"Plunder of the Sun" is a black and white film noir that probably should have been made in the 40s with a different cast. More about that later.
Al Colby (Glenn Ford) is a broke insurance adjuster wandering the streets of pre-Castro Havana when he is approached by a beautiful woman Anna Luz (Patricia Medina) who uses her considerable charms to lure him back to her home. There Colby discovers that it was a ruse to draw him there. Anna's benefactor Thomas Berrian (Francis L. Sullivan) offers Colby $1,000 to smuggle a small package from Cuba to Mexico without disclosing the package's contents.
On board a ship bound for Mexico, Colby encounters Jefferson (Sean McClory) a blond sunglassed mystery man who tries to befriend Colby. He also meets boozy Julie Barnes (Diana Lynn) who is in the company of Raul (Eduardo Noriega) a Mexican playboy. Later Berrian turns up dead so Colby carefully opens the package and then secures its contents. It turns out that the package contained a sculpted medallion and three pages of an ancient script showing the location of a treasure buried beneath the ruins of an ancient Mexican city.
Jefferson thinks he steals the contents of the package from Colby's room but Colby out smarts him. Colby then goes to Novarro (Julio Villarreal) to have the pages translated...from a copy. It seems that Raul is Novarro's son and is betrothed to Anna. While awaiting the results of Novarro's translation, Colby forges an unlikely partnership with Jefferson who translates the pages.
Colby and Jefferson then go to the ruins and through information contained in the script, find the portal leading to the buried treasure. Then Jefferson double crosses Colby, shoots him, leaves him for dead and..............................
This movie I think, could have been much better with a different cast. Glenn Ford for example, is miscast in the lead. I can see Humphrey Bogart or even Robert Mitchum in the role. And wouldn't Peter Lorre have made a better Jefferson? Claire Trevor would have been great as Julie the girl; with a past. While Francis L. Sullivan as good as he was in his role, I couldn't help but imagine Sydney Greesterrt in the part. Douglass Dumbrille who has the thankless role as the American Consul, would have been better suited for a role similar to that of Novarro. Can't think of any one better for Anna Luz than the beautiful Medina.
The black and white photography is excellent and the shots of the ancient Mexican ruins are impressive.
Al Colby (Glenn Ford) is a broke insurance adjuster wandering the streets of pre-Castro Havana when he is approached by a beautiful woman Anna Luz (Patricia Medina) who uses her considerable charms to lure him back to her home. There Colby discovers that it was a ruse to draw him there. Anna's benefactor Thomas Berrian (Francis L. Sullivan) offers Colby $1,000 to smuggle a small package from Cuba to Mexico without disclosing the package's contents.
On board a ship bound for Mexico, Colby encounters Jefferson (Sean McClory) a blond sunglassed mystery man who tries to befriend Colby. He also meets boozy Julie Barnes (Diana Lynn) who is in the company of Raul (Eduardo Noriega) a Mexican playboy. Later Berrian turns up dead so Colby carefully opens the package and then secures its contents. It turns out that the package contained a sculpted medallion and three pages of an ancient script showing the location of a treasure buried beneath the ruins of an ancient Mexican city.
Jefferson thinks he steals the contents of the package from Colby's room but Colby out smarts him. Colby then goes to Novarro (Julio Villarreal) to have the pages translated...from a copy. It seems that Raul is Novarro's son and is betrothed to Anna. While awaiting the results of Novarro's translation, Colby forges an unlikely partnership with Jefferson who translates the pages.
Colby and Jefferson then go to the ruins and through information contained in the script, find the portal leading to the buried treasure. Then Jefferson double crosses Colby, shoots him, leaves him for dead and..............................
This movie I think, could have been much better with a different cast. Glenn Ford for example, is miscast in the lead. I can see Humphrey Bogart or even Robert Mitchum in the role. And wouldn't Peter Lorre have made a better Jefferson? Claire Trevor would have been great as Julie the girl; with a past. While Francis L. Sullivan as good as he was in his role, I couldn't help but imagine Sydney Greesterrt in the part. Douglass Dumbrille who has the thankless role as the American Consul, would have been better suited for a role similar to that of Novarro. Can't think of any one better for Anna Luz than the beautiful Medina.
The black and white photography is excellent and the shots of the ancient Mexican ruins are impressive.