Plunder of the Sun (1953)

Director:

John Farrow

Writers:

David Dodge (novel)
Jonathan Latimer (screenplay)

Release Date:

26 August 1953 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Thriller

Plot:

An American insurance adjuster, stranded in Havana, becomes involved with an archaeologist and a collector...

Plot Keywords:

Treasure | Antiquities | Oaxaca Mexico | Havana Cuba | International Intrigue

Cast

Glenn Ford	...	Al Colby
Diana Lynn	...	Julie Barnes
Patricia Medina	...	Anna Luz
Francis L. Sullivan	...	Thomas Berrien
Sean McClory	...	Jefferson
Eduardo Noriega	...	Raul Cornejo
Julio Villarreal	...	Ulbaldo Navarro (as Julio Villareal)
Charles Rooner	...	Captain Bergman
Douglass Dumbrille	...	Consul (as Douglas Dumbrille)

Runtime:

81 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | USA:Approved (PCA #16295) | Sweden:15 | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

Churubusco Studios, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico

Company:

Wayne-Fellows Productions

Trivia:

Mona Barrie's last movie.

Quotes:

Al Colby: Drink's alright, just so it doesn't take you in the wrong direction.

Soundtrack:

Sin ella

Not a film to be treasured

I'm sure the primary reason that Glenn Ford and the rest of the cast did Plunder of the Sun is that they got a chance to film the whole story on location in Havana and later on in the Mexican city of Oaxaca. Pity they didn't shoot the thing in color.

I for one was disappointed that Francis L. Sullivan was killed right at the beginning of the film after he hires Glenn Ford to smuggle a small package into Mexico on board a ship that set sail from Havana. Sullivan is always good and I certainly looked forward to a film where he was once again the villainous mastermind.

What Ford was carrying was some ancient Aztec writings about a buried treasure located in Oaxaca. And then a whole bunch of people come into his life ready and willing to be his partner. Including the beautiful Patricia Medina and the trampy Diana Lynn. Lynn was surprisingly good as an alcoholic, poaching on the kind of parts Gloria Grahame took out a patent on. I wouldn't be surprised if Grahame wasn't who Batjac productions had in mind for the part originally.

My guess is that the film had a lot of relevant parts left on the cutting room floor. Scenes changed without any transition and characters seemed to be left without motivation. And Sean McClory really looked dumb in a blond wig. Detracted from his performance as a rapacious and disgraced archaeologist, an Indiana Jones gone to seed.

John Wayne produced this and had the good sense not to star.