The Beachcomber (1954 film)

Last updated

The Beachcomber
"The Beachcomber" (1954).jpg
British theatrical poster by Josh Kirby
Directed by Muriel Box
Written by Sydney Box
Based on The Vessel of Wrath by W. Somerset Maugham
Produced bySydney Box
William MacQuitty
Starring Donald Sinden
Glynis Johns
Robert Newton
Paul Rogers
Donald Pleasence
Michael Hordern
Cinematography Reginald Wyer
Edited by Jean Barker
Music by Francis Chagrin
Production
company
Distributed by General Film Distributors
United Artists (US)
Release date
  • 10 August 1954 (1954-08-10)
Running time
82 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget£171,776 [1]

The Beachcomber is a 1954 British comedy drama film directed by Muriel Box starring Donald Sinden, Glynis Johns, Robert Newton, Paul Rogers, Donald Pleasence and Michael Hordern. The film is based on the 1931 short story "The Vessel of Wrath" by W. Somerset Maugham and was adapted by Sydney Box. It was the second screen adaptation of the book following the 1938 film Vessel of Wrath . [2] [3] The film was shot at Pinewood Studios and on location in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). The film's sets were designed by the art director George Provis.

Contents

Plot

The new British Resident of the Welcome Islands, Ewart Gray (Donald Sinden), arrives in full uniform by ship, anticipating the excitement of a posting in the tropical Indian Ocean. [This location is fictitious, the real Welcome Islands being in the South Atlantic at the latitude of Tierra del Fuego, and being very far from a tropical paradise: the original story is set in an island in the Alas group off Dutch New Guinea, as it then was.] He is informed that the last Governor had shot himself from "loneliness", which dampens his spirits a little. On landing, he finds his quarters are not ready for him, and he is invited to stay by the local missionary Owen Jones (Paul Rogers) and his sister Martha (Glynis Johns). He soon finds their company, while friendly, a little overbearing, and returns to stay at his own residence despite it not being finished. That evening, he is visited by the only other European resident of the island, Edward Wilson (Robert Newton), known as the "Honourable Ted", who introduces himself and drinks a large amount of Gray's whisky. Despite having been warned that Ted was a scoundrel, Gray soon warms to him, finding him well-spoken and obviously educated.

A year after arriving on the island Gray is disappointed to see Ted arrested and brought up before him in court for encouraging a girl at the mission to steal some money which he then spent on drink before becoming involved in a drunken brawl. Gray breaks with precedent and sentences Ted to three months' hard labour on a neighbouring island. While there, the local headman (Michael Hordern) suffers from appendicitis. Because her brother, who functions as a local doctor as well as running the mission, is unwell, Martha travels out and successfully performs the operation. She nurses the headman back to health, while also tending to a local elephant that had injured its trunk after being attacked by a crocodile. On the way back she travels in a boat with Ted, who has now finished his sentence. She strongly disapproves of Ted, and the fact that he and the crew are drunk on arrack. She is horrified when the propeller fails and they are forced to spend the night on a small desert island. She is convinced that Ted will try and molest her, but to her surprise he leaves her alone all night—except to put some blankets on her to stop her becoming cold.

When they return to the capital she is now slightly infatuated with Ted, in whom she can see signs of goodness. He remains repulsed by her, and ignores her gentle attempts to get to know him better. His drunken behaviour on the island carries on as before, and he is involved in another brawl. This time Gray is forced to sentence him to deportation to Australia. His departure is delayed by a sudden outbreak of cholera which sweeps the islands. With all available hands needed in the capital, only Martha can be spared to go to the northern islands to treat the outbreak there. Because the governor and her brother are worried that the spread of disease might encourage a native rebellion they are hesitant to let her go. Ultimately they agree, provided she takes Ted with her. At first he refuses to help her when he is approached, but later guiltily agrees to join her.

