Nervy burlesque of Hustonian exotic thrillers

A marvelously understated film noir that parodies all those big-budget spy/adventure films.

Dan Duryea usually excels in his roles, but in "World for Ransom," he doesn't seem to know what to do. His performance is wildly uneven, but that stems mostly from the fact that "World for Ransom" was basically made from the scraps of "China Smith," a television series also starring Duryea. It just doesn't seem like a whole lot of effort was put into the film's creation, and that's why it comes off as an uninspired, shallow piece of work. That being said, I found myself strangely enjoying a handful of its sequences, most of which came near its end, and even though Duryea's performance is a mixed bag, there's more good to it than bad. Overall, "World for Ransom" is forgettable because of its lack of ambition and creativity, but it does have some redeeming qualities.