I was hoping for a bit of colourful treasure hunting in the tropics, with action and sarongs, but while there is some diving, this is a mostly dull, talky tale about wills. On Jamaica, Ray Milland (looking too old and chubby really to play an adventurer, which is what this film needs) returns home from the wars to set up a boat business. He crosses with an old white Jamaican family living in a big mansion - mum's an old nag boozer (Carroll McComas), the son (Wendell Corey) is a drunk the daughter (Arlene Dahl) "works hard" in the field bossing the blacks around.
I think we're meant to find it sympathetic and to be on their side when there's doubt that they are meant to have inherited it (they pay minimal rent) and it could be owned by Michael Moore and Laura Elliot. Smooth Patric Knowles (stiff as ever) hires Milland to do some deep sea diving and Moore ends up dead.
What follows is not that gripping. The investigation is done by a local cop when really it should've been Milland. They set up Milland as a suspect but we know it's not going to be him because he's the hero. We know it's going to be Knowles because he acts, well, evil, whereas Corey has this romance with Elliot.
Corey tries but his character is terrible - going for the bottle whenever he doesn't get his way like a sook. I kept wanting to go to Elliot "run". Dahl isn't into Milland but he chases after her.I think McCormas' old lazy racist biddy is meant to be loveable.
These people were unpleasant to hang out with - they should've gone the whole hog and just made them awful.
It's lazily written too - the reveal of the killer is done by a witness just rocking up in a room and going "Knowles did it" and Knowles just meekly surrenders. And the end rips off Rebecca with black servant William Walker burning down the mansion so no one can get it. Which might have been interesting if they'd set it up but it was just yuck - the loyal dark servant trope in this film about white Jamaicans. Even worse the script has it that it was McComas' idea and she doesn't even idea.
There's some voodoo and a lack of atmosphere. The colour isn't but I really didn't like this film.
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