AFFAIR IN TRINIDAD [1952 / 2022] [Standard Edition] [Blu-ray] [UK Release] Glenn Ford and Rita Hayworth once again explode passionately on the screen in ‘AFFAIR IN TRINIDAD’
Six years after their success in the “film noir” classic ‘Gilda,’ Glenn Ford (‘The Undercover Man’ and ‘Experiment in Terror’) and Rita Hayworth (‘The Lady from Shanghai’) reunited for ‘AFFAIR IN TRINIDAD.’
When Caribbean nightclub dancer Chris Emery learns that her husband has been murdered, she teams with his brother Steve Emery to uncover the truth, and the pair stumbles into a treasonous plot involving Nazi rockets.
With its mixture of red-hot calypso and ice-cold murder, ‘AFFAIR IN TRINIDAD’ was a successful comeback for Rita Hayworth, and another “film noir” hit for director Vincent Sherman (‘The Garment Jungle’).
FILM FACT: With the film ‘AFFAIR IN TRINIDAD’ [1952] it was notable as Rita Hayworth's “comeback” film after four years away from Columbia Pictures, as a reteaming of the stars of the film ‘Gilda’ (1946) and for a fiery opening number in which Rita Hayworth dances barefoot to calypso music and the two superb dance sequences choreographed by Valerie Bettis who worked closely with Rita Hayworth, and Director of Photographer (in his final film) conjures up illicit atmospheres in the film through his inky Black-and-White cinematography. Rita Hayworth's singing voice is dubbed by Jo Ann Greer, who later also sang for her in ‘Miss Sadie Thompson’ and ‘Pal Joey.’ The ‘AFFAIR IN TRINIDAD’ film earned an estimated $2.7 million at the North American box office in 1952 and exceeded the film ‘Gilda’ by $1 million. In a contemporary review for The New York Times, critic Bosley Crowther panned the film as “as apparent and monotonous as a phonograph record on which the needle is stuck before it has travelled half the distance of the hour and forty minutes that it runs.” Bosley Crowther was especially critical of Rita Hayworth's performance in saying, “The demurely returning Miss Rita Hayworth proves no bargain after an absence of four years. In that time, we had probably forgotten what a mediocre actress she is, and now the bald fact — politely winked at in the past — hits one right between the eyes. Tawny Miss Rita Hayworth is and sometimes handsome in a highly shellacked and tailored way, but her acting is vastly inexpressive of anything but the postures of a doll.
Cast: Rita Hayworth, Glenn Ford, Alexander Scourby, Valerie Bettis, Torin Thatcher, Howard Wendell, Karel Stepanek, George Voskovec, Steven Geray, Walter Kohler, Juanita Moore, Gregg Martell, Mort Mills, Ralph Moody, Rama Bai (uncredited), Fred Baker (uncredited), Mary Bayless (uncredited), Don Blackman (uncredited), Robert Boon (uncredited), Tex Brodus (uncredited), Ivan Browning (uncredited), Steve Carruthers (uncredited), James Conaty (uncredited), Paul Cristo (uncredited), Ross Elliott (uncredited), Calvin Emery (uncredited), Joel Fluellen (uncredited), Roy Glenn (uncredited), Jo Ann Greer (uncredited), Don Kohler (uncredited), King Charles MacNiles (uncredited), Frank McLure (uncredited), Russell Meeker (uncredited), Harold Miller (uncredited), George Nardelli (uncredited), Kathleen O'Malley (uncredited), Leonidas Ossetynski (uncredited), John Parlow (uncredited), Foster H. Phinney (uncredited), Franz Roehn (uncredited), Paul Russell (uncredited), John Sherman (uncredited), Leslie Sketchley (uncredited), Bert Stevens (uncredited) and Albert Szabo (uncredited)
Director: Vincent Sherman
Producers: Rita Hayworth (uncredited), Vincent Sherman and Virginia Van Upp (uncredited)
Screenplay: James Gunn (screenplay), Oscar Saul (screenplay), Berne Giler (story) and Virginia Van Upp (story)
Composer: George Duning (uncredited)
Make-up Department: Clay Campbell (Make-up artist), Robert J. Schiffer (Make-up artist) (uncredited) and Helen Hunt (Hair stylist)
Costume Design: Jean Louis (gowns)
Choreographer: Valerie Bettis
Cinematography: Joseph Walker, A.S.C. (Director of Photography)
Image Resolution: 1080p (Black-and-White)
Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1
Audio: English: 1.0 LPCM Mono Audio
English: 2.0 Dolby Digital Stereo Audio
Subtitles: English
Running Time: 98 minutes
Region: Region B/2
Number of discs: 1
Studio: Columbia Pictures / Powerhouse Films / INDICATOR
Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: ‘AFFAIR IN TRINIDAD’ [1952] is a Caribbean spy thriller/film noir from 1952 that re-teamed the famous ‘Gilda’ co-stars Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford and Rita Hayworth plays Chris Emery, a va-va-va-voom vivacious nightclub dancer and singer who sets Port of Spain, Trinidad on fire every night at the Caribe Club.
