Fire Down Below Reviews

Small-time smugglers Mitchum and Lemmon pick up transient tramp Hayworth, taking her along on their small boat through the West Indies so she can get a passport in the fictional Santa Nada, where no questions are asked. Lemmon falls for the sexy Hayworth despite the warnings of woman-wise Mitchum, and Hayworth herself tells Lemmon, "I'm no good for you, no good for anyone. Armies have marched over me." Nonetheless, Lemmon is fascinated by the hard-bitten passenger, an infatuation that turns into insane jealousy when Hayworth and Mitchum are, inevitably, drawn to each other. This leads to a falling out between Lemmon and Mitchum, after which Mitchum goes off in a huff and informs police of Lemmon's smuggling operation. As the Coast Guard moves in, Lemmon escapes, then--intending to murder Mitchum--signs on board a freighter heading for the island where Mitchum is hiding out with Hayworth. A dense fog causes the freighter to strike another vessel, and Lemmon is pinned in the wreckage of a hold while his ship slowly begins to sink. It's only a matter of hours before Lemmon is doomed to drown, but Mitchum learns of the wreck and boards the sinking ship, goes into the hold, and frees his former pal. Lemmon then comes to his senses and gives Mitchum and Hayworth his blessing. This is a tired love triangle that prompts laughs in all the wrong places. Though Parrish's direction is good, the pace is brisk, and the photography is excellent, Shaw's script is not only corny but is peppered with cliches, showcasing Hayworth in a reprise of her prostitute role in MISS SADIE THOMPSON (1953). Hayworth (who does a hip-grinding, thigh-flashing dance number similar to that in SADIE THOMPSON) is not a love interest but a sex object, as in so many of her later films. Here her character is universally regarded as tart by all but Lemmon; even Mitchum has little respect for her, though he winds up with her at the end. This was Hayworth's first film in four years, but it brought in heavy box-office receipts, boosted by publicity concerning her messy divorce from Dick Haymes and gossip about her stormy affairs. Furthering the appeal of FIRE DOWN BELOW was the image of her in THE BAREFOOT CONTESSA (1954), despite the loud protestations of that film's producer, Joseph L. Mankiewicz, that Ava Gardner's role in that film was not based on Hayworth's tempestuous life. Mitchum saunters through the film with his traditional flat-voiced delivery and all the enthusiasm of a stuffed bear; he seems indifferent to the script, his fellow actors, and the lush on-location sites of Trinidad and Tobago. Lemmon, however, brings some high-voltage energy to his role and is the best thing about the movie--he even composed the film's "Harmonica Theme." In the end FIRE DOWN BELOW, though it has some exciting moments, is just another love triangle with a few corners missing, hyped by its exotic setting and an ad campaign that blared that the film was "Spontaneous combustion! Hayworth sizzles! Mitchum explodes! Lemmon burns!" It would be more truthful to say that they all blow smoke.