Fire Down Below (1957)

If you like Jack Lemmon, Rita Hayworth, and Robert Mitchum, you'll be tempted to rent Fire Down Below, a love triangle set in the Caribbean. Since I've seen it, I can tell you the beginning and the end are the best parts. The middle isn't that great.To set the scene, the first scene is in a nightclub. The aptly named "Stretch" Cox and his troupe are filmed doing a ridiculously impossible limbo, impressing the audience and making them expect just as much fire from the rest of the movie. Jack and Bob are introduced, as friends and partners in the smuggling business, but when they take a job from icy Rita, their friendship is tested. At first she's drawn to the sweet and safe Jack, but when Bob is around, there's just no ignoring her real feelings. For the most part, the love triangle is overshadowed by the smuggling and boat businesses, and that's why the movie isn't very interesting. I'm really not a Rita Hayworth fan, so I tended to fast forward her scenes. I've never understood why she played in roles where she was supposed to be irresistible, but to each his own. If you agree with me, you can check out the beginning, get the gist of the love triangle, and then skip to the last fifteen or twenty minutes when things get really exciting. No spoilers here, but the last few scenes are very good.

This is a very curious film.There seems to me a love affair going on between Jack and Bob.Jack is really jealous of Rita for having lured Bob away.It has to be said that Jack must be a better proposition for Bob given the rather aged appearance of Rita.One gets the impression that Rita is doing an impersonation of herself a dozen years before in Gilda.Alas time has taken its toll.Ritas figure for one is rather too matronly and her face shows too many worry lines.All rather sad.It is a strange film in that it suddenly changes tack with a completely different plot.Rita and Bob disappear for about half an hour.The second half is better than the drab and predictable first half.It also has the advantage of the presence of Herbert Lom and Bonar Cellano.Definitely only a film for the fans of the three stars.

I liked it! At first I thought it was going to be a corny Jack Lemmon comedy but it turned out to be something totally different. I love movies that shift gears halfway through (Psycho, Vertigo)...this movie does the same thing. Even if it probably wasn't intentional, it was effective. I liked the film's bravery...women like Rita like men like Mitchum, and that's the long and the short of it. The last scene was pretty powerful...that kiss! OUCH! I think the long interlude with Jack Lemmon stuck on the ship was important...as if what was happening back on the island (the inevitable affair between Rita and Robert) were too unbearable to show...this is a film about solitude...

Rita Hayworth, Robert Mitchum, and Jack Lemmon star in this tale of passion, friendship, and betrayal set in an exotic locale. Robert and Jack are friends, that is until Rita shows up. Rita gets a chance to show her acting chops in an understated performance as a lady wanting off of the island. She has a very memorable dance number, too. And, Bob Mitchum is Bob Mitchum, basically.Even though Jack Lemmon gets third billing, he has more air time than the others. My main problem with it is the fact that Jack's predicament takes up 30 minutes of the film and other than watching him act there's not much suspense or interest to keep the viewer really involved.It's to the actors' credit that the rest of the movie is very watchable and the ultimate ending is a very natural one. I know my review sounds rather lackluster (my rating is really 6.5), but if you like the stars, you'll walk away pretty satisfied. The ending helps a lot, and Rita seems to have everything pretty well balanced in her capable hands.Costarring Herbert Lom (Dreyfuss from the "Pink Panther" series) and Bernard Lee (Bond's superior "M" before Judi Dench) and co-produced by Bond producer Albert C. Broccoli, this combination of adventure and drama that may be one of the stars lesser known efforts but it is waiting for you to discover it.