After Chris Emery finishes her red hot song “Trinidad Lady,” where lush, ample Rita Hayworth sambas barefoot while putting her hands in that gorgeous red mane of hers and messing it all up while biting that sexy mouth of hers, Chris Emery learns from local police Inspector Smythe [Torin Thatcher] and American consul Anderson [Howard Wendell], that her artist husband Neal Emery has killed himself down at the docks. Police Inspector Smythe takes this opportunity to question Chris Emery about her closeness to Max Fabian [Alexander Scourby], an ultra-smooth local criminal “fixer” with plenty of dough who's made it quite clear around town that he has the hots for Chris Emery. It seems that Max Fabian recently paid Neal Emery an awful lot of money for his questionable paintings, arousing the interest of the suspicious police Inspector Smythe.
Chris Emery, totally fed up with the insinuations that she's a tramp, decides to leave Trinidad the next day, but she's stopped by police Inspector Smythe, who threatens to drag her already dingy good name right through the mud in a messy court case against Max Fabian – because they have enough evidence (including a witness) to at least harass Max Fabian over the death of Neal Emery – a death they now believe to be murder, not suicide. What police Inspector Smythe and Anderson really want, though, is for Chris Emery to go along with their plan to paper over Neal Emery's murder so that Chris Emery can get, ahem, close to Max Fabian. They suspect Max Fabian of buying and selling secrets detrimental to the security of Great Britain (Trinidad was a British colony at the time), but they don't have any real proof. That's where Chris Emery will come in and reluctantly (and rather illogically) agrees to the plan.
However, complications immediately arise when Chris Emery is confronted by Neal Emery's brother Steve Emery [Glenn Ford], a hotshot pilot who just received a letter from the seemingly happy Steve Emery, offering him a job down in Trinidad. Steve Emery can't understand how Chris Emery could testify in court that Neal Emery was a big downer, and he really can't believe that Neal Emery, according to Chris Emery, didn't touch her for years. Steve Emery smells a big, fat rat with everything going on, including the police's indifference to his suspicions about Neal Emery's “suicide,” but he decides to fall in love with Chris Emery anyway. But her insistence on being close to Max Fabian sets in motion a series of events that... aren't all that exciting. But Rita Hayworth does get to dance one more time before the hurried denouement.
Glenn Ford plays a pilot, Steve Emery, who arrives in Trinidad with a letter from his brother offering him a job. Upon arrival, he gets the news that his brother Neal Emery has killed himself. Not believing the suicide story, Steve Emery confronts his brother's widow; Chris Emery played by Rita Hayworth, and is helping the local police by going undercover and getting close to Max Fabian and is the prime suspect in her husband's death.
Four years before ‘AFFAIR IN TRINIDAD’ premiered in 1952, Rita Hayworth stunned the movie world when she retired from the silver screen at age 30 to marry millionaire playboy/politician Prince Ali Khan. Somewhere in that sentence the phrase, “...at the height of her career...” is missing, and for good reason. It's generally accepted that Hayworth's career as the preeminent "love goddess" of the 1940’s reached its peak with her iconic appearance in 1946's corrosively erotic “film noir” ‘Gilda,’ co-starring Glenn Ford. Subsequent film appearances paled in importance, with the financial flop of Orson Welles’ 1948 ‘The Lady From Shanghai’ seriously damaging her already stormy relationship with her boss, tyrannical Columbia Pictures studio head, Harry Cohn.
