On the Caribbean island of Santa Marta change is in the air. A British Crown Colony there are moves afoot to gain independence. This is leading to racial tensions among the inhabitants. At the centre of the storm is the Fleury family, a wealthy landowning family, and in particular Maxwell Fleury, a man out of step with the times.
Apparently this film was quite revolutionary for its time, examining racism and interracial relationships. It may well have been one of the first films to feature an interracial relationship.
However, examined with a 2021 lens it seems pretty tame. More than that, some things are quite unrelatable, e.g. The whole keeping-up-appearance aspect, white folks getting freaked out because their ancestry might have some non-white blood in it. I'm sure these were relevant issues for 1957, but in 2021 it does not feature.
Even without the racial themes there was potential to make a movie that still had relevance in all eras. Sadly, this is all squandered on empty soap opera-like melodrama. The murder had the most potential to make this film interesting and while that had its moments, it was also a bit of a damp squib. This said, the interplay between Colonel Whittingham, the Chief of Police, and Maxwell Fleury was the highlight of the movie.
Apparently this film was quite revolutionary for its time, examining racism and interracial relationships. It may well have been one of the first films to feature an interracial relationship.
However, examined with a 2021 lens it seems pretty tame. More than that, some things are quite unrelatable, e.g. The whole keeping-up-appearance aspect, white folks getting freaked out because their ancestry might have some non-white blood in it. I'm sure these were relevant issues for 1957, but in 2021 it does not feature.
Even without the racial themes there was potential to make a movie that still had relevance in all eras. Sadly, this is all squandered on empty soap opera-like melodrama. The murder had the most potential to make this film interesting and while that had its moments, it was also a bit of a damp squib. This said, the interplay between Colonel Whittingham, the Chief of Police, and Maxwell Fleury was the highlight of the movie.