Soldier of fortune Dan Duryea finds himself helping out Singapore governor Douglas Dumbrille in tracking down nuclear scientist Arthur Shields -- apparently he knows how to build a working H-bomb and always carries the pieces with him, perhaps as a party trick -- while trying to persuade chanteuse Mariann Carr to leave husband Patric Knowles.
Director Robert Aldrich apparently shot this noirish programmer in 11 days as either a film version of Duryea's "China Smith" TV show, or perhaps an attempt to change his movie image. Duryea had been around for more than a decade, a highly capable actor who seemed most notable playing weak-kneed psychopaths. Perhaps it was his resemblance to Richard Widmark, who made his movie debut playing that sort of character, and who surmounted the typecasting, that held Duryea back. Who needed another Widmark, except as a threat to keep Widmark's price down? There's little doubt that Duryea was a capable performer; sity movies and hundreds of TV apperances demonstrated that. He died in 1968, aged 61.
Director Robert Aldrich apparently shot this noirish programmer in 11 days as either a film version of Duryea's "China Smith" TV show, or perhaps an attempt to change his movie image. Duryea had been around for more than a decade, a highly capable actor who seemed most notable playing weak-kneed psychopaths. Perhaps it was his resemblance to Richard Widmark, who made his movie debut playing that sort of character, and who surmounted the typecasting, that held Duryea back. Who needed another Widmark, except as a threat to keep Widmark's price down? There's little doubt that Duryea was a capable performer; sity movies and hundreds of TV apperances demonstrated that. He died in 1968, aged 61.