After one more appearance with Glenn Ford in 1948 ‘The Loves of Carmen,’ which made money but which showed Rita Hayworth to poor advantage in a stilted costume drama the critics disliked, so Rita Hayworth has had enough, and begged off for a break from filming the film adaptation of ‘Born Yesterday.’ When Rita Hayworth’s marriage fell apart in 1951, Harry Cohn welcomed her back and crafted ‘AFFAIR IN TRINIDAD’ as her big comeback.
‘AFFAIR IN TRINIDAD’ may not be as good as ‘Gilda,’ but it does have a few high points and is worth viewing. Actress Rita Hayworth does a couple of song and dance routines to show her power over the men in her life. Both have shades of “Put the Blame on Mame,” especially the second song “TRINIDAD LADY,” where she does an impromptu dance to allure one man, while pushing another man away.
‘AFFAIR IN TRINIDAD’ is not a bomb as critics blasted the film, and the plot holes notwithstanding. Vincent Sherman really moves things along and at least Rita Hayworth isn't the embarrassment she was in the “Hall of Mirrors” sequence in ‘The Lady from Shanghai.’ Perhaps Aly Khan took the best of Rita Hayworth and Harry Cohn was left to totally salvage Rita Hayworth’s career. But most of all Rita Hayworth is fascinating in the role and an absolute joy to watch, and can do some really heavy duty acting here and then break into a wonderful song and dance routine. Both Rita Hayworth’s singing and dancing are up to par here as well as a wonderful plot involving spies. Rita Hayworth has been asked by the government to infiltrate the ring and it appears that she is very much against her brother-in-law in an attempt to shield him from apparent danger. Actor Alexander Scourby is excellent as the Max Fabian in the villain role.
AFFAIR IN TRINIDAD MUSIC TRACK LIST
I’VE BEEN KISSED BEFORE (uncredited) (Written by Lester Lee and Bob Russell) [Performed by Rita Hayworth] (dubbed by Jo Ann Greer)
TRINIDAD LADY (uncredited) (Written by Lester Lee and Bob Russell) [Performed by Rita Hayworth] (dubbed by Jo Ann Greer)
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Blu-ray Image Quality – Columbia Pictures, Powerhouse Films + INDICATOR presents us the film ‘AFFAIR IN TRINIDAD’ with an excellent black-and-white image and shown in the 1.37:1 aspect ratio. Also the black-and-white image was for the most part, quite deep, while the grey scale was very subtle. I did see some dirt and very minor scratches here and there, along with that sometimes noticeable video grain noise that pops up with these vintage transfers. But overall the image is totally sharp, and with little or no compression issues and in my mind the image is a total winner in my book and makes watching the film such a joyous experience. Please Note: Playback Region B/2: This will not play on most Blu-ray players sold in North America, Central America, South America, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. Learn more about Blu-ray region specifications.
Blu-ray Audio Quality – Columbia Pictures, Powerhouse Films + INDICATOR brings is the film ‘AFFAIR IN TRINIDAD’ with a standard 1.0 LPCM Mono Audio experience, and the sound is the best yet for this film. The audio is clear, clean, stable, and very nicely balanced. On top of all that, it is very obvious that when these masters were prepared for the audio tracks they were transferred properly with Columbia Pictures and then optimized to ensure that the film sounded at its best as possible sound and it is really excellent, and it is also very clear, clean, stable, and very nicely balanced. To be honest, I don't think that it can ever sound any better for a film made in 1952.
