Tangier (1946)

Set in the North African city of Tangier, a cafe dancer (Maria Montez) from Madrid uses her entertainer persona as a cover for her real mission. To track down and kill the Nazi war criminal who killed her father and brothers. Directed by George Waggner (THE WOLF MAN), this B&W mystery thriller was an attempt to spotlight Maria Montez in something other than the exotic Technicolor Arabian and Pacific island maidens that made her a box office favorite. Those films weren't very good but at least they were a lot livelier than this tired piece of nonsense. Without the Technicolor to highlight her beauty, Montez isn't very interesting as an actress. Worse yet, they've given her a cipher of a leading man, Robert Paige. In one scene, Paige says "That's my problem. No personality!" and it's the most honest thing in the movie. He makes Jon Hall and Turhan Bey (Montez's usual co-stars) seem positively scintillating! With Sabu, Preston Foster, Louise Allbritton, Kent Taylor, J. Edward Bromberg and Joan Shawlee.