Once they reach the northern islands they discover the inhabitants have become hostile to them, blaming the spread of the disease on the Europeans. However, Martha persuades them to let her help, reminding them of how she saved the life of the headman months before. They assent to her presence, and she and Ted throw themselves into the task of fighting the disease. Slowly they grow extremely fond of each other, and finally embrace. Each has made an emotional journey, Martha from a repressed state to being a more sensually aware woman while Ted has changed from a morally dubious character to being a more upstanding person.

After failing to save the life of a young woman, they are suddenly seized by a mob and threatened with death. Pegged out, they are about to be trampled to death by an elephant, but the animal stops at the last moment, recognizing her as the woman who had nursed its trunk months before. Astonished by this miraculous survival, the native inhabitants let them go. Back in the capital, Martha and Ted marry and he takes up playing the organ to accompany her in the mission. Gray takes some satisfaction from the fact that the number of deaths have been dramatically reduced since the last outbreak of disease and that it should in future be possible to contain and reduce the number of fatalities from the disease.

Cast

Production

The remake was announced in September 1953. [4] Glynis Johns' casting was announced the following month [5] Her fee was a reported £10,000. [6]

It was the second time Newton had followed Laughton in a film role, the first being Les Misérables. Newton said "When I told Charlie that I was going to play the part he wished me luck. Then he said: 'And when you've made it I'll reissue mine again.' " [7]

Newton had been living in Los Angeles but returned to London in January 1954 to make Trilby then The Beachcomber. [8]

Donald Sinden, then a contract star for the Rank Organisation at Pinewood Studios, recalls:

Robert Newton should have been perfect in the part. It is no secret that he was a very heavy drinker and recently, but not for the first time, he had been warned by his doctors that if he did not stop he would more than likely pop off in the very near future. When we began Beachcomber he had been on the wagon for three months and a sorry sight he was: gone were the thrown-back head and the fiery eyes; the jerky gestures made by his arms were now limp and seemed to lack purpose. It was tragic to realise that he had now reached a stage when he relied so totally on alcohol to inject spirit into his performance. He was listless and just moped around the studio, hardly talking to anyone. He knew he was not giving his best and this worried him. Every morning we greeted each other in the make-up room, where he stripped himself down to a pair of none too clean shorts-style baggy underpants, sat down, leaned back against the head-rest and stared with his large bloodshot eyes at the ceiling. Occasionally a low moan escaped his lips. He confided to me that he was not happy with the film; things were not altogether successful in his private life; he was toying with an idea of doing Shakespeare's Richard III in Australia, but generally his career was not going as well as he could wish...

Early one morning I was seated silently in my make-up chair when suddenly the door crashed open. There stood Newton, absolutely plastered, his eyes blazing. He staggered across the room, thrust his face into mine and with slobbering lips and flashing eyes he embarked on the most thrilling rendering I have ever heard of "Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer..." (What a Richard III he would have been!) From that moment he really took off in the film, but sadly there were only a few days to go—and sadder still, that last bout of drinking was followed shortly after by his death. [9]

Filming was completed by March 1954. [10]

After filming, Newton said that because the original "was filmed so long ago I don't feel that any of Laughton's mannerisms have crept into my portrayal. In fact, it never worried me at all. When one asks how it feels to do a picture revival, I always wonder why they bother doing them again – except in this instance. I did enjoy playing the character. As written by Maugham it's always been rich, colourful and amusing." [11]

Reception

The New York Times review called it a "competently wrought Technicolor remake of W. Somerset Maugham's 'Vessel of Wrath'" that did not measure up to the earlier 1938 adaptation which featured "inspired characterizations by Charles Laughton and Elsa Lanchester". [12]

The film received two stars out of five in the Radio Times: Guide to Films, which praised the performance of Robert Newton as Ted and his homage to the earlier portrayal of the role by Charles Laughton in 1938. [13]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Laughton</span> British-American actor and director (1899–1962)

Charles Laughton was a British actor. He was trained in London at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and first appeared professionally on the stage in 1926. In 1927, he was cast in a play with his future wife Elsa Lanchester, with whom he lived and worked until his death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glynis Johns</span> British actress, dancer, pianist, and singer

