb's Film Noir board,I have somehow never got round to seeing a title by director Robert Aldrich.Taking a look at Film Noir movies released in 1954 recently,I was happy to spot a near-forgotten Aldrich film,which led to me excitingly getting ready to see the world being held for ransom.The plot:Singapore-Heading to a bar, Mike Callahan is gripped by Singapore leading racketeering gangster Johnny Chan.Planning to control the entire rubber industry in the city by keeping his stock hidden in a near by jungle,Chan reveals that he suspects Callahan is up to some dirty tricks,due to Callahan's friend Julian March and psychotic thug Guzik having recently taken over the location.Explaining to Chan that he has not seen his friend for ages,Callahan gets Chan to give him some time to find out what his friend has gotten involved in.Hoping to find info by meeting Marchs wife (and his former sweetheart) Frennessey March Callahan is shocked to find that Julian has completely disappeared from sight.As Callahan starts to search round the city for Julian,Julian sets his sights on kidnapping one of the world's leading nuclear scientist.View on the film:Filmed for 10 days, (with Aldrich taking the odd day off so that he could film some adverts in order to pay for post-production!) on a $90,000 budget and using most of the cast and sets from the TV series China Smith/Captain China,director Robert Aldrich gives the movie a tremendous Asia atmosphere,thanks to Aldrich using stark lights which transform the TV set into a boiling hot Singapore.Along with the heated atmosphere,Aldrich and cinematographer Joseph F. Biroc expertly use mirror shot angles to show the non-ruthless Film Noir world which Callahan desires to be in.Whilst the screenplay did sadly suffer some cuts from the ratings board, (which included an important lesbian subplot)Lindsay Hardy and Hugo Butler (who was uncredited,due to being blacklisted) is still able to include some sly satirical nods to the Allied occupation of the far East during WWII,and also show themselves to be rather ahead of their time,by keeping away from featuring clichés associated with titles set in Asia at the time.Along with the satirical shots,the writers also create an excellent Film Noir world where Callahan soon discovers that friendships can turn into dusts in mere seconds.Looking round the smoke filled streets of Singapore, Dan Duryea gives a strong performance as Callahan,with Duryea showing Callahan's war scars to run deep in his murky relationship with Julian.Being Julian and Callahan's object of affection,the very pretty Marian Carr gives a wonderfully icy performance as femme fatale Frennessey March,whilst Patric Knowles gives an extremely charming,brash performance as Julian,with Knowles showing Julian to slowly lose his sanity,as he prepares to hold the world for ransom.

It may be just as well that Robert Aldrich is uncredited as director here because it would add little to his CV in terms of lustre. It's a ho-hum caper movie in an exotic-on-paper location, in this case a Singapore that makes no mention of Raffles hotel and was possibly inspired by and remains a poor-man's Macao, which was shot by Joe Von Sternberg around the same time. The slightly bizarre cast - Dan Duryea, Patrick Holt, Gene Hersholt, Reginald Denny, Arthur Shields, Nigel Bruce - contrive to seem as if they're acting in different films and the 'topical' theme of Atomic power now seems terribly dated. Just about watchable as a Late, Late Show offering but that's about the best you can give it, unless, of course, you're a Strother Martin completist for he turns up yet again in an uncredited 'bit'.

I taped World For Ransom when BBC2 screened it during the early hours recently. This is the time when they usually show these sort of movies and I found this one quite good.Set in Singapore, a group of people plot to kidnap a nuclear scientist who is one of only three people in the whole world who knows how to detonate the H-Bomb. We get to see plenty of people being killed, especially during the final scenes. There is also blackmail, double crossing and punch-ups.The cast includes Dan Duryea, Patric Knowles (How Green Was My Valley, The Wolf Man), Gene Lockhart (Lost In Space star June's dad) and Nigel Bruce (Dr Watson from the Basil Rathbone Sherlock Holmes movies) in his last movie.World For Ransom is quite good and is worth checking out.Rating: 3 stars out of 5.