User Reviews

Made on location in Trinidad, "Fire Down Below" was Rita Hayworth's return to the screen after a four-year absence…

During her screen absence Joseph L. Mankiewicz's "The Barefoot Contessa," which starred Ava Gardner as a Spanish dancing-girl who becomes first an international film star and then a Contessa, was released with great success… Although Mankiewicz had always denied there were fictional similarities between his film and Hayworth's own private life, most filmgoers and film gossips felt otherwise…

In fact they regarded "The Barefoot Contessa" as an obvious imitation or approximation of Rita's life, just as they had found similarities between her husband Orson Welles' film "Citizen Kane" and the life of newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst…

Therefore "Fire Down Below" had a sort of "built-in" curiosity about it and critics who for years had ignored Rita's acting abilities or were even willing to admit their possibilities, were now beginning to regard her as an actress instead of just a sex symbol…

Considerably older-looking, and playing a woman used and abused by many men, Rita had a few lines that contained cruel accuracies about her own life

This is the first time I've seen this in many years. The first time, the people I lived with loved it so fiercely they bought a long-playing record of the calliopean musical score and they played it a thousand times in a row. And, boy, is the film scored. Hardly a moment passes without bongo drums pounding and violins throbbing. Rita Hayworth gets to do what I hope was her last dance number on film. On hearing the melody behind the opening credits I was whisked back to San Bruno, California, with the instruments inside my head.

Once over that initial spasm, though, I was able to get into the film and saw it a little differently than I had the first time. Mitchum is a creep, true, but not the unmitigated son of bitch that I'd first thought. Now -- with so much more experience -- I can even consider the proposition that by betraying Jack Lemmon to the authorities and stealing Hayworth away from Lemmon -- he was actually doing the younger, more innocent man, a favor.

Briefly, the story is that Mitchum and Lemmon are partners in an old boat in the Caribbean and engage in small-time smuggling for a living. When their cargo on one trip turns out to be Rita Hayworth, Lemmon falls for her, but Mitchum is able to see that this is a mismatch made in Heaven. Lemmon is all Ga Ga and wants to marry her and Hayworth, a lady with no country but lots of history, is desperate enough to accept. Mitchum short circuits the plan through devious means. The direction is sometimes misguided. Lemmon and Mitchum have a fist fight aboard the boat, which Jimmy Jean interprets as "working off some steam," but it's too brutal. In the end, Lemmon is trapped aboard a small freighter about to blow up and is saved by Mitchum. The incident is anything but typical Hollywood heroism -- and those last twenty minutes are genuinely gripping. The denouement in the tavern is simply unbelievable.

The screenplay is by Irwin Shaw and, though some of the dialog is surely from the novel, it has its felicities. When Lemmon first proposes marriage, Hayworth tries to explain to him why it wouldn't work. It's a cue for a dull speech, but it's very neatly done, and with aspirations. "I've been debased," she tells him. "Armies have marched over me." It doesn't make a dent in Lemon's erotic mania, a nice college kid from Indianapolis. The narrative ribbon occasionally scintillates with such almost subliminal sequins.

The location shooting is expertly done. This isn't Montego Bay with its meticulously placed palms and pina coladas served by native girls in flowered dresses. This is the seamier side of Trinidad and Tobago, where the houses are slapped together of weather-beaten boards, the streets are littered with banana peels, and the beds in the seedy hotels are probably harboring bugs. The T shirts are dirty and soggy with sweat. You want a drink? Fine -- here's a bottle. It's a long way from the old studio productions with the men in white suits and panama hats and colorful but sanitary interiors veiled by beaded curtains.

This isn't one of Mitchum's more impressive performances but he seems sober and hits his marks and says what he's supposed to, even while bleary eyed with rum and listening to a 78 record of Mozart on a wind-up phonograph. In life, Jack Lemmon was a nice guy, not erratic like Mitchum, but I've always thought he was better at comedy than drama. Rita Hayworth's performance is a blank. Her expression seem pasted on like a postage stamp. This must have been one of her last movies before she began to self destruct. The supporting players are just fine -- Bernard Lee as a quietly empathic doctor, Edric Connor with his jumbo baritone. Mitchum asks Connor, "Do you want to quit, Jimmy Jean?" And Connor stares back intently for a moment before replying, "I do believe I do."

