Plunder of the Sun (1953) was the second movie produced by John Wayne and Robert Fellows under their Wayne-Fellows partnership, which later became Batjac Productions. It's one of four such titles newly released on DVD by Paramount Home Entertainment. Along with Track of the Cat (1954), Plunder of the Sun has been given a "Special Collector's Edition" treatment, with extensive extras and a commentary track. While the movie itself is just-OK, the extras - as well as the interesting location shooting - make this a worthwhile release.

Adapted from a novel of the time by David Dodge, Plunder of the Sun stars Glenn Ford as an debt-ridden insurance adjuster who agrees to smuggle part of a historic map out of Cuba on a passenger ship. A murder along the way leaves Ford trying to figure out how the map can lead him to buried treasure in the ancient Aztec ruins near Oaxaca, Mexico. Of course there are also others interested in finding the loot, including Sean McClory as a sinister Irish rogue and two shady women played by Patricia Medina and Diana Lynn.

It's a rather murky story which too often gets bogged down in talk, and it doesn't help that an extended chase sequence and shootout is particularly unexciting. That said, Ford does the best he can with the script, and his natural ability elevates the film. The rest of the cast is also decent, with McClory's bleached-blond hair and ever-present sunglasses lending an off-kilter menace. Patricia Medina (the future Mrs. Joseph Cotten) does especially well in her first scene, translating the words of a romantic Cuban song for Ford in a smoky nightclub. And Diana Lynn holds her own nicely opposite Ford. Her face and voice bear a remarkable resemblance to Gloria Grahame, which is ironic since Ford and the real Gloria Grahame would work together right after this feature, on The Big Heat (1953).

On the DVD's commentary track, Peter Ford tells us that his father Glenn had just done Affair in Trinidad (1952) and was unhappy that Harry Cohn had violated the star's contract, which stipulated equal billing and promotion with co-star Rita Hayworth. But the Affair ad campaign was all about Hayworth, unsurprisingly, for that was her big comeback after four years away from movie screens. Ford complained to Cohn, got out of his contract, and started working freelance.

Aside from the cast, the location work makes Plunder of the Sun worth a look. The Mitla and Monte Alban ruins are quite striking even though too many of the scenes there have the actors simply standing around talking to each other. The result is that the ruins tend to overwhelm the story. The best extra is a featurette called "Plundering History," in which an archeologist discusses the ruins and delves into the historical aspects of the Oaxaca setting. Other extras include "On Location With Glenn Ford," essentially a reading of a sweet letter the star wrote to his mother while filming, accompanied by snapshots taken on set by Ford himself There's also a short video biography of Sean McClory, a photo gallery, and the theatrical trailer. The trailer pointedly references The Maltese Falcon, a movie which Plunder of the Sun clearly tries to be.

The commentary track by Peter Ford and film historian Frank Thompson is uneven. They toss out some fun facts (Diana Lynn worked with a "laughing coach" for a brief sequence in which she has to laugh hysterically) but they tend to be unfocused and rambling. Strangely, they too often seem unsure of their facts. It's one thing for Peter Ford to say he doesn't know much about cinematographer Jack Draper, but one would expect Frank Thompson, as the film historian, to at least have done the bare minimum of research. A few minutes on the Internet, for instance, reveals that Jack Draper shot a dozen or so silent Hollywood westerns before moving to Mexico for the rest of his career (and presumably his life). In Mexico he shot well over 100 features stretching into the 1960s as well as the odd Hollywood production shooting in that country, such as Plunder of the Sun, Tarzan and the Mermaids (1948) and Bullfighter and the Lady (1951). The latter was the first major film of director Budd Boetticher and incidentally was also produced by John Wayne. Perhaps that association led to Draper's working on Plunder of the Sun. In any case, Draper does a very fine job on Plunder; Ford even says in his letter to his mother that he has "never been photographed better in any picture."

For more information about Plunder of the Sun, visit Paramount Home Entertainment. To order Plunder of the Sun, go to TCM Shopping.

by Jeremy Arnold