Directed by:
Richard BrooksScreenplay:
Richard BrooksCinematography:
Ray JuneComposer:
Miklós RózsaCast:
Cary Grant, José Ferrer, Paula Raymond, Signe Hasso, Ramon Novarro, Gilbert Roland, Leon Ames, George J. Lewis, Antonio Moreno, Rita Conde, Neyle Morrow (more)VOD (1)
Plots(1)
Brain surgeon Dr. Eugene Ferguson and his wife Helen are on vacation in a Latin American country when a bomb, planted by revolutionaries against President Raoul Farrago, explodes at a jai alai game. Fearing full-scale war, they soon decide to return to their ship, but are arrested on the way by Colonel Adragon. He places them on a train, where they are treated like prisoners, but when they reach the palace of the President, his wife, Isabel Farrago, greets them warmly. She soon reveals that Farrago suffers from a brain tumor and needs Eugene's expertise. At the palace, they are kept under guard again, which frightens Helen and makes Eugene resentful. Therefore, he is cold when he meets Farrago, who speaks at length about the childishness of his people and their need for strong leadership. Eugene agrees to operate in a few days, in return for their passports, freedom to move around and a hefty fee, all of which he is granted. That night the couple dines with American oil businessman Sam Proctor, who warns them to leave immediately because saving Farrago's life will make them very unpopular with the people. Adragon follows them to a nightclub, where he beats a waitress and threatens to arrest many of the citizens. Eugene, however, forces him to leave, endearing himself to the patrons. Over the next few days, Eugene witnesses several examples of Farrago's tyranny over his army, church and people. Eugene speaks his mind to the ailing president, who needs his help and so cannot complain. One day Helen goes to church with Isabel and is mobbed afterward, causing a fearful Eugene to send her back to America on a train. While Eugene tries to train his surgical helpers to perform brain surgery and Farrago plans an outside war that will stop his own civil war, revolutionary Roland Gonzales kidnaps Helen and sends a messenger with a letter to Eugene stating that he will kill Helen if the doctor heals Farrago. The messenger, however, is a traitor who gives the letter to Isabel, so when the day of the operation arrives, Eugene works for five hours and saves Farrago. Afterward he is granted his freedom and stops at a nightclub with Sam, who realizes something is wrong and brings Eugene to Gonzales. Gonzales informs him that he has Helen, and Eugene flees back to Farrago just as the revolutionaries attack the palace. As shots fly through the window at Farrago, he again tells Eugene how he must save his people from themselves, and then dies of a brain hemorrhage. Gonzales bursts in and, believing Eugene has killed the president, sets Helen free. In the streets, Gonzales speaks the same words the president had uttered about taming the unruly populace, and then is downed by a passing bullet. He calls for Eugene to save him and Eugene stares at him, uncertain of how to respond. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Cast
Cary Grant
UK
Best movies:
North by Northwest (1959)
Charade (1963)
Holiday (1938)
José Ferrer
Puerto Rico
Best movies:
Producers' Showcase (1954) (series)
Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
Moulin Rouge (1952)
Paula Raymond
USA
Best movies:
Adam's Rib (1949)
Devil's Doorway (1950)
The Tall Target (1951)
Signe Hasso
Sweden
Best movies:
The Seventh Cross (1944)
I Never Promised You a Rose Garden (1977)
Heaven Can Wait (1943)
Ramon Novarro
Mexico
Best movies:
Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925)
The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg (1927)
The Big Steal (1949)
Gilbert Roland
Mexico
Best movies:
Miracle of Fatima (1952)
The Sacketts (1979) (TV movie)
The Sea Hawk (1940)
Leon Ames
USA
Best movies:
Brother of the Wind (1973)
The Thin Man Goes Home (1945)
Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970)
George J. Lewis
Mexico
Best movies:
Casablanca (1942)
It Started with Eve (1941)
The Bad and the Beautiful (1952)
Antonio Moreno
Spain
Best movies:
Notorious (1946)
It (1927)
The Searchers (1956)
Rita Conde
Cuba
Best movies:
Change of Habit (1969)
The World's Greatest Lover (1977)
Topaz (1969)
Neyle Morrow
USA
Best movies:
The Ten Commandments (1956)
Julius Caesar (1953)
Anna and the King of Siam (1946)
Al Haskell
USA
Best movies:
Lust for Life (1956)
The Proud Ones (1956)
Showdown (1963)
Alex Montoya
USA
Best movies:
Miracle of Fatima (1952)
Les Sept Mercenaires (1960)
Viva Zapata! (1952)
Merrill McCormick
USA
Best movies:
Robin Hood (1922)
Texas (1941)
Destry Rides Again (1939)
Joaquin Garay
Mexico
Best movies:
It Happened One Night (1934)
The Three Caballeros (1944)
Rodolfo Hoyos Jr.
Mexico
Best movies:
Gilda (1946)
How the West Was Won (1976) (series)
The Big Steal (1949)
Pedro de Cordoba
USA
Best movies:
The Keys of the Kingdom (1944)
The Sea Hawk (1940)
Bernadette (1943)
John George
Syria
Best movies:
Singin' in the Rain (1952)
The Killing (1956)
East of Eden (1955)
Joe Dominguez
Mexico
Best movies:
Anchors Aweigh (1945)
The Chase (1966)
Samson and Delilah (1949)
Ronald Ward
UK
Best movies:
Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939)
Sidewalks of London (1938)
Green for Danger (1947)