I saw this movie when it was out, in 1957, and I always remember with thrills its "explosive" climax. It was shown again on cable TV last month, and I watched it again with great pleasure, in spite of the bad notes given by the cable magazine, condemning the ominous editing by the Hollywood moguls. Now you have three top US stars of the time (Mitchum, Lemmon and Hayworth*), three solid British second roles (Bernard Lee, Herbert Lom and Bonar Colleano), a wonderful location (Tobago), good dance and good music. Plus the extraordinary climax, not chopped by the moguls. Who could ask for anything more, nowadays? Harry Carasso

*The birth year (1918) given above to Rita Hayworth may not be correct. At the first Cannes Film Festival,1946, a journalist asked for her age and she replied "31". The man was impolite enough to add, off-the-record: "in the movie business"? Let's face it: in 1946, according to my sources,Rita had the same age as her current husband Orson Welles (born 1915). And in 1957, she gave one of her best performances, in PAL JOEY, with Frank Sinatra. The same year, in FIRE DOWN BELOW, at 42, she delivers two extraordinary exotic and erotic dances, with a devilish local group.

With James Bond producer Albert R. Broccoli involved and some really good stars this sounded worth a watch, so I did. Basically Tony (Jack Lemmon) and Felix (Robert Mitchum) sail around the Caribbean in their tramp boat doing odd jobs and drinking. While travelling they meet Irena (Rita Hayworth) and agree to take her to another island, and they both fall for her, leading to a break-up of partnership and betrayal. Tony goes on a cargo ship to take a job, but after a crash his legs are trapped underneath a large metal structure, and it seems only Felix can help him. Also starring Herbert Lom as Harbor Master, Bonar Colleano as Lt. Sellars, Anthony Newley as Miguel, Bernard Lee as Dr. Sam Blake, Edric Connor as Jimmy Jean and Peter Illing as Captain of the 'Ulysses'. It is unfortunate that the film itself turned out not to be very interesting, it was pretty boring actually. Adequate!

I liked it! At first I thought it was going to be a corny Jack Lemmon comedy but it turned out to be something totally different.

I love movies that shift gears halfway through (Psycho, Vertigo)...this movie does the same thing. Even if it probably wasn't intentional, it was effective.

I liked the film's bravery...women like Rita like men like Mitchum, and that's the long and the short of it. The last scene was pretty powerful...that kiss! OUCH! I think the long interlude with Jack Lemmon stuck on the ship was important...as if what was happening back on the island (the inevitable affair between Rita and Robert) were too unbearable to show...this is a film about solitude...

Two American sailors, Felix and Tony, are co-owners of a tramp boat which they use for small-scale smuggling around the Caribbean. One day, however, they receive a more lucrative proposition. They are offered $1000 to transport Irena, a beautiful but stateless Eastern European refugee, from one island to another. As normally happens in films like this, both men fall in love with her, and they come to blows, their friendship forgotten.

The two men are quite different in character. Tony, a bachelor, is a romantic and idealistic young man who has come to care deeply for Irena. Felix is a divorcée, several years older than Tony; the failure of his brief marriage has left him a hard-bitten and cynical misogynist. He also has a nasty streak in him, shown when, under a pretence of friendship, he tells Tony to beware of Irena who is a woman of immoral character. His real motive, of course, is to leave Irena free for himself. When this ploy fails, he tips off the coastguard about Tony's smuggling activities.

