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returns, the dagger is gone. At midnight, Mrs. Jean
Gilbert, the hotel's hostess, comes to his room. She tells Smith that Gates had befriended her during his visit and gave her a treasure map to give to Smith should something happen to him. She explains that the swamp completely encircles the island, making it inaccessible to the many who have come over the years to search for pirate gold. Smith escorts her to the hallway and watches her enter her room, then hears a bloodcurdling scream and finds her dead with the same dagger in her heart.
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pair are found and taken to a village run by
Captain Van den Bark, who welcomes them and sends them off with his aide who has orders to kill them. Smith manages to wound the aide with his own gun and escapes into the swamp while Van den Bark sends men out to search for them. Meanwhile, Van den Bark and his aide pack up all the pirate gold they have extracted from the swamp and prepare to leave the island. They are caught in the act by Smith, who escapes the dagger-throwing aide and puts him away.
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Smith then sets up an elaborate ruse with a doctor at the hospital, having Van den Bark's body placed on a bed in clear sight of the garden. Smith watches from the bushes as all the island officials come to the hospital, and sees the physician/coroner throw a dagger at Van den Bark to kill him. The physician then admits to his own smuggling operation of pirate gold and his murdering the geologists who interfered with it. The case solved, Smith and the governor's son engage in a friendly game of
461:. The character was renamed Smith and characterized as a wise-cracking detective from Brooklyn to capitalize on Dunn's association with the latter film. In addition, the script was peppered with references to Brooklyn landmarks and expressions – such as Dunn's character calling himself "a flatfoot from Flatbush" – to reinforce the connection. Dunn reportedly lost 17 lb (7.7 kg) to play the part.
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Smith in turn makes fun of their belief that quicksand and alligators killed the geologists, especially after he shows them the hole in his hat caused by a bullet he received while touring the swamp. Smith expresses his nervousness over an ornamental dagger displayed in the governor's office. Soon Smith's assistant, Gates, is found dead in his hotel room.
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Smith receives an anonymous telephone message telling him to be in his room at midnight. A few minutes before twelve, he hears whistling from the garden, goes to the door, and narrowly misses a dagger being thrown at him. He leaves the dagger in his room to inquire at the reception desk, but when he
306:
The police commissioner, Colonel Lane, and his daughter Linda appear to have been kidnapped to the island. Smith enlists the help of the governor's son, who is in love with Linda, and they wander in the swamp for two days trying to find the island. To attract attention, Smith fires his pistol; the
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Smith leads Lane, Linda, the governor's son, and Van den Bark out to Van den Bark's launch and prepares to depart. He gives his gun to Lane to stand guard over Van den Bark, but Lane shoots him. Smith pretends that Van den Bark is not fatally wounded, and they return to the administration office.
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rumored to contain pirate gold. The police commissioner calls in an
American detective, Mr. Smith, to solve the case. The island's officials – the governor, the police commissioner, the police lieutenant, and the physician/coroner – are unimpressed with Smith's wise-cracking Brooklyn persona, and
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singled out James Dunn as "the top performer in the cast in his part as the easy-going, wise-guy detective who has his employers wondering how he ever acquired a reputation as a master sleuth". This review also noted "a good deal of suspense and not a few thrills, including a knifing and a few
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roundly condemned the acting, directing, and screenwriting, categorizing the film as an "amateurish mish-mash about quicksands, killers and buried pirate gold on an unidentified island down in the
Caribbean". This review contends that Dunn, who had just made a brilliant comeback in
472:
named Ben was used in the swamp scenes. This marked the 435th film appearance for the reptile, which began appearing in films in 1909, reportedly at the age of 214. The alligator, trained by Tom Reed, earned $ 100 a day (equivalent to $ 1,692 in 2023) for its services.
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island to solve the disappearance of eight geologists who had visited an alligator-infested swamp. The lead role was rewritten especially for Dunn after his successful film comeback in
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credited Robert Webb's direction for maintaining the suspense, while noting that the film "has very little novelty, … but it is a walloping good murder story".
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Eight geologists employed by the United Oil
Company have disappeared after visiting an alligator-infested swamp in the
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This article is about the 1945 mystery film. For the 1964 Agatha
Christie work, see
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gave the film 2 out of 4 stars and called it "A short, taut, well-done thriller".
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slated to play the role. However, studio executives had the role rewritten for
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618:"'Caribbean Mystery,' With James Dunn, Sheila Ryan, New Film at the Victory"
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was released in
September 1945. It had its New York premiere in mid-August.
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after seeing the latter's comeback performance in the 1945 film
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723:. Associated Press. February 11, 1945. p. 46 – via
757:. Associated Press. April 15, 1945. p. 36 – via
523:, whom it called the "most attractive member of the cast".
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The original script had a lead character named Wyeth, with
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Filming took place from mid-January to mid-February 1945.
439:, formerly an assistant director at 20th Century Fox.
250:. It is the third film adaptation of the 1933 novel
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401:was the third film adaptation of the 1933 novel
651:The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film
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286:(1945), also produced by 20th Century Fox.
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715:"Jimmy Dunn Gets a Second Chance in Films"
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405:by John W. Vandercook to be produced by
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366:Roy Gordon as Gov. Gerald McCracken Sr.
