Island in the Sun (C+ or 2.5/4 stars)
Set on the fictional Caribbean isle of Santa Marta, 'Island in the Sun' (directed by Robert Rossen) interweaves the stories of a plethora of characters, most of them troubled in one way or another, and at least 6 of these many characters comprise interracial couples. Maxwell Fleury (James Mason) is a wealthy & socially prominent white plantation owner who suffers from bitterness & an inferiority complex. He lives with his pretty wife Sylvia (Patricia Owen), who is jealous of his younger, even more attractive sister, Jocelyn (newcomer Joan Collins). Jocelyn is courted by young, strapping Evan Templeton (Stephen Boyd), a WWII hero who's the son of the island's Governor. Jocelyn looks to snare him into marriage by getting pregnant with his child.
Early on, Maxwell believes that a man named Hilary Carson is having an affair with his wife. Subsequently, the head of police (John Williams) must investigate a murder that we, the audience, are privy to. To prove his worth to himself & others (amid his floundering inferiority complexes), Maxwell stirs things up in an upcoming election by opposing David Boyeur (Harry Belafonte), a passionate black man representing the locals & seen as major threat to the dominant white elite.
All the while, David has a sort of dalliance with a white woman, Mavis Norman (Joan Fontaine). Other than flirty chats & leisurely walks together ... neither is courageous enough to make a move due to her being white & him being black. And in a final plot thread, David's former girlfriend, Margot Seaton (beautiful Dorothy Dandridge), a black drugstore clerk, becomes involved with a white man; who happens to be an aid to the Governor. So, under the swaying palm trees of the tropics, this film offers murder, jealousy, romance, backstabbings, mixed racial ancestry, melodrama, & all sorts of other soap opera-like material.
You know, this adaptation of Alec Waugh's novel about black/white issues & coinciding sexual tensions in the Caribbean was considered audacious/controversial for its time (1957) due to the whole interracial angle. i.e., Harry Belafonte & Joan Fontaine's forbidden, if utterly wishy-washy romance {hell, Fontaine even received tons of hate mail after this film released because of her having almost kissed a black man}. However, even with its wildly impressive ensemble cast, this film contains direction that lacks clarity, a script that feels fuzzy and/or unfinished, hesitancy about the racial conflicts, inauthentic stretches of dialogue, & a lack of emotional gusto that movies like this typically have (I'm thinking of successful 1950s films as directed by the likes of Vincente Minnelli & Douglas Sirk).
Everything felt truncated in this film. At under 2 hours in length, but with SO many characters to juggle, not one character gets their dramatic due. Just when one character's story gets going (literally & emotionally), it abruptly fades to introduce another set of characters. We sometimes don't see the original character(s) until 20-30 minutes later. And then ... more fades to pick-up a new subplot, or return to an existing one. Too many starts & stops. No flow. There are also some humorously preposterous scenes in this motion picture. One involves an older white couple who are both hiding secrets from their children concerning the true nature of their races. The revelations are delivered in such an outrageous way that I almost responded by giggling. Methinks that wasn't the desired effect.
On a positive note, 'Island in the Sun' is spectacularly shot with gorgeous color cinematography; highlighting many never-before-filmed sites of both Barbados & Grenada. The scenic beauty of the beaches, the roads, the houses, the hills, the harbors, & the sea are something to behold. I also enjoyed Harry Belafonte's opening calypso song, 'Island in the Sun', which went on to become a classic song of his. Agh. I really, really wanted to love this movie. But it isn't trashy enough. It isn't serious enough. It isn't good enough. With sketchy direction & a flawed script, it just winds up being a beautiful, well-acted disappointment.
Early on, Maxwell believes that a man named Hilary Carson is having an affair with his wife. Subsequently, the head of police (John Williams) must investigate a murder that we, the audience, are privy to. To prove his worth to himself & others (amid his floundering inferiority complexes), Maxwell stirs things up in an upcoming election by opposing David Boyeur (Harry Belafonte), a passionate black man representing the locals & seen as major threat to the dominant white elite.
All the while, David has a sort of dalliance with a white woman, Mavis Norman (Joan Fontaine). Other than flirty chats & leisurely walks together ... neither is courageous enough to make a move due to her being white & him being black. And in a final plot thread, David's former girlfriend, Margot Seaton (beautiful Dorothy Dandridge), a black drugstore clerk, becomes involved with a white man; who happens to be an aid to the Governor. So, under the swaying palm trees of the tropics, this film offers murder, jealousy, romance, backstabbings, mixed racial ancestry, melodrama, & all sorts of other soap opera-like material.
You know, this adaptation of Alec Waugh's novel about black/white issues & coinciding sexual tensions in the Caribbean was considered audacious/controversial for its time (1957) due to the whole interracial angle. i.e., Harry Belafonte & Joan Fontaine's forbidden, if utterly wishy-washy romance {hell, Fontaine even received tons of hate mail after this film released because of her having almost kissed a black man}. However, even with its wildly impressive ensemble cast, this film contains direction that lacks clarity, a script that feels fuzzy and/or unfinished, hesitancy about the racial conflicts, inauthentic stretches of dialogue, & a lack of emotional gusto that movies like this typically have (I'm thinking of successful 1950s films as directed by the likes of Vincente Minnelli & Douglas Sirk).
Everything felt truncated in this film. At under 2 hours in length, but with SO many characters to juggle, not one character gets their dramatic due. Just when one character's story gets going (literally & emotionally), it abruptly fades to introduce another set of characters. We sometimes don't see the original character(s) until 20-30 minutes later. And then ... more fades to pick-up a new subplot, or return to an existing one. Too many starts & stops. No flow. There are also some humorously preposterous scenes in this motion picture. One involves an older white couple who are both hiding secrets from their children concerning the true nature of their races. The revelations are delivered in such an outrageous way that I almost responded by giggling. Methinks that wasn't the desired effect.
On a positive note, 'Island in the Sun' is spectacularly shot with gorgeous color cinematography; highlighting many never-before-filmed sites of both Barbados & Grenada. The scenic beauty of the beaches, the roads, the houses, the hills, the harbors, & the sea are something to behold. I also enjoyed Harry Belafonte's opening calypso song, 'Island in the Sun', which went on to become a classic song of his. Agh. I really, really wanted to love this movie. But it isn't trashy enough. It isn't serious enough. It isn't good enough. With sketchy direction & a flawed script, it just winds up being a beautiful, well-acted disappointment.