The first part of the film is dominated by the Tony/Felix/Irena love triangle, but about halfway through Felix and Irena suddenly disappear from the action and the film abruptly changes from a romantic melodrama to a disaster movie, a sort of poor man's "Poseidon Adventure". Tony has signed as a crewman on board a Greek freighter and is injured when it is involved in a collision with a liner. Tony's injuries are in themselves relatively minor, certainly not life-threatening, but he is nevertheless in grave danger as he is trapped by a fallen iron girder and the ship is on fire. To make things worse, it is carrying a potentially explosive cargo.

This was Rita Hayworth's first film after a four-year absence from the screen, caused by events in her private life. Rita remained a major sex symbol for over two decades because she was able to change her style of beauty as she got older. In early films such as "You'll Never Get Rich" she was an innocent, girl-next-door type. In what might be called her "middle period", the period of "Gilda" or "The Lady from Shanghai" she was a seductive femme fatale. Here, at the age of 39, she plays a glamorous, sophisticated older woman, and still looks as attractive as ever, especially in a swimsuit.

This is, moreover, a very accomplished acting performance. Irena seems to have had a somewhat shady past, the full details of which are never made clear in the film, but one does not sense from Rita's interpretation that she is as immoral as Felix makes out. There is a sense that Irena has had a difficult life in Europe and that she has known sadness, perhaps even tragedy. She is reserved on the surface but one senses strong feelings beneath. (This is one of two meanings of the title "Fire down Below", the other referring to the literal fire which has broken out on the ship).

Jack Lemmon as Tony plays his part reasonably well, but this is not a particularly good film. There are several reasons for this. The race against time to free Tony from the burning ship does not generate as much tension as one might have expected. The two halves of the film do not fit together well, and the change from one to the other is too abrupt. Irena and Felix reappear towards the end, but only Robert Mitchum has much to do; Rita's participation is effectively over by half-time.

Felix is a key character, but Mitchum hesitates between two possible interpretations of the role. He seems unsure whether Felix is basically a decent but flawed individual or basically a nasty piece of work who redeems himself by one act of selfless bravery. He attempts both interpretations in the course of the film, and ends up making neither convincing. The film-makers were obviously guided by the normal convention that in any film involving a love-triangle it will be the first name above the title who gets the girl. (Lemmon was later to become one of Hollywood's biggest names, but in 1957 it was Mitchum who got first billing). The ending, in which Irena ends up with Felix rather than Tony, struck me as psychologically implausible and dramatically false. A marriage between Irena and Tony might have had some chance of working; one between her and Felix would serve no purpose except to provide employment for the divorce lawyers. Despite its three major-league stars, "Fire Down Below" is no more than a minor-league melodrama. 5/10

Fire Down Below is an unusual film in that, based on a starry trio of Robert Mitchum, Jack Lemmon and Rita Hayworth, the film oddly elects to jettison Mitchum and Hayworth at the mid-point, with them only returning near the end. The film focuses upon Mitchum and Lemon running a dilapidated boat on smuggling operations, who elect to take the mysterious Hayworth on board and enable her to leave the country, sans passport. Inevitably, a love triangle forms, with poor monsieur Lemmon being set up by his erstwhile partner so romance can blossom. From there, it is all eyes on Lemmon, until a ship crash elicits Robert Mitchum's belated return. The film looks good, and there is a fine Hayworth dance number, but the plot meanders, and losing Robert Mitchum is a blow that the film can barely withstand. Also, the revenge aspect is somewhat softened by the fact that it is Jack Lemmon who is on the warpath. If I was told that Jack Lemmon was coming for me, I wouldn't be all that perturbed (and indeed, Robert Mitchum's character is not rattled by this news at all, especially as he gives Lemmon a right pasting earlier in the film). So, worth seeing, but not vintage Mitchum action.

There are more fumes than fire in this film. And some of those fumes are downright stinky. Rita Hayworth's performance is silly to the point of being laughable. She barely mumbles her way through in what I've got to assume is supposed to be a sexy voice but comes across as a parody of herself as the female lead in Who Framed Roger Rabbit?

Jack Lemmon, spoiled playboy son of a wealthy man befriends vagobond loser Mitchum and both wind up with fading femme fatale Hayworth in a romp in a boat.

