The Bribe
The Bribe is a 1949 American crime film noir directed by Robert Z. Leonard and written by Marguerite Roberts, based on a story written by Frederick Nebel. The drama features Robert Taylor, Ava Gardner, Charles Laughton, and Vincent Price.[2]

Contents

1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Reception

3.1 Box Office 3.2 Critical reception

4 In popular culture 5 References 6 External links

Plot[edit] Federal agent Rigby (Robert Taylor) travels to Los Trancos on the island of Carlota (somewhere off the coast of Central America) to break up a war-surplus aircraft engine racket and finds himself tempted by corruption, namely Elizabeth Hintten (Ava Gardner), a café singer married to Tug Hintten (John Hodiak), a drunken ex-pilot. Carwood (Vincent Price) is the brains of the outfit, aided and abetted by J.J. Bealer (Charles Laughton) and Hintten. Cast[edit]

Robert Taylor as Rigby Ava Gardner
Ava Gardner as Elizabeth Hintten Charles Laughton
Charles Laughton as J.J. Bealer Vincent Price
Vincent Price as Carwood John Hodiak
John Hodiak as Tugwell 'Tug' Hintten Samuel S. Hinds
Samuel S. Hinds as Dr. Warren John Hoyt
John Hoyt as Gibbs Martin Garralaga as Pablo Gomez

Reception[edit] Box Office[edit] According to MGM records the movie earned $1,559,000 in the US and Canada and $951,000 overseas, resulting in a loss to the studio of $322,000.[1][3] Critical reception[edit] Film critic Bosley Crowther lambasted the drama in his film review, writing, "If you plan to put down your money to see the Capitol's The Bribe, we suggest that you be prepared to write off this extravagance as a folly and nothing more. For The Bribe' is the sort of temptation which Hollywood put in the way of gullible moviegoers about twenty years ago. It's a piece of pure romantic fiction, as lurid as it is absurd. And if it didn't have several big 'names' in it, it would be low-man on a 'grind house' triple-bill...The only hint which the director, Robert Z. Leonard, gives that he may have meant it all as pure nonsense comes at the very end, when he blows up the place with pyrotechnics. That's the one appropriate move in the whole show."[4] Time Out film guide included the following in their review: "Price and Laughton make a formidable pair of heavies in this otherwise feeble thriller shot on a cheaply rigged-up corner of the MGM backlot. Taylor isn't up to moral dilemma as a US government agent sent to crack illicit aircraft engine trading in the Caribbean, yet tempted by a lucrative cash offer and the irresistible charm of café chanteuse Gardner."[5] Critic Leslie Halliwell
Leslie Halliwell wrote in his film guide, "Steamy melodrama with pretensions but only moderate entertainment value despite high gloss. The rogues gallery, however, are impressive."[6] In the book Cult Movies by Karl French and Philip French, they write, "In classic noir style, the chain smoking Rigby (he has no Christian name) tells most of the story in flashbacks that begin as visions he sees on the rain-lashed window of his hotel room. His voiceover narration continues as he battles with his conscience and tries to retain his honour in a world reeking of corruption. Laughton and Price are splendidly hammy villains and Gardner's nightclub singer is an innocent femme fatale in the manner of Rita Hayworth's Gilda."[7] In popular culture[edit] Scenes and characters from The Bribe
The Bribe are used in Carl Reiner's 1982 film parody, Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid, in which star Steve Martin's character is named Rigby and he is searching for friends and enemies of "Carlotta." References[edit]

^ a b c The Eddie Mannix Ledger, Los Angeles: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study . ^ The Bribe
The Bribe on IMDb. ^ Scott Eyman, Lion of Hollywood: The Life and Legend of Louis B. Mayer, Robson, 2005 p 401 ^ Crowther, Bosley. The New York Times, film review, "Robert Taylor and Ava Gardner
Ava Gardner Top Cast of The Bribe, New Feature at the Capitol," February 4, 1949. Last accessed: January 17, 2008. ^ Time Out. Film Guide, 2008. Last accessed: January 17, 2008. ^ Halliwell, Leslie. Halliwell's Film Guide. HarperCollins, United Kingdom. ^ French, Karl and Philip French. Cult Movies, Pavilion Books Limited, United Kingdom 1999.

