Movie Review: Captain Scarface (1953)
Synopsis: After being caught with a plantation owner's wife, American expatriate Sam Wilton needs to get out of South America in a hurry and does so by taking the passport of the recently deceased Mr. Kroll and boarding a cargo ship on its way to the United States. Wilton is suspicious of the ship's captain, the heavily scarred Capt. Trednor, and his interest in two passengers, Dr. Yeager and his daughter, Elsa. He later learns Trednor and his crew are Soviet agents on a suicide mission to blow up the Panama Canal with an atomic bomb.
Who's in it? The movie stars Barton MacLane, Leif Erickson, Virginia Grey, Peter Coe and Rudolph Anders.
Review: I came across Captain Scarface last night and while it was different movie from what I was originally looking for, I was intrigued enough by the description to give it a try. I watched it this morning and decided it was a good decision.
The film takes a while to get started, taking the time to introduce each of the passengers, including the ones that have very little impact on the plot. Once it does get going though, it ends up being an intriguing and suspenseful film.
The thing I liked most about this movie is the sense of hopelessness throughout the majority of it. Trednor (MacLane) is a very detailed villain. He seemed to have a plan for every contingency and both he and his right-hand man, Perro (Coe) proved to be very hard to fool, seeing through Wilton's (Erickson) deception much quicker than expected. This meant the ship's passengers, especially Yeager, had no clear way to escape.
The movie also had a few unexpected twists throughout, including a venomous snake and a surprise suicide. Those things added a bit more of a dark tone to an already dark and suspenseful film, while also leaving the few good guys on the ship even more shorthanded, creating an even more impossible situation for them.
If I had any complaints about the movie, it would be me feeling as though it wasted, or at least underutilized, actress Virginia Grey. Her character, Elsa, doesn't have that much of a role in this film. She's just kind of there and spends half the movie locked in her cabin, contributing nothing to the outcome of the film. I couldn't even describe her as a love interest since the movie didn't have time to establish any sort of romance between her and Wilton.
Final Opinion: I would have loved to have seen a stronger, or at least more involved, female protagonist but other than that, the movie was a solid and entertaining thriller. It's worth taking the time to watch.
My Grade: A
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Here are some reviews of other movies from 1953:
Movie Review: Donovan's Brain (1953)
Movie Review: The Blue Gardenia (1953)
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