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Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
Special Feature: Audio Commentary with film historian and author Lee Gambin [Audio only] [2021] [1080p] [1.37:1] [98:09] With this featurette, we get an introduction with Film Historian and Author Lee Gambin and as soon as the film starts he introduces himself and is keen to talk in-depth about the film ‘AFFAIR IN TRINIDAD,’ and talks about the comeback for Rita Hayworth in this 1952 film and Lee Gambin wants to take us on a journey to exotic Trinidad, and a film that comes off the back of the film ‘Gilda’ that Rite Hayworth really exceled in that film, and of course the 1952 film was an ideal vehicle for the actress Rita Hayworth and Lee Gambin feels this picture is loaded with a terrific amount of talented people, especially the electrifying performance of Rita Hayworth, and now up to this point, Lee Gambin is getting really annoying, as he keeps going on and on about the actress Rita Hayworth to the point of being totally annoying and totally ridiculous. Lee Gambin says this picture set in Trinidad which will be a place for romance and intrigue and especially evil doings like murder, and also a lot of shady dealings doing on. Lee Gambin now wants to talk about the actor Torin Thatcher who plays Inspector Smythe and was a British actor who was noted for his flashy portrayals of screen villains and talks about some of the films he has appeared in like ‘Major Barbara’ (1941), ‘Great Expectations’ (1946), ‘The Crimson Pirate’ (1952), ‘Blackbeard the Pirate’ (1952), ‘The Robe’ (1953) (as the disapproving father of Marcellus), ‘The Black Shield of Falworth’ (1954), ‘Helen of Troy’ (1956), ‘Darby's Rangers’ (1958) and ‘The 7th Voyage of Sinbad’ (1958). Torin Thatcher was a formidable prosecutor in ‘Witness for the Prosecution’ (1957) and also appeared in the Marlon Brando and Trevor Howard 1962 remake of ‘Mutiny on the Bounty’ and Lee Gambin thinks the actor Torin Thatcher is a wonderful character actor and is always very engaging to watch in any film he appears in. Now we are introduced to the legendary actress Rita Haworth as the Caribbean nightclub dancer Chris Emery who we see perform her very erotic dance routine to the song “I’VE BEEN KISSED BEFORE” in the Caribe Club nightclub and of course her voice is dubbed by Jo Ann Greer and we get the impression at first that the character Chris Emery is a very shady and is also a very “femme fatale” meaning “deadly woman' or 'lethal woman,” and another time we again see Chris Emery perform another erotic dance routine to the song “TRINIDAD LADY” and we see Rita Hayworth in her element and really racks up a storm with this particular dance routine. Lee Gambin feels filming in Trinidad gives the film a lush tropical setting, and with the Cinematograph by: Joseph Walker, A.S.C. really shows off the black-and-white film in a really beautiful way, and is helped with the wonderful costumes designed by Jean Louis (gowns) and also thinks the actors performances really stand out. Lee Gambin feels the film has a lot of gender politics and especially in the court scene that is related to the killing of Chris Emery’s husband, who was a kept man by Chris Emery because her husband’s paintings did not sell very well and that is why Chris Emery had to work every night in the Caribe Club nightclub. Lee Gambin feels the appearance of Glenn Ford is very aggressive towards Rita Hayworth at the start of the film because he feels his brother’s death is Rita Hayworth’s fault, but of course later on in the film Glenn Ford of course gets very romantic towards Rita Hayworth’s character. What Lee Gambin likes about the film ‘AFFAIR IN TRINIDAD,’ is a lot of biting dialogue and some great set ups, but also points out the brilliant line “no one can live on grief,” and also likes the close up scenes in the house between Glenn Ford and Rita Hayworth that really adds to the amazing atmosphere of the film. Lee Gambin quotes a comment by actor Glenn Ford and director Vincent Sherman that relates to time of filming ‘AFFAIR IN TRINIDAD’ and especially the actress Rita Hayworth where they said, “I don’t know if it was depression of her failed marriage or the feud with Harry Cohen or just a package of being tired or everything, but she had changed, but she was still beautiful, still a marvellous girl, but the flame did not burn as bright, but there was tiredness about her now, and sadness in her eyes. She was unhappy a lot of the time. Those of us who loved her tried to bring her out of it but without a lot of success.” Vincent Sherman said that Rita Hayworth was the “saddest girl I’ve ever known. She had been used by every man that ever worked with her.” Lee Gambin also says that one person Rita Hayworth seemed to open up to was choreographer Valerie Bettis, who was the one that put together the two show stopping dance numbers that are the film’s sole reasons for existing, and theirs seemed to be a true collaboration, and while the film around them was stilted and familiar, the dance numbers are confrontational and strikingly modern. Valerie Bettis called Rita Hayworth, “the most cooperative artist with whom I have ever been associated with.” The shooting of the film was very shaky because Rita Hayworth