External links[edit]

The Bribe
The Bribe on IMDb The Bribe
The Bribe at AllMovie The Bribe
The Bribe at the TCM Movie Database The Bribe
The Bribe film trailer on YouTube

v t e

The films of Robert Z. Leonard

The Master Key (1914) Judge Not; or The Woman of Mona Diggings (1915) Secret Love (1916) The Plow Girl (1916) On Record (1917) A Mormon Maid
A Mormon Maid (1917) The Primrose Ring (1917) At First Sight (1917) Face Value (1918) The Bride's Awakening (1918) Danger, Go Slow
Danger, Go Slow (1918) The Delicious Little Devil
The Delicious Little Devil (1919) The Miracle of Love (1919) April Folly
April Folly (1920) The Restless Sex
The Restless Sex (1920) The Gilded Lily (1921) Heedless Moths
Heedless Moths (1921) Peacock Alley (1922) Fascination (1922) Broadway Rose (1922) Jazzmania
Jazzmania (1923) Mademoiselle Midnight
Mademoiselle Midnight (1924) Circe, the Enchantress
Circe, the Enchantress (1924) Cheaper to Marry (1925) Time, the Comedian (1925) Bright Lights (1925) Dance Madness
Dance Madness (1926) Mademoiselle Modiste (1926) The Waning Sex
The Waning Sex (1926) A Little Journey (1927) The Demi-Bride
The Demi-Bride (1927) Adam and Evil (1927) Tea for Three (1927) Baby Mine (1928) The Cardboard Lover (1928) A Lady of Chance
A Lady of Chance (1928) Marianne (1929, silent) Marianne (1929, musical) The Divorcee
The Divorcee (1930) In Gay Madrid (1930) Let Us Be Gay (1930) The Bachelor Father
The Bachelor Father (1931) Five and Ten (1931) It's a Wise Child (1931) Susan Lenox (Her Fall and Rise)
Susan Lenox (Her Fall and Rise) (1931) Lovers Courageous (1932) Strange Interlude (1932) Peg o' My Heart (1933) Dancing Lady
Dancing Lady (1933) Outcast Lady
Outcast Lady (1934) After Office Hours
After Office Hours (1935) Naughty Marietta (1935) Escapade (1935) A Tale of Two Cities (1935) The Great Ziegfeld
The Great Ziegfeld (1936) Piccadilly Jim (1936) Maytime (1937) The Firefly (1937) The Girl of the Golden West (1938) Broadway Serenade
Broadway Serenade (1939) New Moon (1940) Pride and Prejudice (1940) Third Finger, Left Hand
Third Finger, Left Hand (1940) Ziegfeld Girl (1941) When Ladies Meet (1941) We Were Dancing (1942) Stand By for Action
Stand By for Action (1942) The Man from Down Under
The Man from Down Under (1943) Marriage Is a Private Affair
Marriage Is a Private Affair (1944) Week-End at the Waldorf
Week-End at the Waldorf (1945) The Secret Heart (1946) Cynthia (1947) B.F.'s Daughter (1948) The Bribe
The Bribe (1949) In the Good Old Summertime (1949) Nancy Goes to Rio
Nancy Goes to Rio (1950) Duchess of Idaho
Duchess of Idaho (1950) Grounds for Marriage
Grounds for Marriage (1951) Too Young to Kiss
Too Young to Kiss (1951) Everything I Have Is Yours (1952) The Clown (1953) The Great Diamond Robbery (1953) Her Twelve Men
Her Twelve Men (1954) The King's Thief (1955) Beautiful but Dang