''Tropic Zone'' is a 1953 American

crime film Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

written and directed by

Lewis R. Foster Lewis Ransom Foster (August 5, 1898 – June 10, 1974) was an American screenwriter, film/television director, and film/television producer. He directed and wrote over one hundred films and television series between 1926 and 1960. Selected film ...

and starring

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

Rhonda Fleming Rhonda Fleming (born Marilyn Louis; August 10, 1923 – October 14, 2020) was an American film and television actress and singer. She acted in more than 40 films, mostly in the 1940s and 1950s, and became renowned as one of the most glamoro ...

Estelita Rodriguez Estelita Rodriguez (July 2, 1928 – March 12, 1966) was a Cuban actress best known for her roles in many Westerns with Roy Rogers for Republic Pictures, as well as her role in Howard Hawks' '' Rio Bravo''. Early life and career Rodriguez's ...

, Noah Beery Jr.,

Grant Withers Granville Gustavus Withers (January 17, 1905 – March 27, 1959) was an American film actor who acted under the screen name Grant Withers. With early beginnings in the silent era, Withers moved into sound films, establishing himself with a lis ...

and

John Wengraf John Wengraf (23 April 1897 – 4 May 1974) was an Austrian actor. Early years Wengraf was born in Vienna, Austria-Hungary. Career Wengraf became a matinee idol in the 1930s, and was director of the Vienna State Theatre. He emigrated to Brit ...

. It was released on January 14, 1953, by

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

Plot

Reagan's character, Dan McCloud, is an American (described as a "soldier of fortune" in the publicity for the picture's release) who becomes the foreman of a Central American

banana plantation A banana plantation is a commercial agricultural facility found in tropical climates where bananas are grown. Geographic distribution Banana plants may grow with varying degrees of success in diverse climatic conditions, but commercial banana p ...

. Learning that his employer, Lukats, is corrupt and trying to corner the market, McCloud joins with one of the smaller growers (played by Rhonda Fleming) to organize the workers and stop Lukats' scheme.

Cast

as Dan McCloud *

as Flanders White *

as Elena Estebar * Noah Beery Jr. as Tapachula Sam *

as Bert Nelson *

as Lukats *

Argentina Brunetti Argentina Brunetti (born Argentina Ferraù; August 31, 1907 – December 20, 2005) was an Argentinian stage and film actress and writer. Biography Brunetti was born Argentina Ferraù in Buenos Aires, Argentina to Italian parents; her moth ...

as Tia Feliciana *Maurice Jara as Macario

Production

The film was based on a 1939 novel by Tom Gill called ''Gentlemen of the Jungle'' about a banana plantation in

British Honduras British Honduras was a British Crown colony on the east coast of Central America, south of Mexico, from 1783 to 1964, then a self-governing colony, renamed Belize in June 1973,

. In May 1951 the producers at

Pine-Thomas Productions Pine-Thomas Productions was a prolific B-picture unit of Paramount Pictures from 1940–1957, producing 81 films. Co-producers William H. Pine (February 15, 1896 – April 29, 1955) and William C. Thomas (August 11, 1903 – April 2, 1984) were kno ...

read a copy of the novel en route to the premiere of their film '' The Last Outpost'' in Tucson. They bought the film rights intending to make it a vehicle for Rhoda Fleming, as the last of a four-picture deal she had with Pine-Thomas. (Earlier films included ''Last Outpost'', ''Crosswinds'' and ''Hong Kong''.) Ronald Reagan eventually signed to co star.

was borrowed from Republic. Paramount built a large set for the film, reportedly the studio's biggest new set in ten years. Designed by art director A. Earl Hedrick together with studio supervisor

Hal Pereira Hal Pereira (April 29, 1905 – December 17, 1983) was an American art director, production designer, and occasional architect. Pereira was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Sarah (Friedberg) and Saul Pereira. In the 1940s through the 1960s ...

, and covering four

stages Stage or stages may refer to: Acting * Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions * Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage" * ''The Stage'', a weekly British theatre newspaper * S ...

, the set depicted "a complete Caribbean native village", with "16 buildings, irrigation ditches, five hilltops, a schoolhouse, two roads, two streams, a complicated powerhouse" and more.

Edith Head Edith Head (October 28, 1897 – October 24, 1981) was an American costume designer who won a record eight Academy Awards for Best Costume Design between 1949 and 1973, making her the most awarded woman in the Academy's history. Head is consi ...

, who had already won the first four of her eight

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

, handled the costumes for the film, highlighted by Fleming's fourteen different outfits, all of them in "jungle tones".

Reception

Reagan later dismissed the film as a "sand and banana" picture with a "hopeless" script.Marc Eliot, ''Reagan: The Hollywood Years'' (

Three Rivers Press Three Rivers Press is the trade paperback imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House. It publishes original paperback titles as well as paperback reprints of books issued initially in hardcover by the other Crown imprints ...

, 2009), , p. 261
Excerpts available
at

Google Books Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google Inc. that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical c ...

References

External links

*
Review of film
at ''Variety'' {{Ronald Reagan filmography 1953 films American crime films 1953 crime films Paramount Pictures films Films directed by Lewis R. Foster Films set in the Caribbean 1950s English-language films 1950s American films