was not having a nice time shooting this movie and harry Cohen wanted to push the film along and of course promoting the fact that Rita Hayworth was back on the screen. Lee Gambin feels that in 1952 the “film noir” was still very strong and churning out an incredible amount of movies, and of course Columbia Pictures was at the forefront in bringing out these types of genre films. Lee Gambin also feels the Western genre in the 1950’s was very strong also and of course Glenn Ford appeared in several of the Western genre films in the 1950’s. Lee Gambin talks about the clothes designer Jean Louis who was a French-American costume designer and for over forty years, Jean Louis designed clothes for almost every star in Hollywood. Around sixty of his designs appeared in movies, and he was eventually nominated for 13 Academy Awards. Some of his clients included Ginger Rogers, Irene Dunne, Lana Turner, Vivien Leigh, Joan Crawford, Julie Andrews, Katharine Hepburn, and Judy Garland. Some of his film credits included, ‘From Here to Eternity’ [1953], ‘A Star Is Born’ [1954], ‘Pal Joey’ [1957], ‘Bell, Book and Candle’ [1958], ‘Judgment at Nuremberg’ [1961], ‘Ship of Fools’ [1965]. ‘Thoroughly Modern Millie’ [1967] and he also won an Oscar for his designs in ‘The Solid Gold Cadillac’ in 1956. Clothes Designer Jean Louis worked as head designer for Columbia Pictures from 1944 to 1960. His most famous works include Rita Hayworth's black satin strapless dress from ‘Gilda’ (1946), Marlene Dietrich's celebrated beaded soufflé stage wear for her cabaret world tours, as well as the sheer, sparkling gown that Marilyn Monroe wore when she sang “Happy Birthday, Mr. President” to John F. Kennedy in 1962. On top of all that the Duchess of Windsor became one of his most famous clients, as well as the First Lady Nancy Reagan in the 1980’s. Lee Gambin feels the dynamic performance in this film is Rita Hayworth’s exotic dance routines were helped by the Choreographer Valerie Bettis who helped Rita Hayworth perform the two dance routines in this film so wonderfully. Lee Gambin feels watching the film ‘AFFAIR IN TRINIDAD’ helps you to escape into this blissful world and get to be involved with the characters of Glenn Ford and Rita Hayworth and their eventual blossoming romance and also with the film you also get involved with the espionage, intrigue, spies and of course murder. Lee Gambin mow wants to talk about the actress Rita Hayworth who was born Margarita Carmen Hayworth Cansino on the 17th October, 1918 and wanted people to know that she was a self-described peasant girl, and she was very much a humble, earth, grounded very family focused woman, who was plagued with insecurity, she loved her own time alone, she loved the personal comfort of personal solace, and always wanted to be away from the limelight, she also would open up to a multitude of men, who treated her really badly and was a victim of a lot of horrible abuse, that came in the form of adultery, or even emotional and physical abuse, or even neglect, and was very vulnerable to all that and was also very damaged by all the troubles in her life, and sadly in 1980, Rita Hayworth was diagnosed with early-onset of the Alzheimer's disease, which contributed to her death in 1987 at age 68 and of course with the early-onset of the Alzheimer's disease affected Rita Hayworth near the end of her career because she would forget her lines. The public disclosure and discussion of Rita Hayworth’s illness drew attention to the Alzheimer's Foundation of America and helped to increase public and private funding for research into the disease. Lee Gambin talks more about Rita Hayworth and what a fantastic dancer she was, and he loved her in the films with Fred Astaire who totally admired Rita Hayworth and appeared in two films with Fred Astaire and they were ‘You'll Never Get Rich’ [1941] and ‘You Were Never Lovelier’ [1942], and Fred Astaire once called Rita Hayworth his favourite dance partner and the 1941 film was Lee Gambin’s favourite film, because he felt there was a great dynamic between Fred Astaire and Rita Hayworth up there on the screen and again Fred Astaire really appreciated and admired Rita Hayworth and again, especially as a wonderful dancing partner in the 1950’s and 1960’s period. Lee Gambin said that the film ‘AFFAIR IN TRINIDAD’ had a lot of criticism, but has since now become a very well loved film and I second that, and sadly Orson Wells who was married to Rita Hayworth who divorced Orson Wells because he was a really terrible husband to her and especially while making the 1952 film, but despite this, Orson Wells really admired Rita Hayworth and he was a great influence to Rita Hayworth especially in front of the camera. As we are coming to the end of the film, and also this audio commentary, and once again Lee Gambin really extols the beauty and brilliance of Rita Hayworth as a great actress, and says that she is a really beautiful performer, but who was also fragile and vulnerable and someone who really suffered emotionally, but also survived and thrived, and of course had a great legacy of all the wonderful iconic films she has appeared in and who also gave great performances of a true Hollywood legendary actress and at that point the Lee Gambin audio commentary comes to an end.
