Tampico was a 1944 drama/war film directed by Lothar Mendes

Lothar Mendes

Lothar Mendes was a German screenwriter and film director. His most important work was Jew Suss- Personal life:...

 and released by 20th Century Fox

20th Century Fox

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...

. It starred Edward G. Robinson

Edward G. Robinson

Edward G. Robinson was a Romanian-born American actor. A popular star during Hollywood's Golden Age, he is best remembered for his roles as gangsters, such as Rico in his star-making film Little Caesar and as Rocco in Key Largo...

, Lynn Bari

Lynn Bari

Lynn Bari , born Margaret Schuyler Fisher, was a movie actress who specialized in playing sultry, statuesque man-killers in over one hundred 20th Century Fox films from the early 1930s through the 1940s.-Career:Bari was born in Roanoke, Virginia...

, Victor McLaglen

Victor McLaglen

Victor Andrew de Bier Everleigh McLaglen was an English boxer and World War I veteran who became a successful film actor.Towards the end of his life he was naturalised as a U.S. citizen.-Early life:...

, Marc Lawrence

Marc Lawrence

Marc Lawrence was an American character actor who specialized in underworld types. He has also been credited as F. A. Foss, Marc Laurence and Marc C...

, and Mona Maris

Mona Maris

Mona Maris was an Argentine film actress who was born in Buenos Aires.-Ancestry and education:Her given name was Mona Maria Emita Cap de Vielle. Her mother was a Spanish Basque and her father a French Basque...

.

Plot

Robinson plays the role of the captain

Captain (naval)

Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The NATO rank code is OF-5, equivalent to an army full colonel....

 of an oil tanker

Oil tanker

An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a merchant ship designed for the bulk transport of oil. There are two basic types of oil tankers: the crude tanker and the product tanker. Crude tankers move large quantities of unrefined crude oil from its point of extraction to refineries...

 during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, Captain Bart Manson, who rescues Katherine Hall (Bari) when her ship is sunk by a German U-boat

U-boat

U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...

. The couple marry, but Manson's ship is subsequently sunk as well. Hall becomes a prime suspect for involvement as she was carrying no identification when rescued. However Manson later discovers that his First Mate

Chief Mate

A Chief Mate or Chief Officer, usually also synonymous with the First Mate or First Officer , is a licensed member and head of the deck department of a merchant ship...

 Fred Adamson (McLaglen) is in fact a German agent

Espionage

Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...

responsible for the sinking, and Hall is cleared of any culpability.