Looks like Paramount decided to make a version of The Maltese Falcon (1941), in Vista Vision, no less. Frankly, I would have preferred good old b&w for the noir material, but then who's going to leave their new-fangled 1955 TV for more b&w. The plot may be familiar— a ruthless spider woman tricks a fall guy for insurance money– but it's still slickly done. Then too, Payne grimaces appropriately as schemes unfold around him, while Murphy looks the part of a deadly bon-bon. Still, she lacks that inner spider dimension that Mary Astor revealed so tellingly in the original. And what about ex-wrestler Sandor Szabo as what else but a gruesome thug. I had trouble following all the twists and turns of who did what to whom, but I guess it all got explained in the wrap. Too bad production didn't work in more raw evil since director Karlson can really make you feel it. No this is no Phenix City Story (1955) or Kansas City Confidential (1952), the culmination of Karlson's career, at least in my little book. But the results are still engaging, thanks to Payne, a sensually recumbent Murphy, and a fat guy not named Sydney Greenstreet.

Actually this film is below boiler plate it is poor quality. You know where the ruby is from the get go...and nothing that is supposed to be suspenseful is--the denouement has zero suspense.The other reviews cover the story.... femme fatale gets caught. A lot of film-noirs are very intelligently written not this one!= pure chaff...no grain here.I kind of liked the prequel to James Bond villains with the man in the wheel chair with a wonderful British dead pan accent.Spanish was making its first in roads into Hollywood at that time-- too many of the actors looked like Gringos smeared with tons of dark make up...but there was a surprising amount of authentic Spanish.Don't rent or watch unless you like the actors as other reviewers did.

A guy gets hired to find someone's ruby and some stuff happens. Sorry to be so vague, but it's a nondescript kind of movie. Very familiar scenario with the usual shadowy characters, convoluted backstory, femme fatale, double-crosses, witnesses suddenly getting killed, and so forth. It's executed well enough but has little spark. Earlier Phil Karlson directed John Payne in 99 RIVER STREET and KANSAS CITY CONFIDENTIAL, both much more exciting and memorable films. Not that Payne is bad here, nor is the direction, it's just a meh movie. It is a joy to see Francis L. Sullivan... although he doesn't much screen time, he does have a hell of an exit scene. As for the visual style, it's a VistaVision Technicolor production... unfortunately my copy was fullscreen, faded and damaged, so I can't really comment. Worthwhile if you really need a noir fix, but pretty bland.

This is a decent film noir production. It stars John Payne in the latter portion of his career--when he was no longer a pretty-boy or light-weight singer. He was good as an angry noir hero and I certainly thought that he was up to the task. However, the plot is another story. While it's not bad, it's VERY, VERY familiar--like the writer was simply regurgitating portions of other movies he'd recently seen. In MANY ways, it's a reworking of "The Maltese Falcon" that is set in Mexico--and even has a similar sort of dame and a fat guy doing a Sidney Greenstreet imitation! It is also like several other B-movies I've seen over the years. Nothing particularly original about this one. It's got a few weaknesses (the woman is so OBVIOUSLY evil yet our hero doesn't recognize this for the longest time--even though he's a well-educated guy!) and about all you'd expect from a film of this sort--double-crosses, murders and the like. A decent time-passer but no more.