9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Classic Worth Watching, November 1, 2002
This review is from: Singapore [VHS] (VHS Tape)
This is a great movie with romance and mystery that will keep you on the edge of your seat. The acting by Fred MacMurray and Ava Gardner is superb, and it's one of those movies that you hardly notice is in B & W as it is so engrossing. There is a romantic Christmas scene as well. I must admit though, that I gasped when Ava's character said she was born in New York on September 11th (aak)!! Anyway, I'd recommend this movie and wish it was available on DVD.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Small Table and Two Gin Slings, July 19, 2005
This review is from: Singapore [VHS] (VHS Tape)
An exotic setting, glamorous sets, a young and beautiful Ava Gardner, Maury Gertsman's great cinematography, a lovely score from Daniele Amfitheatrof and an exciting ending all combine to overcome the liesurely first hour of this film and give it that something extra. It is a glossy crime and romance film with a romantic feel that doesn't quite have the bite to be real noir, but entertains in a "Casablanca Light" kind of way.
Fred MacMurray portrays Matt Gordon, returning to the Hotel Singapore now that the war is over hoping to retrieve a fortune in pearls he hid in his room. There are memories everywhere for Gordon of his romance with Linda Grahame (Ava Gardner). A small cafe table and two gin slings only remind him of the great love he lost just before they could be married when the Japanese bombed Singapore and she was killed in an air raid.
Deputy Hewitt (Richard Hayden) has a long memory as well, and puts Gordon on notice that he knows about the pearls and will be keeping a close eye on Gordon. They have sort of a cordial cop-crook repore and their relationship sort of mirrors the Rains--Bogart one in Casablanca.
Everything changes for Gordon, however, when he sees a ghost, a very beautiful ghost. There are only two problems: she's married to a rich plantation owner who loves her, and she has amnesia, with no memory of anything before the air raid. Hewitt's cops help her track down her pretty servant from before the war, Ming Ling (Maylia), who tells her of their love even though she can't remember.
The relationship of Linda and her wealthy husband Michael (Roland Culver) sort of mirrors the Bergman--Lukas one in Casablanca in one more similarity to that film. Thomas Gomez is the smarmy Sydney Greenstreet type who decides to rough up Linda a bit in order to discover where Matt hid the pearls.
This is when the film takes off. Matt goes after Linda in order to save her, even if it may be for someone else. When the bullets are flying she is knocked out and Matt takes her back to Michael where she can get medical help. Matt has managed to get the pearls but has a change of heart and leaves his fate in Hewitt's hands. But his fate may be in Michael's hands also, as that knock on the head has brought back Linda's memories of her past, and her love for Matt.
Spring Byington and Porter Hall add some humor as vacationers Mr. and Mrs. Bellows. What is probably a three star film for the first hour gets a big boost if you enjoy those great Hollywood endings of the 1940's. This one involves pearls, police, a plane and a pretty girl. It's hard to go wrong with all that, especially when the pretty girl is Ava Gardner.
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Realizing Fred MacMurray, October 1, 2003
This review is from: Singapore [VHS] (VHS Tape)
I didn't see this movie until 2000. In fact every time I saw Fred MacMurray's name come up I avoided him. I always thought of him as a "my three sons" type of guy. This film all changed that in a big way and led me in search of other films with him in the lead roll. (i.e. "Double Indemnity")A love story set during WWII. The Japanese invade Singapore and the couple is separated for years. Stolen jewels, crooked police etc. etc. I won't spoil the plot and more than that. Cool film noir-ish( not quite a film noir in my humble opinion) script which was somewhat typical in 1947. Nice plot and some really nice filming technics. An underrated film (also my humble opinion) Where's the DVD? I'll be one of the first to pick it up.
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