A large part of the problem of the movie is that it can't decide what it wants to be. It starts out as what seems to be a lighthearted musical (which captured my interest considering I'd never seen any of these three leads in a musical). But then the road suddenly dips into adventure, then suddenly turns into sultry love story, then adventure, then drama then...Well, frankly I lost count...then suddenly you're thrown against a wall as it comes to a sudden stop. But none of these bends in the road were done well. They should have stuck to the music because that was the most memorable part.

Jack Lemmon made the movie and it might be worth watching for him alone. But otherwise it is a dull flicker of what should have been a fiery film.

Notice I didn't say "Ahead of it's (it is) time." Sorry, I just have to be different and use the English language correctly.

That out of the way, this movie was a very pleasant surprise. Sure it has its cliché moments, such as the obligatory fight between Mitchum and Lemmon over the lady. But even that scene ends semi-realistically, with Mitchum kicking poor Lemmon's ass (as you would expect), not the good, decent guy (Lemmon) triumphing over the larger and meaner bully. I respect that choice by the director/writers. Similarly, the ending also is not a pat happy ending -- nice guys DO finish last, just as in real life! I was already rolling my eyes as soon as the rescue against all hope occurred, but then the realistic twist at the end brought me home again.

I simply cannot resist thinking that the title has something to do with whether or not Hayworth is a natural redhead! Sorry, but the double (or triple) entendre is there, and you can't ignore it! You've got the fire simmering between the three lead characters, the fire on the Ulysses, and...well, you know.

I was delighted to recognize Anthony Newley in a minor role as the bartender who introduces Mitchum and Lemmon to Rita Hayworth and her current protector. I kept waiting for him to belt out "What Kind of Fool Am I?" He was quite amusing as the unabashedly greedy go-between.

Almost 50 years down the road, this movie still retains its "fire."

You'd sure think that with Robert Mitchum, Jack Lemmon and Rita Hayworth this would be an exceptional film--but it isn't--at least in a good way! Despite all this talent, Mitchum and Hayworth are essentially wasted--especially Mitchum who is given very little to do during the film other than to act grumpy! In addition, mid-way through the film, the entire flow of the movie stops and it's almost like an entirely different film for 45 minutes. At the end, it unconvincingly returns back to the original and far inferior story.

The plot involves two partners who live in the Caribbean--making money taking people on fishing trips or doing a little smuggling. When a guy pays them to transport Miss Hayworth secretly out of the country, Mitchum responds with some nonsense about "hating women like her" and other such nonsense. To the well-trained ear used to bad movies, this obviously means "I'll act like I hate her through most of the film, but soon we'll be slobbering all over each other!". What a horrid cliché--and so predictable.

Later, when Mitchum is treating Hayworth badly, Lemmon assumes the role of Sir Galahad and defends her. Eventually, he even decides he wants to marry her and take care of her. However, Hayworth knows that she's just no good and won't commit.

In the interim, Lemmon goes on a very dangerous smuggling mission without Mitchum. He wants to get money for Hayworth to smuggler her into the United States, so he feels it's worth the risk. Things go poorly, however, and Lemmon's boat is destroyed. He hops aboard a freighter and makes for the island where Hayworth is waiting. However, completely out of the blue, there is an accident on board and Lemmon is trapped and the boat is about to explode (gosh) and there's a very limited amount of time to save him. However, all attempts fail and it looks like Lemmon will be blown to smithereens. This part of the film is actually very tense and interesting--and DOESN'T star Mitchum or Hayworth but a whole new cast of characters!! As I said, it's like a movie within a movie.

In the end, Hayworth and Mitchum return to help out good 'ol Jack, but by now (no surprise), Hayworth and Mitchum have discovered that they don't hate each other but are in love (gag me).

The film is poorly constructed, clichéd, stupid and failed to do anything with the only good part of the film (Lemmon trapped on the boat). What a waste of good talent.

