Flyerplesys Perfectly adorable

2hotFeature one of my absolute favorites!

BroadcastChic Excellent, a Must See

Izzy Adkins The movie is surprisingly subdued in its pacing, its characterizations, and its go-for-broke sensibilities.

angelsunchained I admit that this film is far from great, but it is entertaining enough to get you through a rainy night. Alan Ladd has good on screen chemistry with Lloyd Nolan and the two off screen friends play well off each other. Again, they are not Redford and Newman, but they both give a decent enough performance. So, if you are a fan of Alan Ladd, you will find this easily forgetful film decent entertainment. If not, you haven't lost much.

JohnHowardReid I remembered this as being rather a dull, ordinary film. Yes, it is a bit on the dull side. There's a vigorous action episode at the beginning and some action at the finale, but in between are long stretches of ho-hum dialogue played by some of the most unconvincing players ever assembled. Mr. Ladd, I suppose, is the worst. He acts bored. Miss Podesta runs him a close second. She is not much more animated than Mr. Ladd and even less likely and convincing as her accent and skin coloration are all wrong for the part of a Cuban Joan of Arc. Yes, the script is as nonsensical as all that, and when you join these characters to Chill Wills drawling his way though the part of a riverboat skipper and some of the others... Lloyd Nolan is probably the most convincing of the lot and even he is no great shakes. Dull is an apt description.But what is not ordinary and makes the film very much worth watching, is John Seitz's color photography. Every frame is a picture, the lighting, the use of color and shadows, the costumes, the sets, the way they are all composed and lit and integrated is always visually exciting and often breathtaking. The film is a feast for the eye and an artists's delight from start to finish.

doofous This is an above-average outing for Alan Ladd, who had a very uneven career, but the real value is in the superb cast of supporting character actors, including Lloyd Nolan, Paul Fix, Chill Wills and Royal Dano, among others."Santiago" is set in Cuba just before the Spanish-American War. Ladd and Nolan are competing gunrunners trying to sell weapons to the Cuban revolutionaries. Neither are saints, but whereas Nolan is the obviously villainous type, Ladd is the Good Man with a Stain in his background, just waiting to be rescued from the wrong path. His guide is the beautiful rebel Rossana Podesta, who is fiery, noble and breathes deeply on cue. Wills, Fix and the rest of the very competent supporting cast play their roles well. There is one surprise in the ending but otherwise it's predictable.It's a competent studio production for the period, with enough detail to make it credible. It's not a great movie, but it is good entertainment, with a beautiful girl, a Cause and a Moral...what more could you ask for in 1956!

vitaleralphlouis It's not easy to explain what went wrong with SANTIAGO. It has a basic good story, a top-level cast, and an experienced director; yet it lies virtually flat as a pancake as it unravels on screen. It suffers a serious failure to involve the audience in either the adventure or the romance.This picture was made by Alan Ladd's production company. To Ladd's credit it's next to impossible to see this picture. Never issued in VHS or DVD, never re-issued, difficult to ever find a listing on eBay.Leave this one alone and seek out Iron Mistress, Boy on a Dolphin, or two dozen other very good films starring Alan Ladd.