Passion sous les tropiques

Drama/thriller from Paramount Pictures and director John Cromwell. Hendrik Heyst (Fredric March) lives alone on an isolated Southeast Asian island near Java. During one of his infrequent supply trips to a nearby town, he meets desperate showgirl Alma (Betty Field) who is on the run from some unsavory types. Hendrik decides to invite Alma back to his island to lie low for a while, but a trio of crooks led by the sinister Mr. Jones (Cedric Hardwicke) track them down, looking for the girl and the treasure they believe Hendrik has hidden away.

This is based on Joseph Conrad's novel of the same name, which I had previously seen adapted as a film in 1995, starring Willem DaFoe, Irene Jacob, and Sam Neill. I liked this version much more, as the filmmakers intended this to be an allegory on the U. S.'s unsustainable isolationist stance regarding WWII at the time. The acting is good, and I especially liked Hardwicke, an actor who I often dislike, perfectly cast as the creepy Mr. Jones. Jerome Cowan, using a high-pitched Cockney accent, is also a standout as Mr. Jones' sleazy "secretary". I may rate this even higher if I could see a better copy of it, as the one I watched was very washed out.