Golden Salamander (1950)

A man is torn between tackling a sinister crime syndicate or turning a blind eye to the suffering it creates.

Director:

Ronald Neame

Writers:

Victor Canning (novel), Lesley Storm,

Stars:

Trevor Howard, Anouk Aimée, Herbert Lom

1 win.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Trevor Howard	...	David Redfern
Anouk Aimée	...	Anna (as Anouk)
Herbert Lom	...	Rankl
Walter Rilla	...	Serafis
Miles Malleson	...	Douvet
Jacques Sernas	...	Max
Wilfrid Hyde-White	...	Agno
Peter Copley	...	Aribi
Marcel Poncin	...	Dommic
Kathleen Boutall	...	Mme. Guillard
Eugene Deckers	...	Police Chief
Percy Walsh	...	Guillard
Sybille Binder	...	Mme. Labree

Storyline

British archaeologist David Redfern comes to Tunisia to catalog a collection of art relics and stumbles into evidence of a gun-smuggling racket. Hesitant at first to get involved or even to report the information, he becomes convinced he must do the right thing after a young man is murdered. By then, though, the smugglers know Redfern knows too much and they target him for death.

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Plot Keywords:

gun running | tunisia | fishing | murder | antiquities | 

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Taglines:

Introducing the compelling new star discovery of the year....exotic ANOUK!

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Genres:

Adventure | Crime | Drama

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 September 1950 (Finland)

Also Known As:

Der goldene Salamander

Filming Locations:

Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Pinewood Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

A flock of seagulls are squawking around a body floating on the water's surface. A moment later another character has to dive to find the body weighted down well below the surface and not in any position to attract the birds.

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Quotes

Serafis: He's an odd character this Englishman.

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Soundtracks

"Cafe des Amis en Coquette"
(uncredited)
Music by George Windeatt

User Reviews

Crime and romance in a foreign setting

Not really poorly made, but more so mediocre, the film's biggest downfall is the lack of any solid plot. The darkness of the shots at the beginning of the film make it hard to see what is going, however one is able to make out that the protagonist has stumbled across some illegal activity. The first third of the film progresses along with the mystery of what they were doing being the only thing driving the plot. Soon after the mystery is revealed, a romance begins, and the rest of the films ties in the protagonist's love interest to how he deals with the crooks. In other words, it is a bit of a mess, and a bit of a predictable one too. Trevor Howard is a good choice for the lead, but the rest of the acting is merely adequate. To the film's virtue, Neame captures the intriguing nature of a foreign environment and atmosphere well, the locations are good, and close-ups are used well to tell certain parts of the tale. It is probably worth a look for fans of Neame and/or Howard.