''Mystery in Mexico'' is a 1948 American

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Ca ...

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre ...

directed by

Robert Wise Robert Earl Wise (September 10, 1914 – September 14, 2005) was an American film director, producer, and editor. He won the Academy Awards for Best Director and Best Picture for his musical films ''West Side Story'' (1961) and ''The Sound of ...

. It stars

William Lundigan William Paul Lundigan (June 12, 1914 – December 20, 1975) was an American film actor. His more than 125 films include '' Dodge City'' (1939), ''The Fighting 69th'' (1940), ''The Sea Hawk'' (1940), ''Santa Fe Trail'' (1940), '' Dishonored Lady ...

Jacqueline White Jacqueline Jane White (born November 23, 1922) is an American former actress, who had a brief career in Hollywood motion pictures during the 1940s and early-1950s working as a contract player at both studios MGM and RKO, and perhaps best reme ...

and Ricardo Cortez. The film centers around the search for an insurance investigator who went to Mexico to check on some valuable jewelry. The film was shot on location in Mexico City and Cuernavaca.

Plot

On a flight to Mexico City, insurance investigator Steve Hastings (

) befriends singer Victoria Ames (

), attempting to get information about her missing brother, fellow investigator Glenn Ames (

Walter Reed Walter Reed (September 13, 1851 – November 22, 1902) was a U.S. Army physician who in 1901 led the team that confirmed the theory of Cuban doctor Carlos Finlay that yellow fever is transmitted by a particular mosquito species rather than ...

), who the firm suspects may have taken a stolen necklace he was tasked with recovering. Their search for the brother leads them to nightclub owner John Norcross ( Ricardo Cortez) and his sometimes girlfriend, singer Dolores Fernandez,(

Jacqueline Dalya Jacqueline Dalya (August 3, 1918November 25, 1980) was an American film and stage actress who began her career in the 1940s, appearing in films and on Broadway. Biography Early life Dalya was born August 3, 1918 in New York City. Career She ap ...

). Taxi driver Carlos (

Tony Barrett Tony Barrett (born Martin Lefkowitz; May 24, 1916 – November 16, 1974) was an American actor, writer, and producer. He was born on May 24, 1916 New York City. He worked as a radio and screen actor, screenwriter, and television writer and pro ...

), who has been helping Hastings, turns out to be Norcross's stooge, and reveals to the nightclub owner where the injured brother has been recuperating with a simple Mexican family.

Cast

as Steve Hastings *

as Victoria Ames * Ricardo Cortez as John Norcross *

as Carlos *

as Dolores Fernandez *

as Glenn Ames

Production

Principal photography for ''Mystery in Mexico'' took place at RKO's Estudios Churubusco in Mexico City and their studios in Hollywood in late September and October, and early and mid-November 1947. Location shooting took place in

Cuernavaca Cuernavaca (; nci-IPA, Cuauhnāhuac, kʷawˈnaːwak "near the woods", ) is the capital and largest city of the state of Morelos in Mexico. The city is located around a 90-minute drive south of Mexico City using the Federal Highway 95D. The na ...

and other places in Mexico.

References

External links

* * {{Robert Wise 1948 films Films directed by Robert Wise 1940s crime thriller films American crime thriller films American black-and-white films Films scored by Paul Sawtell RKO Pictures films 1940s American films