Adaptation of a best seller, crafted into a star vehicle for Tyrone Power. He's very handsome and dashing and all that. Fox made sure this was a hit - dependable Phil Dunne did the script, John Cromwell directed, George Sanders offered support, there's decent production value Gene Tierney is a native girl and Frances Farmer the fake love interest.
Dunne does a solid job - there's three acts and a prologue, with Roddy McDowall excellent as young Tyrone. The piece has a theme too - the injustice of laws that so favour the nobility. Act two is an idyllic life in Tahiti with Power romancing Tierney - I really liked how he was allowed to go back with her at the end, she didn't even have to turn out to be white or anything. I liked McDowall for not wrecking Henry Davenport's life by running off.
George Sanders does his Sanders thing well. In the opening scene he takes his shirt off for a boxing match - the most physical role Sanders ever played? No hiding those man boobs. It's not that satisfying Power grows up to beat up old Sanders - I mean, he is pretty old.
John Carradine livens things up as Power's friend. Frances Farmer was good value too as the fake love interest - she actually seems interested in what she's acting.
No comments:
Post a Comment