427:was produced under the working titles
246:which marked the directorial debut of
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812:Martin, Mildred (November 1, 1945).
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468:report, a 350 lb (160 kg)
409:. The previous versions were 1934's
272:, and Edward Ryan. the plot finds a
435:. It was the directorial debut for
336:Edward Ryan as Gerald McCracken Jr.
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1125:Films directed by Robert D. Webb
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797:
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682:Ayer, Belle (November 8, 1945).
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1110:American mystery thriller films
616:Corby, Jane (August 20, 1945).
354:Richard Shaw as Lt. Bowman Hall
1130:Films scored by David Buttolph
1120:Films based on American novels
1105:American black-and-white films
582:"The Caribbean Mystery (1945)"
1:
814:"Mystery Film At the Capitol"
1150:1940s English-language films
1140:1945 directorial debut films
1100:1940s mystery thriller films
894:AFI Catalog of Feature Films
587:AFI Catalog of Feature Films
16:1945 film by Robert D. Webb
1176:
1160:Films set in the Caribbean
782:G. L. (November 9, 1945).
539:In a contemporary review,
339:Jackie Paley as Linda Lane
18:
1155:Remakes of American films
1003:On the Threshold of Space
949:
822:. p. 24 – via
819:The Philadelphia Inquirer
790:. p. 23 – via
720:The Philadelphia Inquirer
692:. p. 12 – via
648:Goble, Alan, ed. (2011).
528:The Philadelphia Inquirer
418:Mr. Moto in Danger Island
357:Daral Hudson as Hartshorn
33:
979:Beneath the 12-Mile Reef
749:"Jimmy Dunn in New Film"
626:. p. 5 – via
534:A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
458:A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
283:A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
276:detective summoned to a
845:"The Caribbean Mystery"
592:American Film Institute
1115:20th Century Fox films
1035:Guns of the Timberland
784:"Reviews and Previews"
390:
1043:Seven Women from Hell
955:The Caribbean Mystery
901:The Caribbean Mystery
888:The Caribbean Mystery
877:The Caribbean Mystery
689:The Rock Island Argus
516:The Rock Island Argus
490:The Caribbean Mystery
425:The Caribbean Mystery
399:The Caribbean Mystery
385:Edward Ryan (l.) and
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351:as Capt. Van den Bark
236:The Caribbean Mystery
63:(as W. Scott Darling)
29:The Caribbean Mystery
1145:1940s American films
1059:The Cape Town Affair
995:Seven Cities of Gold
788:Harrisburg Telegraph
754:The Spokesman-Review
623:Brooklyn Daily Eagle
508:Brooklyn Daily Eagle
502:Harrisburg Telegraph
429:Zombies of the Swamp
389:in a publicity still
333:as Mrs. Jean Gilbert
1135:Films set in swamps
1027:The Way to the Gold
239:is a 1945 American
21:A Caribbean Mystery
1095:1945 mystery films
1051:Pirates of Tortuga
941:Films directed by
906:TCM Movie Database
496:Critical reception
433:The Voodoo Mystery
412:Murder in Trinidad
403:Murder in Trinidad
391:
372:as Adelaide Marcel
345:as Dr. Rene Marcel
260:to be produced by
258:John W. Vandercook
253:Murder in Trinidad
135:John W. McCafferty
92:John W. Vandercook
87:Murder in Trinidad
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656:Walter de Gruyter
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759:Newspapers.com
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725:Newspapers.com
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684:"Film Fanfare"
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855:. Retrieved
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363:as Col. Lane
327:as Mr. Smith
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244:mystery film
235:
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208:Running time
185:Release date
85:
74:Jack Andrews
65:(adapted by)
1067:The Jackals
521:Sheila Ryan
449:Reed Hadley
415:and 1939's
394:Development
349:Roy Roberts
343:Reed Hadley
331:Sheila Ryan
270:Sheila Ryan
264:. Starring
117:Edward Ryan
114:Sheila Ryan
98:Produced by
46:Directed by
1090:1945 films
1084:Categories
963:The Spider
549:References
453:James Dunn
387:James Dunn
377:Production
325:James Dunn
266:James Dunn
212:65 minutes
161:Production
110:James Dunn
56:Written by
40:Lobby card
470:alligator
296:Caribbean
278:Caribbean
241:film noir
132:Edited by
850:TV Guide
542:TV Guide
274:Brooklyn
225:Language
140:Music by
106:Starring
82:Based on
904:at the
891:at the
485:Release
477:Filming
443:Casting
228:English
217:Country
196:1945-06
194: (
163:company
1070:(1967)
1062:(1967)
1054:(1961)
1046:(1961)
1038:(1960)
1030:(1957)
1022:(1956)
1014:(1956)
1006:(1956)
998:(1955)
990:(1955)
982:(1953)
974:(1953)
966:(1945)
958:(1945)
853:. 2020
662:
594:. 2019
313:darts
882:IMDb
859:2020
660:ISBN
600:2020
500:The
431:and
319:Cast
290:Plot
880:at
256:by
90:by
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774:^
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686:.
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794:.
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198:)
23:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
