Santiago Reviews

Ladd plays a hardened gun runner whose only cares are selfish ones as he takes a shipment to Cuba for use in its fight for independence from Spain. He plans to drop the guns in Florida and take off with the gains but finds that the only way to get paid is to make the trek through the Spanish blockade to the revolutionaries. Furthermore, the only available boat is a rickety old paddle-wheel operated by Wills, whose other passengers include rival gun runner Nolan and Podesta. Nolan is Ladd's old nemesis from the days before Ladd was dishonorably discharged from the cavalry and Nolan was supplying the Apaches with weapons. Podesta is Cuba's Joan of Arc, returning from her attempts to raise U.S. support for her countrymen. Old tensions between Ladd and Nolan quickly flair, given a new spark by the presence of the beautiful Podesta. While defending Podesta's honor against Nolan's passionate advances, Ladd finds his cynicism softened by her high ideals. Finally reaching the revolutionaries, Ladd and Nolan discover that the Cubans are unable to pay for the guns. When Nolan wants to sell out to the Spanish, Ladd faces one last encounter with his adversary before devoting himself to Podesta and her cause. Directed with standard flash by hack Douglas, the film is most entertaining when it concentrates on the comrade-adversary tension, punctuated by snappy insults, between Nolan and Ladd. Both actors expend a great deal of energy in their roles, and Nolan makes an almost charming villain.