The Bribe

In Casablanca “everybody comes to Rick’s”, in The Bribe it’s Pedro’s, a sweaty canteen somewhere in venal Central America, around which this messy mix of thriller, romance, exotic adventure and detective story plays out. Robert Taylor and Ava Gardner are the stars, but Charles Laughton is the standout, taking it upon himself – probably not for selfless reasons – to save this odd mishmash from itself with a performance that lifts everything up several rungs. The story centres on a racket dealing in hooky war surplus, which FBI agent Rigby – no first name – has been sent in to sort out. Instantly suspicious characters include alcoholic ex-pilot Tug Hintten (John Hodiak) and … Read more