Appointment in Honduras/Escape to

Rating:
Summary: White men in the tropics
Review: Late works from two Hollywood technicians are featured on this doubled-sided disc. First up is Jacques Tourneur's ('Out of the Past', 'Cat People') 'Appointment in Honduras' (1953), in which Glenn Ford ('The Big Heat') plays an American gunrunner trying to meet up with the newly deposed president of Honduras, so he can rearm him and put him back into power. At the start of the film, Ford hijacks a steamer off the coast of Guatemala, frees some prisoners from the hold to use as muscle, takes a rich couple hostage, and sets off for the shore in a lifeboat. The rest of the film is spent in a studio jungle, as Ford battles stock footage crocs and piranhas, a stuffed panther, enemy soldiers, and the greed of his companions. The four "Hondurans", including a wasted Jack Elam (he has about three lines), are pure examples of the "we don't need no steenkin' badges" Latin acting method. Glenn Ford underplays his role, but as in '3:10 to Yuma', you can't really buy him as true bad guy, or even as an amoral tropical hardcase. His square jaw just gets in the way. For a movie about political intrigue in Central America, given America's history in the region, the movie is basically apolitical: both the deposed Honduran president and the general who tossed him out of power are stock banana republicans.

On the other side of the disc is Allan Dwan's ('Sands of Iwo Jima') 'Escape to Burma' (1955), which uses what appears to be the same jungle set as 'Appointment in Honduras'. A lot of the plot detail is reused as well. In 'Escape', Robert Ryan ('The Wild Bunch') plays a mining wildcatter on the run across Burma. A local Burmese satrap's son is dead, and Ryan's character is believed to be responsible for his murder. Meanwhile, the British in Rangoon have sent a police officer to arrest Ryan, because they don't want their hill country client to become displeased. Ryan finds refuge in the middle of the jungle at Barbara Stanwyck's teak plantation (!). Naturally they fall in love, and more jungle adventure ensues, the nature of which I'm sure you can imagine. This film is a little more interesting than 'Appointment in Honduras'. Robert Ryan is a great b-actor, and though Stanwyck is certainly not at the peak of her powers, she struts around in jodhpurs to great effect. The movie is also cartoonishly racist, especially in its depiction of the elephant handlers on the teak plantation.

VCI has done an acceptable job with these two films, considering the usual treatment given to public domain films on DVD. 'Escape to Burma' is presented in anamorphic widescreen. Extras are limited, as you might expect, with trailers for thematically-similar films also available from VCI, and bios of the participants. Both films are in blinding Technicolor and the picture is a little soft, as is the sound, but you're not buying this DVD to test your Bang & Olafsons or your 60 inch plasma, so who cares. Tourneur is very under-represented on DVD, so why we have 'Appointment in Honduras' when there is no sign of 'Out of the Past' or 'I Walked with a Zombie' is a little frustating, but overall you can't pick a fight with this package, especially for less than ten bucks.

Rating:
Summary: Good cast but a mediocre adventure
Review: Routine pursuit adventure through Central American jungles is a letdown, considering the cast and a promising story. Jim Corbett [Glenn Ford] has a noble reason to be in Honduras but needs the help of four unsavory characters to hijack a vessel at sea to get ashore and keep his appointed rendezvous with a deposed president who hopes to return to power by defeating rebels forces. The convicts learn that Corbett is carrying big bucks to finance the takeover and plot to separate Corbett from his moneybelt. A bickering married couple are along for the jungle trek and add little to the story. Ann Sheridan's talents are wasted in this film and she doesn't do much more than quarrel with both her husband [Zachary Taylor] and Corbett. Rodolfo Acosta does a good turn as a shady character and the usual jungle menaces slither, swim, crawl and lurk in the dense, dark foliage.