The Bribe

The reflective voice-over narration was a staple of film noir, but here it boasts the conceit of Robert Taylor addressing it to himself in the second person ("You..."). That curious choice informs the first half of The Bribe, told in flashback; midway, we catch up to the present and the droning ceases. Starting as a routine foreign-intrigue drama -- something about surplus airplane motors, but who cares -- set in an island off Central America called Carlota (or sometimes Carlotta; the film can't quite decide), the film boasts a top-notch cast: Taylor, Ava Gardner, John Hodiak, Vincent Price and Charles Laughton, who could be either the most actorly of hams or the hammiest of actors but here opts for the latter. Most of the way through it's not bad, but in its second half the tone darkens noticeably, when director Leonard decides to treat us to some stylistic flourishes. The over-the-top, Wellsian-Hitchcockian climax is (literally) pyrotechnic, and actually stands as one of the more memorable sound-and-light shows in the whole noir cycle.

The Bribe (1949)

A loaded cast and crew make this an interesting draw (only the director Robert Leonard is little known to me, though he has two Best Director nominations). But really: Ava Gardner in a dramatic noir, with Robert Taylor the male lead (including a very noir voiceover to start). Throw in Charles Laughton and Vincent Price in smaller roles, and Joseph Ruttenberg doing cinematography and Miklos Rozsa the music. And it starts great, in a lonely room in Central America, rain pouring down the windows at night. And then the flashbacks begin. Maybe all this makes me a sucker. I expected a lot even with the clichés pouring on. But we have a formula noir here with all the elements exaggerated and none of them missed--the woman is even a nightclub singer, and wait for the drug in the drink later on. If you are willing to enjoy the form rather than the specifics of the movie, you have your film. It's almost great, and might someday be considered a classic simply because it makes so clear the elements of that form (the noir-alienated male, femme fatale, flashbacks, dramatic lighting, crime and treachery, short clipped phrases). It's so good at all this, it became the model for the comic send-up, "Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid." But in a way this isn't fair, because the movie does work on its own, despite its lack of originality. It grows and gets better as you go, and the consistency of the production and the solidity of the plot make it worth seeing. Gardner is not great in the way some leading noir females are, but she has her sculptural poise and is still young as an actress. Taylor has sort of the same problem of not quite rising to the needs of the role, but he is fine. The fact that the two of them are not "amazing" is one of the holdbacks of the film--lots of noirs have formula plots but have such great acting it doesn't matter a bit. So Laughton, then, rising to the occasion, is really amazing. I've heard his performance called campy, but I don't think so, not for the genre. It's subtle, and if he's a character, he's not a caricature. Price, also good, has a someone limited role. Until the end. The final ten minutes is a film wonder. If you can't watch the whole thing for some reason, you can still be thrilled by the ending. The drama, the lighting, the photography, the pace and editing, it's all unparalleled.

"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.

Federal agent Rigby (Robert Taylor) is sent to South America to stop a group smuggling aircraft engines, but falls for an alluring singer (Ava Gardner), who just happens to be the wife of one of the main suspects.

After reading not very positive reviews of this, I went into The Bribe with low expectations. It's got a great cast though: Robert Taylor, Ava Gardner, Charles Laughton, Vincent Price and John Hodiak.

I was pleasantly surprised. Being an MGM film, the set design, costumes and cinematography were top notch. The overwrought script and silly narration bog the film down a bit.

Taylor is his usual stolid self, Gardner was quite appealing (and beautiful as ever), while Price was good as the main baddie. However, the best actor is easily Charles Laughton. He gives an excellent performance as a henchman constantly complaining about his bad feet.

There's some good action sequences, especially the finale (directed by Vincente Minnelli!), involving a chase through a fireworks display. Good fun.

Robert Taylor is an FBI man looking into a racket south of the border of black marketeers stealing and selling war surplus material, in this case airplane motors.

The story takes him to Central America where he meets up with a debonair sportsman, Vincent Price, a rather seedy character with sore and sweaty feet, Charles Laughton and a husband and wife John Hodiak and Ava Gardner stranded in the tropics.

They're all suspects, but Taylor is quite ready to forget his job with Ava Gardner around. He wouldn't be the first guy to think with his hormones where she's concerned. That's what I'm talking about when I say more than one kind of bribe.

The story is pretty slow moving though. Taylor seems to have the evidence he needs or where to get it. But the plot does drag on. The film seems to rely on the attractiveness of the leads to keep the audience interested.

There are two good scenes, one where Taylor almost becomes a shark's lunch and the climax where the chief villain meets a pyrotechnical end.

If you like the cast involved, The Bribe is probably time well spent.