The Bribe

One of the more underrated films of the noir cycle, Robert Z. Leonard’s The Bribe paints a dazzling expressionistic blanket in almost every scene, showcasing the high caliber of MGM talent in the form of Ava Gardner, Robert Taylor, and others. From an early scene in which the spinning shadows of fan blades dance along Taylor’s seated profile to a magnificent final sequence featuring a chase to the death through an out-of-control carnival fireworks assault that rivals some of cinema’s greatest war scenes, Leonard and cinematographer Joseph Ruttenberg create art from shadows and visualize the burden of sweltering tropical heat. Taylor plays federal agent Rigby, who goes undercover to hunt down aircraft engine smugglers in Central America. Gardner plays Elizabeth Hintten, who sees Rigby as an escape from her loveless marriage to the cash-strapped, alcoholic Tug (John Hodiak, very likable here), who just happens to be working for the aircraft engine racket along with J.J. Beaker (the always brilliant Charles Laughton) and Carwood (Vincent Price). Beyond the gorgeous visuals, the film features a lovely musical number by Gardner, a unique voice-over narration by Taylor in the second-person point of view, and what may be the only death by shark in all of film noir.