John Payne and Phil Karlson were both dab hands at film noir, often together. This one doesn't quite make it.
It has its moments - such as an interesting opening where Payne is shot by a man in a wheelchair and then explains to a cop while smoking in an operating theatre (!) about what happened. It starts off well with Payne working in a casino and being asked by the man to find a ruby on a fictitious island.i
But once Payne arrives on the island, when the film gets better it gets more dull. There's too many scenes of him talking with his ex, Mary Murphy (who I wondered why didn't have a bigger career after The Wild One but after seeing her in this I know... she's just too ordinary, too girl next door). There's not enough plot.
The Maltese Falcon - which this aped - had lots going on: Sam Spade, his secretary, dead partner, partner's wife, Joel Cairo, Gutman, the gunman. This one has Murphy and the guy in the wheelchair and some crocodiles but that's about it.
It feels like it should be shot in black and white and made ten years ago. It's actually in colour and there's a few scenes outside but I felt the island setting wasn't really exploited - a few market scenes and a killer alligator lifted my hopes but there wasn't enough.
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