Once you get a gander of the beautiful scenery via Cinematographer Freddie Young and hear the sound of Harry Belafonte's voice, you will be willing to follow the narrative anywhere. This really does come across as a paradise on Earth, which makes it even harder to imagine that beneath the tropical lushness of the environs and the island social veneer seethes and rumbles the tension of racial and sexual unrest. It is hard to believe that once again in such an idyllic setting members of the white race are living high off the hog at the expense of an indigenous work force struggling to shrug off the yoke of exploitation and oppression. Malcolm Arnold and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra serve up the musical score with a light and rousing air, but it is Harry Belafonte who is manning the boat.
Harry Belafonte strides through the story with a youthful power and authority as he gives Joan Fontaine, his romantic interest and walkabout date, a guided tour through his culture and the places of his upbringing. It would have been interesting to see her return the favor as I believe that would have beefed up the narrative. But their relationship has a wholesomeness that comes across as high-minded despite their ethnic differences. Fontaine conveys her role with a mature beauty and dignity. Perhaps Grace Kelly would have brought more youth and heat to the role, but here the age differences between her and Belafonte are next to insignificant and we are really just comparing apples to oranges.
Belafonte is in great company here surrounded by a cast at their most glamorous. Dorthy Dandridge is at times a walking, talking, painting and Joan Collins gives Elizabeth Taylor a run for her money in acting talent and sex appeal. James Mason, Michael Rennie, and Stephen Boyd are suave and gentlemanly from their troubled perspectives, and Britisher John Williams has never presented a stiffer upper lip. John Justin comes across somewhat wooden and stiff as Dandridge's love interest, but then it really is hard to take your eyes off Dorothy anyway. Here producer Darryl F. Zanuck serves up a dish of old style Hollywood and the beauty factor is high.
While Belafonte plays the role of a black man romancing a white woman and Justin plays the role of a white man timorously involved with a bi-racial black woman, James Mason is fuming with a murderous jealousy over his own wife who is the same color as himself. I think it would have been good for the symmetry of the story to have a black man and woman struggle with the issue of jealousy as a parallel subplot to complete the exploration of relationships, but this isn't represented here.
Despite flaws in the narrative and the characterizations, Belafonte really does come across as a man rising up from the people and shouldering their aspirations. When he sings you can easily see why Joan Fontaine holds him in such high regard. Personally, I would have loved to see him singing while working on a banana or fishing boat. Just as it would have been great to see more looks of longing and passionate angst between all the romantic leads. But there is an air of reserve and social decorum pervading the entire film even down to Phyllis Dalton and David Ffolkes' costume design that, even while vitiating the heat and passion of island forbidden love, somehow gives gravitas to director Robert Rossen's tale of Paradise Found and Paradise Lost.
Harry Belafonte strides through the story with a youthful power and authority as he gives Joan Fontaine, his romantic interest and walkabout date, a guided tour through his culture and the places of his upbringing. It would have been interesting to see her return the favor as I believe that would have beefed up the narrative. But their relationship has a wholesomeness that comes across as high-minded despite their ethnic differences. Fontaine conveys her role with a mature beauty and dignity. Perhaps Grace Kelly would have brought more youth and heat to the role, but here the age differences between her and Belafonte are next to insignificant and we are really just comparing apples to oranges.
Belafonte is in great company here surrounded by a cast at their most glamorous. Dorthy Dandridge is at times a walking, talking, painting and Joan Collins gives Elizabeth Taylor a run for her money in acting talent and sex appeal. James Mason, Michael Rennie, and Stephen Boyd are suave and gentlemanly from their troubled perspectives, and Britisher John Williams has never presented a stiffer upper lip. John Justin comes across somewhat wooden and stiff as Dandridge's love interest, but then it really is hard to take your eyes off Dorothy anyway. Here producer Darryl F. Zanuck serves up a dish of old style Hollywood and the beauty factor is high.
While Belafonte plays the role of a black man romancing a white woman and Justin plays the role of a white man timorously involved with a bi-racial black woman, James Mason is fuming with a murderous jealousy over his own wife who is the same color as himself. I think it would have been good for the symmetry of the story to have a black man and woman struggle with the issue of jealousy as a parallel subplot to complete the exploration of relationships, but this isn't represented here.
Despite flaws in the narrative and the characterizations, Belafonte really does come across as a man rising up from the people and shouldering their aspirations. When he sings you can easily see why Joan Fontaine holds him in such high regard. Personally, I would have loved to see him singing while working on a banana or fishing boat. Just as it would have been great to see more looks of longing and passionate angst between all the romantic leads. But there is an air of reserve and social decorum pervading the entire film even down to Phyllis Dalton and David Ffolkes' costume design that, even while vitiating the heat and passion of island forbidden love, somehow gives gravitas to director Robert Rossen's tale of Paradise Found and Paradise Lost.