Mystery in Mexico *** (1948, William Lundigan, Ricardo Cortez, Jacqueline White, Tony Barrett) – Classic Movie Review 5293

Director Robert Wise’s 1948 mystery crime thriller is a very tolerable, short (66 minutes) little RKO Radio Pictures B-movie about an insurance claims snoop who is asked by his company to investigate the mystery of the disappearance of a fellow agent.

William Lundigan stars as insurance detective Steve Hastings, who travels from the US south of the border to Mexico City on the trail of femme fatale Victoria ‘Vicki’ Ames (Jacqueline White), the missing agent’s alluring sister, in his quest that turns into one of looking into a jewel robbery and hijacking.

Director Wise’s taut, tense and briskly efficient direction makes up for the relatively mundane, low-voltage story, while the involving performances easily compensate for movie’s lack of big star names. Silent-movie star Ricardo Cortez is an asset as John Norcross, fitting snugly into the surroundings.

As a cost-saving experiment, it was shot in black and white by cinematographer Jack Draper in the RKO co-owned Churubusco Studios in Mexico City.

The screenplay is by Lawrence Kimble, based on a story by Muriel Roy Bolton.

Also in the cast are Tony Barrett, Jacqueline Dalya, Walter Reed, José Torvay, Jaime Jiménez Pons, Antonio R Frausto, Dolores Camerillo, Eduardo Casado, Thalia Draper, William Forrest and Jeffrey Sayre.

© Derek Winnert 2017 Classic Movie Review 5293

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