Fire Down Below

A woman with a shady past (Rita Hayworth) comes between two smuggler buddies (Robert Mitchum and Jack Lemmon) in the West Indies.

About halfway through Fire Down Below you might suddenly wonder if you’ve dozed off for an hour or so. Alternatively, you might wonder if the print you’re watching is missing a reel. Rest assured, the answer to both these questions is no, though no one would fault you if you were to ask, “Are you sure?”

This is because the film feels like two movies stitched together. Poorly. So much so, that you’re left wondering if there were problems off screen that necessitated last minute script changes, such as a massive budget cut, or problems with the performers. Anything to explain why it feels like watching the beginning of one film, then the ending of another, completely different, one.

That said, the Fire Down Below does have a few strong points. The location photography and atmosphere is spot-on, making good use of the Trinidad locales, and Jack Lemmon and Robert Mitchum are good as a pair of easy-going smugglers. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said of Rita Hayworth as the mysterious object of both their affections. She seems tired and flat, and though this film marked her return to the screen after a four-year absence, the rust shows.

In the end, however, not even the combination of Lemmon, Mitchum and the great island locales are enough to overcome Hayworth and the disastrous script, though fans of the performers will likely find this something of a morbid curiosity.