Glynis Margaret Payne Johns is a British retired actress, dancer, musician and singer. Recognised as a film and Broadway icon, Johns has a career spanning eight decades, in which she appeared in more than 60 films and 30 plays. She is the recipient of awards and nominations in various drama award denominations, including the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures, the Academy Awards, the Golden Globe Awards, the Laurel Awards, the Tony Awards, the Drama Desk Awards, and the Laurence Olivier Awards, within which she has won two thirds of her nominations. As one of the last surviving major stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood and classical years of British cinema, she has several longevity records to her name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elsa Lanchester</span> British-American actress (1902–1986)

Elsa Sullivan Lanchester was a British-American actress with a long career in theatre, film and television.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Newton</span> English actor (1905–1956)

Robert Guy Newton was an English actor. Along with Errol Flynn, Newton was one of the more popular actors among the male juvenile audience of the 1940s and early 1950s, especially with British boys. Known for his hard-living lifestyle, he was cited as a role model by the actor Oliver Reed and the Who's drummer Keith Moon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Muriel Box</span> British film director and writer

Violette Muriel Box, Baroness Gardiner, was an English screenwriter and director, Britain's most prolific female director, having directed 12 feature films and one featurette. Her screenplay for The Seventh Veil won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Donald Sinden</span> English actor (1923–2014)

Sir Donald Alfred Sinden was a British actor.

"The Vessel of Wrath" is a short story by W. Somerset Maugham. Written in 1931 it first appeared in the April 1931 edition of Hearst's International Cosmopolitan. Maugham often introduced short stories as a contribution to periodicals and then later included them in books or collected editions. In 1933 "The Vessel of Wrath" was included in his book Ah King.

<i>The Razors Edge</i> (1946 film) 1946 film by Edmund Goulding

The Razor's Edge is a 1946 American drama film based on W. Somerset Maugham's 1944 novel of the same name. It stars Tyrone Power, Gene Tierney, John Payne, Anne Baxter, Clifton Webb, and Herbert Marshall, with a supporting cast including Lucile Watson, Frank Latimore, and Elsa Lanchester. Marshall plays Somerset Maugham. The film was directed by Edmund Goulding.

A beachcomber is a person who practices beachcombing.

<i>Trio</i> (film) 1950 film by Harold French, Ken Annakin

Trio is a 1950 British anthology film based on three short stories by W. Somerset Maugham: "The Verger", "Mr Know-All" and "Sanatorium". Ken Annakin directed "The Verger" and "Mr Know-All", while Harold French was responsible for "Sanatorium".

<i>Encore</i> (1951 film) 1951 British film

Encore is a 1951 anthology film composed of adaptations of three short stories by W. Somerset Maugham:

<i>Mad About Men</i> 1954 film

Mad About Men is a 1954 British Technicolor comedy film directed by Ralph Thomas and starring Glynis Johns, Donald Sinden, Anne Crawford and Margaret Rutherford. It was written by Peter Blackmore, who also wrote the 1948 film Miranda which preceded Mad About Men. Johns appears in both films as the mermaid Miranda. However, Rank Films insisted it was not a sequel.

<i>You Know What Sailors Are</i> (1954 film) 1954 film

You Know What Sailors Are is a 1954 British comedy film directed by Ken Annakin and starring Donald Sinden, Michael Hordern, Bill Kerr, Dora Bryan and Akim Tamiroff. The screenplay by Peter Rogers was based on the 1951 novel Sylvester by Edward Hyams. It was shot at Pinewood Studios and on location around the Isle of Portland. The film's sets were designed by the art director George Provis.

<i>Josephine and Men</i> 1955 film

Josephine and Men is a 1955 British comedy film directed by Roy Boulting and starring Glynis Johns, Jack Buchanan, Donald Sinden and Peter Finch. It also features William Hartnell, Gerald Sim, Thorley Walters, Victor Maddern and John Le Mesurier in supporting roles. Produced by the Boulting Brothers it was shot at Shepperton Studios and distributed by British Lion Films.

