The Bribe

Robert Taylor stars as Federal Agent Rigby, sent to a banana republic to break up an outfit dealing in contraband war materials. The organization is headed by Carwood (Vincent Price), a naïve American playboy, and the slovenly J.J. Bealer (Charles Laughton), a broken-down beachcomber with aching feet. The story concerns the classic love/duty dilemma, with Ava Gardner playing the femme fatale in her first starring role at MGM after a seven-year build-up. The excellent cast, the exotic setting and Robert Z. Leonard’s direction aided by Joseph Ruttenberg’s cinematography, firmly entrenches this production in the film noir genre.