If I haven't mentioned it innumerable times previously, let me put on record once again that John Ford ranks amongst my favourite directors. This film is something of an anomaly for him being neither a Western nor an Oirish flick, but a South Seas Islands adventure, so popular at that time. And what an achievement; this viewing was even more memorable than my first encounter with the movie on television several many years ago. I was recently introduced to an equally maniacal movie buff who has built a small cinema in his garden, seating only 13 persons, who shows l6 mm prints of classic films twice a month. This was last night's spectacular.
Set on a small island some 600 miles from Tahiti, it is the love story between the continuously-cast Dorothy Lamour as a sarong-wearing native and her handsome lover, Terangi, played by Jon Hall (who was actually part-Tahitian by descent). Racist politics cause his being jailed for breaking a man's jaw and constant escape attempts (since one should not attempt to confine such a free spirit) result in his sentence being further and further extended. This in itself would only qualify the movie as a high-class potboiler, but the supporting cast of C. Aubrey Smith as the island's craggy priest, Thomas Mitchell in his typical role of a drunken doctor, John Carradine as a sadistic prison warder, Jerome Cowan as a ship's captain, Raymond Massey as the local administrator who could have helped poor Terangi, and Mary Astor as his sympathetic wife lift the drama to movie-lover heaven.
However the real star of this film and the main reason for its lasting appeal is the stupendous hurricane that takes up the last reel, destroying the island, killing most of its inhabitants, and generally unleashing nature's havoc. Considering how long ago this film was made -- long before the CGI tricks of today -- this depiction is an amazing achievement and exciting in just about every way. I often accuse Mr. Ford of making films which make me cry; this one is not in that category at all, but remains a remarkable reminder of his movie magic.
1 comment:
Mitchell just about nailed his drunk act here and he and Raymond Massey was his
usual upright self - the two leads hardly acted but just looked 'pretty' - though
both were outperformed by the hurricane which was brilliantly done, as you say.
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