<i>The Captains Table</i> 1959 film

The Captain's Table is a 1959 British comedy film directed by Jack Lee based upon a novel by Richard Gordon. It stars John Gregson, Donald Sinden, Peggy Cummins and Nadia Gray, and featured Maurice Denham, Joan Sims, John Le Mesurier, Richard Wattis and Reginald Beckwith in leading supporting roles.

<i>The Black Tent</i> 1956 British film

The Black Tent is a 1956 British war film directed by Brian Desmond Hurst and starring Donald Sinden, Anthony Steel, Anna Maria Sandri, André Morell and Donald Pleasence. It is set in North Africa, during the Second World War and was filmed on location in Libya.

Earl St. John was an American film producer in overall charge of production for The Rank Organisation at Pinewood Studios from 1950 to 1964, and was credited as executive producer on 131 films. He was known as the "Earl of Pinewood". John Davis of Rank called him "the greatest showman that The Rank Organisation has ever had, and probably the greatest showman to have lived in this country. "

<i>Personal Affair</i> 1953 film by Anthony Pelissier

Personal Affair is a 1953 British drama film directed by Anthony Pelissier and starring Gene Tierney, Leo Genn and Glynis Johns. It was made at Pinewood Studios by Two Cities Films.

<i>Vessel of Wrath</i> 1938 British film

Vessel of Wrath is a 1938 British film directed by Erich Pommer, produced by Pommer, and starring Charles Laughton and Elsa Lanchester. It was based on the 1931 Somerset Maugham short story "The Vessel of Wrath". The film is also known as The Beachcomber in the US.

<i>Svengali</i> (1954 film) 1954 film

Svengali is a 1954 British drama film directed by Noel Langley and starring Hildegard Knef, Donald Wolfit and Terence Morgan. Svengali hypnotises an artist's model into becoming a great opera singer, but she struggles to escape from his powers. It was based on the 1894 novel Trilby by George du Maurier. The film was made at Walton Studios near London with sets designed by the art director Frederick Pusey and costumes by Beatrice Dawson. It was shot in Eastmancolor. It was picked up for distribution in the United States by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

References

  1. ↑ Chapman, J. (2022). The Money Behind the Screen: A History of British Film Finance, 1945-1985. Edinburgh University Press p 358
  2. ↑ The Beachcomber (1954) at IMDb
  3. ↑ "The Beachcomber (1954)". BFI. Archived from the original on 13 January 2009.
  4. ↑ "Star is rising". The Sun . New South Wales, Australia. 6 September 1953. p. 58. Retrieved 29 May 2020– via Trove.
  5. ↑ A. H. WEILER (11 October 1953). "BY WAY OF REPORT". New York Times. p. X5.
  6. ↑ "Young British star forges her way to the top". The Sun (LATE FINAL EXTRA ed.). New South Wales, Australia. 22 October 1953. p. 55. Retrieved 29 May 2020– via Trove.
  7. ↑ "THAT "VILLAIN", ROBERT NEWTON". The Sun-Herald . New South Wales, Australia. 25 April 1954. p. 39. Retrieved 29 May 2020– via Trove.
  8. ↑ "LONDON FILM SCENE: Wisdom Has Them Laughing". New York Times. 17 January 1954. p. X5.
  9. ↑ Sinden, Donald (1982). A Touch of the Memoirs. Hodder & Stoughton. page 203.
  10. ↑ "YO HO HO ON THE SYDNEY BEACHES". The Sun-Herald . New South Wales, Australia. 7 March 1954. p. 68. Retrieved 29 May 2020– via Trove.
  11. ↑ A. H. WEILER (12 December 1954). "ON THE LOCAL SCREEN SCENE". New York Times. p. X7.
  12. ↑ A. W. (17 January 1955). "The Screen in Review; 'Beachcomber' Opens at the Normandie". The New York Times.
  13. ↑ Radio Times Guide to Film. 2004 edition. p.112
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.