Brain surgeon Dr. Eugene Ferguson (Cary Grant) and his wife Helen (Paula Raymond) are vacationing in a Latin America country. A bomb goes off. They quickly leave for their ship. They are intercepted by the military. Dictator Raoul Farrago (José Ferrer) needs his medical skills.
Cary Grant leads this simple story of an over-confident American in a third world revolution. It would be more compelling with more chaos. This is Richard Brooks' theatrical directing debut. The doctor is not scared enough and tension is left a bit flat. It's not until the one hour mark when some chaos arrives and Cary Grant isn't even in it. I wanted the doctor to be scheming to escape or trying to get his wife to safety right from the start. When he actually does it, it's too easy. Again, potential tension is lost. It would be more compelling if his wife is being imprisoned as guarantee for the surgery.
Cary Grant leads this simple story of an over-confident American in a third world revolution. It would be more compelling with more chaos. This is Richard Brooks' theatrical directing debut. The doctor is not scared enough and tension is left a bit flat. It's not until the one hour mark when some chaos arrives and Cary Grant isn't even in it. I wanted the doctor to be scheming to escape or trying to get his wife to safety right from the start. When he actually does it, it's too easy. Again, potential tension is lost. It would be more compelling if his wife is being imprisoned as guarantee for the surgery.