TANGIER. Universal Pictures, 1946. Maria Montez, Robert Paige, Sabu, Preston Foster, Louise Allbritton, Kent Taylor, J. Edward Bromberg, Reginald Denny. Director: George Waggner.

   Capitalizing on the American movie-going audience’s love for exotic locales, Tangier is a somewhat confusing adventure/espionage film that’s nevertheless perfectly watchable lowbrow escapism. It stars Robert Paige as Paul Kenyon, a down and out reporter and Maria Montez, as Rita, a nightclub dancer, who end up working together to track down a Spanish Nazi collaborator named “Balthazar.”

   The atmosphere and coterie of unscrupulous characters are meant to take the viewer out of his humdrum existence and into a dangerous world of criminals, informants, and collaborators. It works well enough for the very short running time of the film (a mere 76 minutes), but anything longer would have likely sunk the already somewhat padded programmer.

   Directed by George Waggner, best known for the highly atmospheric The Wolf Man (1941), the movie succeeds in creating an ambiance – a sense of time and place – but is far less successful in holding together a cohesive, easy to follow plot. It’s one of those films where everyone ends up in the same room at the end and all is revealed. Not particularly sophisticated material.

   Still, it has its moments. Look for character actor J. Edward Bromberg in a small, but pivotal role, and for Sabu as an ambitious nightclub guitarist seeking to ingratiate himself with  Kenyon (Paige). Montez, for her part, is cast in a far more serious role than in the colorful exotics she did with Jon Hall.