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Special Feature: The End of the Affair [2012] [1080p] [1.78:1] [24:05] With this featurette, Peter Ford, son of actor Glenn Ford, and discusses the life and career of his father and was recorded at the Arthur Lyons’ Film Foundation, Palm Springs Cultural Center, California on the 12th May, 2012, following a screening of the film ‘The Big Heat,’ and the interview was conducted by Eddie Muller who is an American writer based in San Francisco and is known for his books about movies, particularly “film noir,” and Eddie Muller is the host of “Noir Alley” on Turner Classic Movies. The interviewer Eddie Muller studied with filmmaker George Kuchar at the San Francisco Art Institute in the late 1970’s. Now Eddie Muller welcomes onto the stage Peter Ford to a loud applause from the audience, and when he sits down is asked if he remembers viewing the film ‘The Big Heat’ when he was eight years old, and mentions that his mother was the actress Eleanor Powell, and remembers watching her in all those wonderful Hollywood musical M-G-M films and also mentions that the Library of Congress which is a research library in Washington, D.C., that serves as the library and research service of the U.S. Congress and the de facto national library of the United States. Founded in 1800, the library is the United States oldest federal cultural institution and has chosen ‘The Big heat’ with 25 other films of that era to be preserved forever, along with the Disney animated film ‘Bambi’ and also ‘The War of the Worlds.’ Peter Ford has been very upset that his farther Glenn Ford has never received an Academy Award or even a Nominations Award, which amazes Peter Ford. Now Eddie Muller mentions the man who is doing a great job of preserving these great classic 25 Columbia Pictures “film noir” films for their library and that person is Grover Crisp who is the EVP Asset Management, Film Restoration and Digital Mastering at Sony Pictures Entertainment who now owns the whole of the Columbia Pictures film library. Peter Ford says that Charlie Chaplin lived next door to them and he drove his car over Peter Ford’s pet dog “Big” and insults the actor as the “Little Tramp,” whereas Peter Ford says he was a much bigger fan of Buster Keaton and of course the audience laughs out loud, and Peter Ford also says it was really great to meet all of the great Hollywood actors in that period who came to their house. Eddie Muller says when he ever watches a Glenn Ford film; because the actor always projects a very good commanding performance and again cannot understand why Glenn Ford never got any kind of award, because he always gave a brilliant performance in any film the Glenn Ford appeared in. Peter Ford now mentions that he has written a biography on his father Glenn Ford and took him over seven years to get it published and said his father was a very complicated person and cannot get into the reason why his father was like that, but says his father was a great actor, but sadly he was not the best father, but instead he gave so much to so many, and couldn’t get over the fact the Peter Ford couldn’t have his father as a buddy, and will not get into the “Daddy Dearest” scenario stuff, but despite that, he thought his father was again a great actor, and especially Peter Ford was growing up in that period and also had a great time. We find out that Peter Ford made an appearance in the film ‘Gilda’ as a little baby, but the film Peter Ford had a substantial part in was the 1955 film ‘The Americano’ that was directed by William Castle and of course starred Glenn Ford as well as actor Cesar Romero which was an old styled Western film. Peter Ford also appeared as a 14 year old in the 1959 film ‘The Gazebo’ that also starred Glenn Ford and Debbie Reynolds. Then Peter Ford also appeared with Glenn Ford in the 1967 film ‘A Time for Killing,’ and with appearing in these films they were only small parts and sometimes just one lines, but despite this, they were great fun to appear in those films and was very great fond memories. One thing we get to find out from Peter Ford is that his father on stage in a lot of stage plays at the start of his acting career, and was Peter Ford was an only child, like Glenn Ford, but having Glenn Ford do all those stage play, meant that he learnt a great deal with his acting career in the movies. Peter Ford says you should rent out the 1956 film ‘Tea House of the August Moon’ and starred Marlon Brando and Glenn Ford, and Marlon Brando thought this was his movie, but peter Ford really feels that Glenn Ford “outshone” Marlon Brando’s performance and that Marlon Brando did