Johnny Mercer knew a thing or two about women like Irena(Miss R.Hayworth battered but unbowed as a refugee from just about everything) wearily passing from man to man before she ends up on a ratty boat owned by Mr R.Mitchum and Mr J.Lemmon en route to anywhere as long as she hasn't been there before. Without really trying she causes a violent fight between the two men and Lemmon is only saved by a timely intervention by the splendid Mr E.Connor as their deckhand. Put ashore she allows Lemmon to accompany her to a run - down hotel and hatch a plot to smuggle her back to the USA which is foiled when Mitchum betrays him to the Customs.Miss Hayworth and Mr Mitchum clearly deserve each other and become lovers.Forced to sign on as crew in a decrepit freighter,Lemmon is trapped by the legs in a collision at sea and can only be saved if he allows the doctor(Mr B.Lee in what may be his finest screen performance)to amputate.You may extrapolate the rest with little difficulty,but much of the joy in "Fire down below" is in the casting of the smaller parts with Mr A.Newley exceptional as a barman/fixer who initially gets the three main characters together and a customarily wry turn from Mr H.Lom as the Harbourmaster who must make the decision to tow the damaged freighter out to sea to avoid an explosion which would devastate the waterfront and undoubtedly cost him his job and at the same time abandon Mr Lemmon to his fate which also would undoubtedly cost him his job. I first saw the film in 1958 at the "Savoy" on Brighton seafront in a more innocent world where it was o.k. to like Americans and view them as the potential saviours of western civilisation rather than the precursors of its doom,o.k. to see the U.S. Navy as an honourable,brave and helpful organisation run by nice guys like Mr B.Colleano despite being Canadian. Now of course those naive beliefs are no longer self - evident although I still grimly cling to them along with the hope that,out there somewhere Mitchum,Lemmon and Hayworth are living in a "Jules et Jim" menage a trois happily ever after. Well,I never said I was smart.

If you've read the IMDB plot summary for this film, you already know more than I did before I watched it. Which is a shame, because ... boy oh boy, I did not see where this movie was headed, although the title should have given me a clue. Two rascals with a tramp steamer (top-billed Robert Mitchum, with Jack Lemmon) agree to ferry a shady dame (top-billed Rita Hayworth) from island to island. But, as shady dames are wont to do, she comes between them. One of the surprises was that this was Jack Lemmon's movie, mostly due to the weird but compelling plot turn that takes the movie in a completely different direction about halfway through. Fantastic chemistry between Mitchum and Hayworth, who get all the good lines: "What are you waiting for?", "For someone to touch me with kindness." Both Mitchum and Hayworth are deeply flawed, and exude exquisite boredom, injury and weakness. Jack Lemmon, as the "kid" Tony is decent, happy-go-lucky, fearless and lovestruck, all at once. The love triangle plays out with betrayal, world-weariness, and a big sinking ship (not the Titanic). I say: Worth seeing (4/5).

Rita Hayworth, Robert Mitchum, and Jack Lemmon star in this tale of passion, friendship, and betrayal set in an exotic locale. Robert and Jack are friends, that is until Rita shows up. Rita gets a chance to show her acting chops in an understated performance as a lady wanting off of the island. She has a very memorable dance number, too. And, Bob Mitchum is Bob Mitchum, basically.

Even though Jack Lemmon gets third billing, he has more air time than the others. My main problem with it is the fact that Jack's predicament takes up 30 minutes of the film and other than watching him act there's not much suspense or interest to keep the viewer really involved.

It's to the actors' credit that the rest of the movie is very watchable and the ultimate ending is a very natural one. I know my review sounds rather lackluster (my rating is really 6.5), but if you like the stars, you'll walk away pretty satisfied. The ending helps a lot, and Rita seems to have everything pretty well balanced in her capable hands.

Costarring Herbert Lom (Dreyfuss from the "Pink Panther" series) and Bernard Lee (Bond's superior "M" before Judi Dench) and co-produced by Bond producer Albert C. Broccoli, this combination of adventure and drama that may be one of the stars lesser known efforts but it is waiting for you to discover it.