STEVE
HASTINGS (William Lundigan) is a Los Angeles insurance dick
dispatched by his boss to look into the disappearance of a missing
colleague who may have double-crossed the company in the Robert
Wise-directed Mystery in Mexico (1948, RKO).Steve Hastings
Created by Muriel Roy Bolton
STEVE
HASTINGS (William Lundigan) is a Los Angeles insurance dick
dispatched by his boss to look into the disappearance of a missing
colleague who may have double-crossed the company in the Robert
Wise-directed Mystery in Mexico (1948, RKO).
His pursuit leads him to his the man's sister Victoria (Jacqueline White), whom he follows south of the border, where he discovers an extensive jewel-smuggling operation working out of Mexico City.
It's a pleasant enough diversion (Robert Wise, after all, knew how to put films together) but what makes this flick interesting for film buffs is that the whole thing was filmed in the studios in Mexico City, with a largely native cast as extras and in bit parts. Also along for the ride were Austrian Ricardo Cortez (who played Sam Spade in the original The Maltese Falcon, along with frequent partner Bebe Daniels) and American Tony Barrett as Carlos, a Mexican cabbie who comes to Steve's rescue more than once.
The decision to film in Mexico was an experiment on RKO's part to see if movies could be made for less dough than in the States. Wise spent four months working with an almost exclusively Mexican crew, shooting exteriors in and around Mexico City and Cuernavaca, and interiors in RKO's Mexico City studios, but came to the conclusion that it wasn't cheaper to make on foreign soil (we've come a long way, huh?)
Another interesting note: although RKO made a fuss about the film being a "bi-lingual" release, there's no evidence a Spanish-language version was ever produced.
Not the best of director Wise's films, maybe (I'd opt for Born To Kill or Odds Against Tomorrow) but a good solid B-flick, and a whole hell of a lot more entertaining than The Sound of #@%#$! Music.
FILM