not like that one bit. Peter Ford also says that Glenn Ford was a real ladies man and that doesn’t work when you are married to Eleanor Powell. They also talk about the iconic “film noir” films that Glenn Ford appeared in and they were ‘The Undercover Man’ [1949] and ‘Human Desire’ [1954], but also Glenn Ford appeared in a lot of Western films and they felt Glenn Ford looked just right for those iconic genre films and especially riding horses and had the face for those characters in the Western films. Both Eddie Muller and Peter Ford about the books they have written about star actors they admire, and Eddie Muller has written a book about the actor Tab Hunter and was entitled “Tab Hunter Confidential: The Making of a Movie Star” and of course Peter Ford has written the biography about his father Glenn Ford and was entitled “Glenn Ford: A Life” and in that book it is revealed that Glenn Ford got Rita Hayworth pregnant while appearing together in a film and had to go to Europe to get an abortion and when Rita Hayworth passed away, and of course Glenn Ford when to the funeral to pay his respects and we also find out that Glenn Ford was really in love with the actress Rita Hayworth. One film Glenn Ford hated doing was ‘The Loves of Carmen’ [1948] and was an American adventure drama romance film directed by Charles Vidor and the film stars Rita Hayworth as the gypsy Carmen and Glenn Ford as her doomed lover Don José and again Glenn Ford hated it as he had to dress up in a fancy costume in the period the film was set in, but despite that, Glenn Ford of course was reunited with the actress Rita Hayworth, but of course with Rita Hayworth having yo go to Europe to get an abortion, it put a great strain on Glenn Ford’s marriage to Eleanor Powell. Peter Ford talks about the great Orson Wells arriving at Glenn Ford’s home with a gun, because he was extremely angry because Rita Hayworth got a divorce from him, because he knew Glenn Ford had a relationship with Rita Hayworth while Orson Wells was married to Rita Hayworth and of course with Orson Wells arriving outside Glenn Ford’s home he was frantically waving the gun about and threatening Glenn Ford and demanding and shouting violently that he step outside the house to be confronted with Orson Wells, and at the same time his wife Eleanor Powell was screaming with rage and fear that her husband was going to be killed, and of course Glenn Ford refused to step outside and of course Eleanor Powell was frantically calling the cops on the phone, but we do not find out the outcome of this very frightening incident, and Peter Ford says that growing up in Hollywood at that period in time was quite an event, and they both feel that situation with Orson Wells could easily have been a screenplay for a “film noir” film. Eddie Muller asks Peter Ford was there a favourite film that Glenn Ford loved to appear in and it was the 1957 film ‘3:10 To Yuma’ and was based on the “Three-Ten to Yuma” 1953 short story by Elmore Leonard and it is about a drought-impoverished rancher who takes on the risky job of escorting a notorious outlaw to justice and of course starred Van Heflin and was directed by Delmer Daves and Glenn Ford said he really enjoyed working with actor Van Heflin, But Glenn Ford also enjoyed appearing in the little film ‘The Rounders’ which was 1965 American Western comedy film directed by Burt Kennedy and starring Glenn Ford and Henry Fonda and it was based on the 1960 novel of the same name by Max Evans. Glenn Ford also had a lot of respect for other female actors and they included Geraldine Page, Barbara Stanwyck and really admire the actress Anne Baxter because she prepared for a part in a film in a very professional way. Eddie Muller and Peter Ford rave over the film ‘The Money Trap’ and is a 1965 American crime drama film directed by Burt Kennedy, written by Walter Bernstein based on the novel of the same name by Lionel White, and starring Glenn Ford, Elke Sommer, and Rita Hayworth, and the supporting cast features Ricardo Montalbán, Joseph Cotten, and James Mitchum, but they feel the scenes that Glenn Ford appeared in with Rita Hayworth were the very best, despite the film did not do well at the box office. Then as we are coming to the end of this Eddie Muller interview with Peter Ford, says he would like to thank Peter Ford for coming along to this theatre to talk about his father Glenn Ford and to also hear all about the fascinating anecdotes of living with his father Glenn Ford and again Eddie Muller thanks Peter Ford for coming along to talk about his father Glenn Ford, and at that point the Eddie Muller interview with Peter Ford comes to an end.
