Al Colby (Glenn Ford) is in Havana where he meets the sultry Anna Luz (Patricia Medina) and ends up being offered a job by Anna’s frail companion Mr Berrien (Francis L. Sullivan). The job involves smuggling a small package to Mexico. It looks easy enough, but it turns out that the package contains details of a vast Aztec treasure and is being hunted by any number of dangerous types including the ruthless thug Jefferson (Sean McClory). The screenplay by Jonathan Latimer (from the novel by David Dodge) is thin and a touch unengaging, despite having plenty of noir staples including an ambiguous hero, a sexy femme fatale and great use of light and shadow. Director John Farrow does well to keep the story relatively coherent amongst the various turns and the large cast that wanders in and out. Much of the action is filmed in and around actual Aztec sites and Farrow uses these well to help provide the story with a rich and authentic feel. The film looks good with cinematographer John Draper applying plenty of expressionistic lighting and making the Aztec ruins look sinister and otherworldly. Glenn Ford is in strong no nonsense form in the lead, delivering plenty of punchy dialogue. He’s well matched by Patricia Medina who looks great while keeping her motivations opaque and the blond-haired Sean McClory who makes for a deadly and vicious villain. Overall “Plunder of the Sun” has many good elements and is enjoyable enough but the different elements never fully jell and never fully come together to make this anything other than a slightly above average noir-thriller. ( )