- Although the sultry nightclub song-and-dance act is one of the more famous film noir tropes, the truth is that these musical performances are often the weakest parts of their films. Sometimes the problem is a terrible tune or a laughable lyric. In other cases, there's out-of-sync dubbing or an amusing mismatch between the actress's presumed vocal range and that of the unseen singer. The dancing, when present, is often just embarrassing. Which brings us to Rita Hayworth, who is probably the most talented dancer in the pantheon of film noir actresses. Moreover, she is the only one who looks like she's actually having fun performing, which is why Affair in Trinidad wisely gets her onstage within the film's first five minutes.
- Hayworth's character, Chris Emery, follows that memorable opening number with the shocking discovery that her husband has been killed. The local inspector (Torin Thatcher) assumes suicide, although the bemused American consul (Howard Wendell) rightly wonders why anyone married to Chris would ever kill themselves. At the same time, the deceased man's brother Steve (Glenn Ford) touches down in Trinidad expecting a new job, only to barge in on his brother's inquest. When the coroner (Ralph Moody) finds evidence of murder, suspicion settles on a wealthy man named Fabian (Alexander Scourby), who clearly intends to become Chris's new husband. Fabian hangs out with a pretty suspicious crowd (Valerie Bettis, George Voskovec, Karel Stepanek, Steven Geray, Walter Kohler, Mort Mills), so it's no surprise that he turns out to be a treasonous weapons manufacturer.
- While it is amusing enough to watch Glenn Ford rage at essentially everyone in the film (with the possible exception of Chris's anxious housekeeper, played by Juanita Moore), his pairing with Hayworth here has the unfortunate side effect of reminding the audience of Gilda, which is a much better film than Affair in Trinidad. Let's face it, no supporting cast could be as fascinating as George Macready with a cane dagger, and this one doesn't even come close. That said, Vincent Sherman's direction is capable, particularly during the nightclub scenes and one particularly suspenseful moment when Hayworth hides behind a privacy screen while eavesdropping on a sensitive conversation. Still, it's Hayworth that sells this film, and I can honestly say that her dancing was never more evocative than it is here.
