Watch Appointment in Honduras For Free

Sorry, this movie sucks

Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Since Tarzan went to Guatemala in 1935, Charlie Chan to Panamá in 1940 and Fox organized a "Carnival in Costa Rica" in 1947, I decided to watch Jacques Tourneur's "Appointment in Honduras", just to have a richer view of how Hollywood depicted Central America in the old days. Now they are a bit more exact, although the approach (from the "exotic value" perspective) has changed little, if we consider how Costa Rica has been a Jurassic garden for T-Rexes, Panamá a center for tailors who are UK spies, while Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador are still the settings of stories of violence. But back then things were so corny (and not from the natives' side, but from Hollywood's), that one has to take most of these films with a grain of salt and laugh. Of those I think that "Charlie Chan in Panamá" is the best, due to its dark plot of treason during II World War, but this fabrication is as ugly as it is opportunistic, using recent facts as starting points without even considering all the tragedy, deaths and losses that can be originated by a political assassination or a coup d'état (with the assistance of the CIA or any other American "industry"). In days of the real overthrowing of Jacobo Arbenz (president of Guatemala), with the collaboration of highly paid American hired-assassins (1954), Glenn Ford plays Corbett, somebody quite close to those men, who supposedly has to help an overthrown president instead. Guatemala is replaced by Honduras, the president is called Prieto, and he has to receive money "for the cause" from Corbett. To do so Corbett has to take command of a ship, make it stop by the Honduran shore, and then cross the jungle up a river in search of Prieto to fulfill his mission. You can have three guesses to determine why Corbett does all that, but in the end, when he identifies himself as a farmer, no character in the film and nor the audience watching believes him. Before he finds Prieto, of course, Corbett has to make that dangerous jungle trip with four convicts that helped execute the operation, led by wicked Rodolfo Acosta, who took two passengers along as hostages: Ann Sheridan, who has to cross the jungle in her night gown, and her rich, mean and coward husband, played by Zachary Scott, good as usual. In their way they meet soldiers, crocodiles, ants, serpents, jungle cats, tropical storms, swarms, piranhas that swam all the way up from South America to appear in this film, an anopheles mosquito that transmits malaria to Corbett and all the clichés scriptwriter Karen DeWolf imagined or believed you would find in the Central American jungles. They never see an orchid, a high full moon, a bright butterfly or a marijuana plant that would have been so helpful to keep them relaxed. All that is left is bare tension by primitive motives, bad acting and Tourneur's boredom or indifference to the material, all in Technicolor. I don't know you, but I'd rather stick to Tarzan, Charlie Chan and the Costa Rican carnival.

Glenn Ford is on a mission. He must get to Honduras at all costs. We get the feeling he's smuggling something or is a contact person for something going down. He's on a steamer with husband-and-wife passengers Zachary Scott and Ann Sheridan. Just why they're there, I forget. But of course, they get dragged into Glenn's mission as hostages, so they have to brave the elements, too. Stuart Whitman and Jack Elam costar in this colorful and exotic film about danger at every corner and in every swamp, with alligators, crocodiles, snakes, tiger fish abound. Don't get in Glenn's way or else, because he means business here! This does have a very campy feel to it, making the viewer feel that they're not to take things too seriously. I had a lot of fun just imagining that, as they are all battling through the brush and the rain on this island, they are really on a movie set! It also helps that Ann and Glenn are practically sweating on each other, even though Ann's married to Zachary. And, the shots of a jungle and the apparent on-location outdoors helps fit the mood. I see that the rating on this is on the poor side, but I've seen worse. If you happen to come across this and want some entertainment for 75 minutes, then this over-the-top film should fulfill your adventure fix with some good company. Just watch out for those tiger fish!

On board a tramp steamer sailing of the coast of South America is Corbett – a mysterious man trying to get to Honduras. However with a revolution raging within its borders, the captain refuses to land there. Desperate to get his package to the leaders of the counter-revolution, Corbett frees some prisoners on the ship and takes control. Drifting close enough to the coast to make it into the delta and head up river, they take a rich American couple (the Sheppards) along for the ride as hostages. However none of them are really prepared for a jungle voyage that sees them face crocodiles, tiger fish, ants, pumas and the Honduran military.When I started this film I was a bit put off by the stiff tone but I didn't know anything about the Honduran revolution and thought it would be interesting. Very quickly I found that this backdrop was no more than the background for a fairly standard jungle adventure film that sees all the usual stuff bring rolled out in regards animal attacks etc. The story is not that interesting on the surface and I did find it hard to really get into even with such a short running time; however it did have some interesting aspects at times that it could (and should) have made more of. Chiefly the power battle between Corbett and Reyes is too obvious for the most part and could have been written with more subtlety and intelligence – it produces some good stuff and a reasonable conclusion. The dynamics between Corbett and Harry Sheppard while Sylvia appears to long for the tough man over her own husband is very interesting but given too little time – but still made me wake up every so often.Unfortunately the film tends to shy away from this stuff in favour of more crowd-pleasing stuff with all the usual animal attacks. Wrestling with pumas and shooting at stock footage crocodiles is not great fun but I did draw breath at the stock footage of a crocodile being picked bare by tiger fish. The effects for ants and flies are terrible by modern standards and may get some laughs but none of it is really exciting. The cast do OK when given the chance with the material but mostly they are pretty average. Ford is nothing special and is mostly just tough jawed and nothing more. Acosta's Reyes is by the numbers and his crew match him. Sheridan and Scott are more interesting and their tense interplay is interesting – sadly they are not the focus and they really could have bee better used than this.Overall this is an average jungle adventure film with all the usual fare in a plot that doesn't really use its setting very well. The plot does allow some interesting stuff in the characters but these are not made the most of, leaving a film that is fairly enjoyable but is really nothing special and is certainly not comparable to the more famous films in the Jacques Tourneur back catalogue.

This movie has an interesting plot. A wealthy couple is taken hostage and taken through the jungle of Honduras by bandits and Corben, a man that tries to set the group to his hand with promises and lies if necessary. They don't only have to fight the dangers of a jungle, but there's also a strong film noir element going on with the characters. They are all different and have all different plans with their future, but have to put up with each other to survive the jungle. It's a bit like how the characters in Ford's Stagecoach are played out against/for each other. The movie feels somewhat dated since it's so obvious it is recorded in studios, but like most Tourneurs, it's fine for a late rainy night at home. APPOINTMENT IN HONDURAS couldn't get my attention throughout the whole movie though, but I'll keep the video tape still. 5/10