Fire Down Below (1957)

Set in the Caribbean, two small time smugglers and former Korean war buddies (Robert Mitchum, Jack Lemmon) come into conflict over a mysterious woman (Rita Hayworth), a stateless Lithuanian who they are paid to smuggle into Cuba. Mitchum thinks she's no good while Lemmon falls hopelessly in love with her. Directed by Robert Parrish, the film is divided into two parts. The first focuses on the strained relationship between Mitchum and Hayworth then there's a major plot shift that happens off screen and the second half of the film becomes a race against time thriller as Lemmon is trapped in a ship under iron rubble as the clock ticks away before the ship either sinks or explodes. There's a double meaning to the film's title, too, referring both to the sexual heat between Hayworth and Mitchum and the fire in the ship's hull and threatens to destroy Lemmon. Hayworth is a little ragged around the edges here which is a perfect fit for her character but she's still Hayworth as she shows when she has a sexy Latin dance number. It's no great shakes as a movie but the Star power of the three leads is more than enough to hold your attention. The handsome CinemaScope cinematography is courtesy of Desmond Dickinson (Olivier's HAMLET). With Anthony Newley, Herbert Lom, Bernard Lee, Edric Connor and Eric Pohlmann.