Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.

Solidrariol Am I Missing Something?

Manthast Absolutely amazing

Janis One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

classicsoncall This one started out generally interesting, and with a little bit of misdirection by characters Valdez (Marc Lawrence) and Dolores Garcia (Mona Maris), it looked like there was some kind of skulduggery underfoot that placed them in the employ of Nazi agents. With the kind of writing employed today, the story could have taken some twists and turns to make it a riveting espionage thriller, but the attempt got wasted here by the time Captain Bart Manson (Edward G. Robinson) learned that his long time buddy and first mate Fred Adamson (Victor McLaglen) actually sold out to the Germans and was working for the Nazi mob. Adamson's rationale for making the switch was almost laughable (he needed the money), and was about as believable as seeing him decked by Manson for criticizing his girl (Lynn Bari).As for Manson romancing Katherine Hall, I don't even think I have to go there; almost every other reviewer here has mentioned it. Almost twice her age and not what I'd exactly call handsome, Robinson's character is pretty much maneuvered into a whirlwind courtship that winds up in marriage between the principals. The only rationale that makes sense within the context of the story was that compassionate speech he makes to Mrs. Kelly, the survivor of a torpedo attack, when she insists on seeing her husband who died. Miss Hall was there to hear the captain, and one would have to admit, that dialog was the stuff that true character is made of.That whole business with Nazi Kruger (Tonio Selwart) offering a deal to Captain Manson also needed a bit more fleshing out as well if it was going to make one believe that Manson was going to betray his country. The cigarette lighter with the initial 'K' was apparently the ruse required to insure Manson believe his wife was a spy, but when 'Karla' showed up instead, I got the impression that the story was too far out on a limb to tie all the loose ends together.I guess you have to brush aside all the less than believable elements here and just go with the flow of the story without being too critical. Maybe take the Mexican waiter's advice and see this with a shot of tequila - it's good for the heart and it'll clarify your mind. Careful though, more than one will make you woozy.

Martha Wilcox Here we see a much stronger Edward G. Robinson challenging Victor McLaglen who was never really in the contest anyway. The film itself is not that good, but it does explore how people you work with who may appear to be friends are actually spying on you for the opposition. McLaglen plays an unconvincing Nazi spy who betrays Robinson leading to the sinking of his ship.Robinson marries a woman who is rescued from a sinking ship and doesn't have the necessary documentation to get into Mexico. He takes her under his care which is quite touching and shows the sensitive side of his acting repertoire.

MartinHafer Maybe it's just me, but I had a hard time believing Edward G. Robinson and Victor McLaglen as officers in the Merchant Marines. But, this could have worked--as these men were not regular military men and were sometimes older and less physically fit men. However, Robinson really was not up to this part for another reason. When their oil tanker comes upon the wreckage of a ship sunk by the Nazis, they rescue a group of survivors--including Lynn Bari who is inexplicably attracted to Robinson. Why a seemingly 'hot' woman would come on THIS strong to a short, paunchy, middle-aged man didn't make sense. Perhaps Robinson's character was a nice fella, but she didn't even have a chance to find out before she started pouring on the charm and sex appeal. In real life, such a woman NEVER would have made such a play or the guy would have wondered what were her ulterior motives--as it just made no sense. With a different cast, perhaps this could work. Now it is NOT that I dislike Robinson--he was a fine actor and I ALWAYS try to see any film of his I haven't seen before (like this one). He just was cast badly...or, perhaps, it might have worked if the relationship between him and Bari had occurred slowly and realistically.Once the group was rescued, for some odd reason none of the other survivors seems to have remembered seeing Bari among the passengers. And so, the viewer is expected to somehow suspect her motives--like she's some sort of a Nazi plant. However, if you think about it, it just didn't make any sense. Why would the Nazis sink a ship and then toss a female spy among the debris and then have her marry the captain of a very insignificant merchant vessel?!?! Yet, for much of the film, you are expected to believe that she is a Nazi agent who has been sending reports to Nazi subs about the location of various ships--including, possibly, one she was on herself. Does this make any sense except on Bizarro World?! All this occurs in the first half of the film--how it's all resolved is something you'll need to see for yourself.Despite the bad casting and stupid plot, the film has some things going for it. Even miscast, I love Robinson and would watch him in anything (except porn....ewwww!!!). Second, if you turn off your brain and refuse to question anything, the film is entertaining. As far as wartime propaganda films go, however, it's at best average...at best.

mjabrough Robinson easily holds our attention as Captain Bart Manson whose merchantman's whereabouts are betrayed by - whom? A combination of sea-adventure, spy-thriller and naive romance in which both the main performances and especially the photography are surely excellent and the action sequences sufficiently arresting not to tarnish the finish of the film as a whole. The central performance does not stretch (if "stretch" is the right word - he's never really over-stretched, is he?) Robinson as far as his Wolf Larson does (psychotically afloat in "The Sea-Wolf") but that really should not deter anyone from fully enjoying "Tampico", which has an excellent noirish atmosphere, particularly in the scenes set amongst colonnades and dark doorways in the last twenty minutes of the movie. Among the supporting roles, there is no weak or irritating contribution to spoil the force of the picture. Lynn Bari, in particular, is more than interesting in her work in this film, (the question of who her character really is and where she came from drives the plot; the audience must form its own opinion...)There are awkward moments in the directing, it has to be said, particularly earlier on, where the plot moves rather elliptically forward, but this is too small a criticism significantly to spoil the film.