In The Bribe, a federal agent (Robert Taylor) goes undercover to investigate a war surplus scam. His one clue is that an American ex-pat couple in a Mexican seaside resort may be involved. The husband (John Hodiak), frustrated that a medical diagnosis has ended his career as a pilot, has taken to the bottle. That means that his nightclub singer wife (Ava Gardner) is often unaccompanied. Posing as a tourist, the agent befriends them and tries to figure out which of the local shady characters (including the oily Vincent Price) is Mr. Big. Of course, he falls for the wife, and she reciprocates – but is it because she’s made him as a cop?
Indeed, all of the crooks figure out that he’s a cop-in-tourist’s-clothing. A set of maneuvering ensues, with multiple double crosses. It’s all for high stakes – one of the bad guys is so nefarious that he literally feeds one sympathetic character to a shark and then smothers an invalid in his sickbed.
The crooks employ a professional briber (Charles Laughton) to make an offer to the agent. The carrot is a bagful of money if he looks the other way. The stick is that, if he doesn’t, his lover will be sent away for a long, long time.
Will the good guy take the bribe and the dame? Does she really love him or is she playing him for a sucker? It all ends amid real fireworks in a street festival.
Much of the story occurs at night, and dramatic shadows, especially those cast by Venetian blinds, abound. And this town is hot and humid day and night, so everyone (with the notable exception of Ava Gardner) is coated with perspiration.
Robert Taylor, the dreamy leading man of the time, had already been a major star for fourteen years. I’ve never understood his appeal, and, of course, I resent his despicable conduct in real life – he was the first to name names in the Hollywood Blacklist, three years BEFORE Joe McCarthy launched his own inquisition.
In The Bribe, Taylor does a pretty good job. He was only 38, but looking like he had a lot more mileage on him. Often unshaven and always drenched in sweat, he looks appropriately dissolute for a film noir.
Gardner, who broke through at age 24 in The Killers just three years before, is still at her most ravishing. Her off-the-shoulder tops and two-piece swim suit get our attention, but she especially rocks the bare-midriff outfit in the photo above.
But the best reason to watch The Bribe is Charles Laughton, an acting legend never better than here. His character often acts like a coward, but he is flush with confidence when it’s time to make a deal. A master of manipulation and persuasion, this guy is a great negotiator. In turn ingratiating and menacing, Laughton’s performance lights up the last half of The Bribe.
The Bribe occasionally plays on Turner Classic Movies and can be streamed from FilmStruck.
