Jeff Dawson (Gary Cooper) and Dutch Peterson (Ward Bond) are wildcatters in South America. They have sunk all their funds into a patch of land where they hope to discover oil. However, bandits arrive. The bandits - led by El Gavilan (Juan Garcia) - demand money for 'protection.' Jeff and Dutch have no money, so the bandits blow up the well and steal their only horse. The pair hike back to town with plans of getting a job. Hungry, Dutch attempts to steal just enough money from a random man to pay for a meal. The man proves to be Paco (Anthony Quinn), an old friend of Jeff and Dutch. He gladly pays for them to have dinner and arranges for rooms. In fact, he offers them a job.
Jeff, Dutch, and Paco had been in business previously, but Jeff left suddenly and Dutch left with him. It soon becomes apparent that Jeff left on account of Paco's wife, Marina (Barbara Stanwyck). Her relationship with Paco is difficult, all the more so now that Jeff is back in the picture. Clearly, she has a thing for Jeff. If Jeff wasn't in such a financial pickle, he would hightail it immediately. To make matters worse, Paco is also having difficulties with the banditos.
Gary Cooper plays his usual stalwart, do-right fellow despite his poverty. Jeff Dawson proves to be a highly skilled oilman who should have been turning down job offers rather than desperate for the first one to come along. He is a paragon of virtue whose only flaw is repeated bad luck.
Barbara Stanwyck plays the bad girl. She has a husband who loves her and provides well, but she doesn't reciprocate. She could tolerate him well enough when it was just the two of them, but Jeff's return has rekindled her desire to find another man. Her efforts in that direction grow in intensity as the story unfolds.
Anthony Quinn is more talk than action. He's constantly boasting and is often oblivious to the feelings of those around him. He repeatedly forces himself on his wife while Jeff is in the room, he presses to give Jeff money while ignoring Jeff's pride against handouts. Constantly with the big talk, but when it comes to saving one of his wells, it is Jeff who risks himself rather than Paco. Was it Jeff who set Paco's operation on the path to great success before he fled from Marina? It looks that way.
Ward Bond plays his usual sidekick character. Dutch is amiable but lacks Jeff's rectitude. He reads the room well and makes an excellent friend. There are none of the rough edges that are typically a feature of his characters. He figures prominently in the first act but is sidelined after an encounter with the banditos.
Ruth Roman plays Sal Donnelly, an American woman stranded in South America. She initially approached Jeff with hopes he might pay her way back to the States. When it turned out he was flat broke, she practically sneered. However, despite that, he offered to pay her way once he came into money. His repeated concern for her welfare sparked interest. Plus, she looks quite good in an evening gown. Marina is openly hostile to Sal.
The movie is not clear on what it wants to be. There is the love triangle of Jeff-Marina-Paco. There is another love triangle of Marina-Jeff-Sal. Then there is the repeated bandito trouble that always leads to gun fights and explosions. In the opening, it felt very like Treasure of the Sierra Madre with Ward Bond begging a fellow American to front him a meal. Then, Jeff and Dutch get a job where they get stiffed on pay. Happily, it diverges from there.
Just okay.
