I added a bunch of noirs a while back and I'm just now getting to them. This one is billed as a noir comedy, so it's less bleak than most of the genre.Dan Milner (Robert Mitchum) is a professional gambler who has hit a string of bad luck. He has just returned from a stint in jail when a shady gangster makes him a too-good-to-be-true offer: $50,000 in exchange for meeting a guy at a Mexican resort. Dan is nobody's fool, however, and retains the proper level of suspicion about his newfound benefactor. He shares a chartered plane down to Morros Resort with Lenore Brent (Jane Russell), a wealthy socialite who sings for kicks. Lenore and Dan strike up an easy friendship but her heart is set on landing acclaimed actor Mark Cardigan (Vincent Price). The resort is filled with all types of fish, and even a couple of sharks, like Myron (Jim Backus), a friendly guy who's just a little too interested in newlyweds Jennie and Milton Stone (Leslie Banning and Richard Bergren). Dan has to discover what he means to deported kingpin Nick Ferraro (Raymond Burr) before it's too late.
According to the Netflix sleeve, this was developed as a star vehicle for Jane Russell. It does showcase her quite a bit, but this is Mitchum's show. Without his hangdog, cynical face this would just be another fluffy romantic comedy. It's nice to see Vincent Price as something other than King of Horror and this is definitely the youngest I've seen Raymond Burr. Jim Backus looks pretty much exactly the same as he did on Gilligan's Island, though, so you should recognize him right off.
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