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Special Feature: Theatrical Trailer [1952] [1080i] [1.37:1] [2:48] With this featurette, we get to view the Original Theatrical Trailer for the film ‘AFFAIR IN TRINIDAD.’
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Special Feature: Image Gallery: With this featurette, we get to view 51 stunning wonderful 1080p black-and-white and colour images of publicity and promotional material featuring Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford for the film ‘AFFAIR IN TRINIDAD.’ To view all of the images, you have to use the right hand next button on your remote control to navigate to view the image gallery.
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Special Feature: Caribbean [1951] [1080i] [1.37:1] [25:01] With this featurette, we get to view a rare black-and-white documentary film about the Caribbean and is from a print from the National Film and television Archive and also by the Crown Film Unit, and mentions that it features the cast of the people depicting life and culture in the West Indies, British Guiana and British Honduras, and of course these islands are situated in the Caribbean seas. We also get to view traditional dance and song, modern customs and development and welfare services in these Caribbean Islands. This 1951 documentary was released roughly the same year as the film ‘AFFAIR IN TRINIDAD.’
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Special Feature: Saved By The Belle [1939] [480i] [1.37:1] [17:24] With this featurette, we get to view a rare film about island intrigue and Señorita Rita [Carmen Laroux] spell trouble for the Three Stooges who are traveling salesmen stranded in Valeska, a tropical country prone to earthquakes. Having no luck selling fur coats to the natives they are arrested when they receive a telegram instructing them to “get rid of present wardrobe” and an official thinks they are planning to assassinate President Ward Robey. With the help of Señorita Rita, a beautiful revolutionary, and the Three Stooges escape a firing squad, and are sent on a mission to deliver important plans to the revolutionary leader. When they deliver a rolled up calendar by mistake, they are once again heading for a firing squad but are spared when Señorita Rita arrives with the real plans.
Cast: Curly Howard, Larry Fine, Moe Howard, LeRoy Mason, Carmen Laroux, Gino Corrado (uncredited), Vernon Dent (uncredited), Manuel París (uncredited) and Al Thompson (uncredited)
Director: Charley Chase
Producers: Charley Chase and Hugh McCollum
Screenplay: Elwood Ullman (story) and Searle Kramer (story)
Music Department: Ben Oakland (composer: stock music) (uncredited) and Leigh Harline (composer: stock music) (uncredited)
Cinematography: Allen G. Siegler, A.S.C. (Director of Photography)
Studio: Columbia Pictures
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Finally, ‘AFFAIR IN TRINIDAD’ is all about the wonderful actress Rita Hayworth. Columbia Pictures promoted this film as Rita Hayworth's wonderful comeback and declares Rita Hayworth is BACK! Rita Hayworth looks really good in this ‘AFFAIR IN TRINIDAD,’ especially with the erotic dance numbers. However, middle age and some personal problems had begun showing on Rita Hayworth’s face and probably the strain on her troubled marriage to Prince Aly Khan. This would be her last hurrah as a major sex symbol. It was in 1952 when actress Marilyn Monroe was about to steal Rita Hayworth’s crown as the reigning sex symbol. The movie ‘AFFAIR IN TRINIDAD’ out grossed the film ‘Gilda’ at the box office. However, sadly ‘AFFAIR IN TRINIDAD’ lacks any of the sexual tension that happened is the classic “film noire” ‘Gilda.’ Rita Hayworth would go on to make other good movies like ‘Pal Joey’ and ‘Separate Tables,’ but ‘AFFAIR IN TRINIDAD’ Rita Hayworth is the ultimate sex symbol swan song. Very Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
