Lively, entertaining reviews of, and essays on, old and newer films and everything relating to them, written by professional author William Schoell.

Thursday, September 25, 2014

THE WHITE ORCHID

THE WHITE ORCHID (1954). Director: Reginald Le Borg.

Archaeologist Robert Burton (William Lundigan, in a Richard Denning-type role) plans to hunt for the remains of a lost Mexican civilization. His magazine sends him a female photographer,  Kathryn Williams (Peggie Castle), which brings out his not-so-latent chauvinism. Kathryn is not above using her sex appeal to get the very handsome rancher Juan Cervantes (Armando Silvestre) to guide them to the ruins. Cervantes owns a vanilla bean plantation that also boasts white orchids, and it isn't long before he's forsaking his lady love Lupita (Rosenda Monteros) and declaring undying devotion to Kathryn as an annoyed Burton looks on. During a fiesta scene, there's some business with men flying around a tall pole on ropes that is cleverly-edited, but the movie doesn't lead to anything too exciting, and doesn't amount to much, despite the heavy breathing. Silvestre was born in San Diego, and was a busy actor, mostly in Mexican productions. Lundigan was also in The Case of the Black Parrot and many others, and Castle starred in Beginning of the End. Le Borg also directed Voodoo Island, which was more interesting than this.

Verdict: Good-looking cast with little to do. **.

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