River of Gold

Two American adventurers on a Mexican island find themselves swept up in the search for the fabled RIVER OF GOLD.

This made-for-TV feature is an enjoyable tale, offering plenty of fisticuffs and romantics. Although the plot is a bit more convoluted than the film's 74 minutes can handle, there is still entertainment in enjoying the action, puzzling out the meaning of a mysterious poem (don't try) and enjoying the antics of a good cast.

Playing an evil millionaire who won't shirk at murder, Ray Milland acts properly villainous in his three scenes. Lovely Suzanne Pleshette is completely fetching as an eagerly amorous young widow. As the buddy duo sailboating around the world, sensitive Dack Rambo & stalwart Roger Davis make an energetic team--it's too bad the ratings didn't warrant producing more of their exploits.

From the first edition of his 1974 autobiography, Wide-eyed In Babylon, it is obvious that Milland despised this film and had contempt for his two male costars. The name of the guys' sailboat, the Fred C. Dobbs, was Bogart's shiftless character in THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE (1948).