Singapore

Before it became the modern miracle of cheerless, nose-to-the-grindstone capitalism, Singapore had a past; in the opening years of the Cold War, it was known as Red City. John Brahm's romantic intrigue, set just before and after World War II, evokes that shady period, using the city-state at the tip of the Maylay peninsula as another Oriental port of intrigue, like Shanghai or Macao.

Fred MacMurray had been a smuggler as the war drew close; when the Japanese attacked, he lost both a fortune in pearls and his fiancee, Ava Gardner, who was presumed killed. Now it's 1946 and, returning to retrieve the pearls he'd hidden, catches sight of Gardner, now married but with no memory of her past -- or theirs. In his quest to restore both pieces of his pre-war bliss, he must overcome multiple obstacles: a shrewed British colonial official; Gardner's possessive, rich husband; and a criminal gang headed by Thomas Gomez, who's also after those pearls.

Though there's a lot packed into it, Singapore's plot stays pretty thin, but Brahm makes the most of what he has to work with. A craftsmanlike if uneven director, he contributed several installments to the noir cycle (Hangover Square, The Locket, the Brasher Doubloon). His work rarely rose to the heights of inspiration reached by fellow European emigres like Fritz Lang, Robert Siodmak or Billy Wilder, and Singapore was his swan song to Hollywood (he ended up in television).

At first glance, it might seem a recipe for folly to team MacMurray with the sultry Gardner. But he had survived being matched against Barbara Stanwyck (and more than once), while her fiery reputation owed more to her off-screen life than to her film roles. So no sparks fly, but the story gets told. Singapore remains a stylish -- Brahm sets those ceiling fans spinning -- if lightweight romantic thriller (all told, it's two or three cuts above John Farrow's somewhat similar Calcutta of the same year).

Singapore is a mix of crime and romance, Matt Gordon has just returned to Singapore from the war, where he reminisces about his lost love who he thought had died during a Japanese bombing.

As a pearl smuggler, he has a second reason to return, hidden pearls that he has stashed in a hotel room and that he hopes to get his hands on again.

When he discovers that his lost love who is believed to be dead, is still alive but has amnesia,and is now married to someone else and no longer knows anything about her past with him, things become a lot more complicated for him.

Fred Macmurray once again in a serious role, and he does it properly, Ava Gardner is again a sight to see, their romance is not very well developed, but who cares.

Great mix between a touch of crime and romance.

Fred Macmurray played one unforgettable role as Walter Neff in "Double Indemnity" (1944) and I cannot quite separate him from this role when I see FM perform in other films like "Singapore" where he plays Matt Gordon a pearl smuggler.I fervently believe the best acted performances come from the actor having an affinity or some actual practical experience of the role in real life.I am not saying FM was into insurance fraud but he looked more comfortable in an American setting.The plot has been adequately commented on by other reviewers above, most notably by Terrell-4 from San Antonio Texas, whose review I commend.

There were a few things I found irritating and getting a second rate TV director will not produce a first class film.First, after Ava Gardner had being roughed up by one of the "baddies" to get her to talk, there was not a blemish, bruise or mark on her Venus like face.When FM wants to pay for his bar bills he decides how much he will pay leaving some notes on the table, without waiting to receive a bill - I noticed he did this on at least two occasions.Yet again actors (FM) appear to be able to walk through other guests hotel bedroom doors or magically have the right key in their pockets, this is a general continuity criticism of films of this era; so much for hotel security.What is an American gangster doing in Singapore? One of the "heavies" sounded like he came from 1920s Chicage!

On the plus side I liked Roland Culver's performance as plantation manager van Leiden who played an honest man who is prepared to give up his Venus like wife because he knows she really loves Walter Neff (sorry FM).Richard Haydn for once plays it straight as the police commissioner in colonial Singapore on the trail of local malefactors and I hardly recognised him compared to say his performance as Mr Wilson in "Cluny Brown" (1946).

Taken all together I found it enjoyable but uneven and therefore rated it 6/10.

On her way up the Hollywood ladder MGM loaned Ava Gardner out for this potboiler adventure film Singapore. As the area suggests romance and mystery just the title alone would bring in a few customers at the box office. In fact Singapore still is an area of intrigue though now enjoying a prosperity that could not have been imagined when this film was made.

Fred MacMurray and Ava Gardner are a pair of star crossed lovers who marry just before the Japanese invade and occupy the city. MacMurray has a fortune in pearls that he stashes and while trying to retrieve them the bombs are dropped and he thinks Gardner is killed. He barely gets away in his schooner with other refugees without pearls and without Ava who he married just before the attack.

After the war Fred's back to get his pearls, but he sees Ava now married to Roland Culver and with a bad case of amnesia. And he's got other problems as villains Thomas Gomez and George Lloyd want them as well.

Singapore was created on the Universal back lot and didn't have the advantage that its remake Istanbul had with color and location shooting. But they did make a better film though not all that much better. It's been compared to Casablanca by many to the detriment of Singapore. But those letters of transit that will allow two people, which two to escape and join the fight against Nazism are a much bigger prize than Fred's pearls. You care a lot more about Bogey, Bergman, and Henreid than the triangle here. And this film didn't have As Time Goes By either.

MacMurray and Gardner also don't have the chemistry that Bogey and Bergman do. But that's not fair, who else ever did?

Singapore is your routine potboiler another film MacMurray was grabbing for the paycheck after he left Paramount. As for Ava after The Killers and The Hucksters it was not a step down, but just keeping her on the same career plateau as before.

Ava Gardner is such a pleasure to look at, even a B movie in which she plays makes my time worthwhile .Actually,Fred McMurray has got pearls and a gem .The screenplay is far-fetched -with an improbable outcome- and includes smuggling,war (no battles or camp of prisoners though),and even amnesia -but the viewer is not taken in by it a single minute ;there is of course the usual flashback ,which can be found in almost all the films noirs of the era.Compared to "the killers" ,Gardner's precedent movie ,it's obvious Brahm is no match for Siodmak.A couple of tourists -the kind of people we often see in the hotels- provides the comic relief.If you do not ask too much ,it's pretty entertaining and well acted.