Pandora and the Flying Dutchman (1951)

Director:

Albert Lewin

Writer:

Albert Lewin (story)

Release Date:

15 October 1951 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Fantasy | Mystery | Romance

Tagline:

The Woman of the year in the picture of the year ! [Australia Theatrical]

Plot:

Albert Lewin's interpretation of the legend of the Flying Dutchman. In a little Spanish seaport named Esperanza...

Plot Keywords:

Flying Dutchman | Yacht | Singer | Legend | Bullfighter

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

James Mason	...	Hendrik van der Zee
Ava Gardner	...	Pandora Reynolds
Nigel Patrick	...	Stephen Cameron
Sheila Sim	...	Janet
Harold Warrender	...	Geoffrey Fielding
Mario Cabré	...	Juan Montalvo
Marius Goring	...	Reggie Demarest
John Laurie	...	Angus
Pamela Mason	...	Jenny (as Pamela Kellino)
Patricia Raine	...	Peggy
Margarita D'Alvarez	...	Senora Montalvo
La Pillina	...	Spanish dancer
Abraham Sofaer	...	Judge
Francisco Igual	...	Vicente
Guillermo Beltrán	...	Barman
Lilli Molnar	...	Geoffrey's housekeeper (as Lila Molnar)
Phoebe Hodgson	...	Dressmaker
Gabriel Carmona	...	Member of Montalvo's cuadrilla
Antonio Martín	...	Member of Montalvo's cuadrilla
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Lolita Allergria	...	Singer, Zanba number (uncredited)
John Carew	...	Priest (uncredited)
Helen Cleverley	...	Second nurse (uncredited)
Pepe de la Isla	...	Guitarist, Zambra number (uncredited)
Christiana Forbes	...	Nurse (uncredited)
Eddie Leslie	...	Doctor (uncredited)
Ricardo Valle	...	(uncredited)
Gerald Welsh	...	Assistant doctor (uncredited)

Directed by
Albert Lewin

Writing credits
Albert Lewin		(story and screenplay)

Produced by
Joe Kaufmann	....	producer
Albert Lewin	....	producer
John Woolf	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Alan Rawsthorne

Cinematography by
Jack Cardiff

Film Editing by
Ralph Kemplen
Clive Donner		(uncredited)

Production Design by
John Bryan

Costume Design by
Beatrice Dawson

Makeup Department
Nina Broe	....	assistant hair stylist (uncredited)

Art Department
John Hawkesworth	....	set dresser
T. Hopewell Ash	....	assistant art director

Sound Department
Alan Allen	....	sound recordist
Harry Miller	....	sound editor

Special Effects by
W. Percy Day	....	special effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Man Ray	....	still photographer
Edward Scaife	....	photographer: second unit

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Julia Squire	....	costumer (uncredited)

Music Department
Hubert Clifford	....	musical director
Alan Rawsthorne	....	conductor
Kenneth V. Jones	....	music coach: Ava Gardner (uncredited)
Gerard Schurmann	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
Joan Bridge	....	technicolor color consultant
Gordon Griffith	....	assistant to producers
Angela Allen	....	continuity (uncredited)
Catherine O'Brien	....	unit publicist (uncredited)
Jeanie Sims	....	assistant: Albert Lewin (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Dorkay Productions
• Romulus Films

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1951) (USA) (theatrical)
• Kino Video (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Kino Video (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• J. Arthur Rank Film (1953) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• J.Arthur Rank-Film (1953) (Austria) (theatrical)
• Park Circus (2010) (UK) (theatrical) (re-issue)
• Kino Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Park Circus (2010) (UK) (DVD)
• Éditions Montparnasse (201) (Belgium) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

122 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Barcelona, Cataluña, Spain

Company:

Dorkay Productions

Trivia:

For still photography of Ava Gardner, producer Albert Lewin hired his friend, the famous surrealist artist Man Ray.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Most of the story takes place in 1930, but the costumes and hairstyles of Ava Gardner, as well as those of Sheila Sim and Pamela Mason are strictly in the 1950s mode.

Quotes:

Pandora Reynolds:[looking at Hendrik's painting of her] It's not like I am at all. But it's who I'd like to be.
[looking at Hendrik]
Pandora Reynolds:Why am I not like that?
Hendrik:Perhaps you haven't found what you want yet, perhaps you're unfulfilled. Perhaps you don't even know what you want, perhaps you're discontented. Discontentment often finds vent through malice and destruction.
Pandora Reynolds:[suddenly angry] Malice and destruction, is that what you think? Well perhaps I can find something here to destroy.
Hendrik:I'm quite certain you will.
Pandora Reynolds:Your painting of me perhaps. Would you like me to destroy your painting?
Hendrik:[calmly] If it would help to quiet your soul.
Pandora Reynolds:How long have you worked on it?
Hendrik:[still perfectly calm] Does it matter?
[...]

Movie Connections:

References The Ancient Mariner (1925)

Soundtrack:

How Am I to Know?

See it for its visual qualities and forgive the melodrama and pretentiousness

Albert Lewin's 1951 movie injects the Flying Dutchman legend into an upper-class English-speaking community in a small port in 1930s Spain. Ava Gardner, never more beautiful and just about to emerge as a star, is the Pandora of the title, a night-club singer and femme fatale, engaged to be married to a gentlemanly racing car driver (Nigel Patrick), but with a hotheaded bullfighter (Mario Cabré) eager to win her.

Enter the Flying Dutchman, Hendrick van der Zee, trying to find a woman willing to give up her life for him so he can gain release from his eternal roving of the seas. James Mason's performance as Hendrick is one of the main salvations of the movie. With his grace, good looks and wonderfully expressive voice, he is able to give credibility to situations and lines that would be fatal for other actors.

But the film's prime asset is its visual richness. At a straightforward level there is lovely Mediterranean scenery, and some great action sequences, notably the flamenco dancing, land-speed record, and bullfight scenes. Then there are quite a few references to surreal art, matching the surreal nature of the film, such as Hendrick's Chirico-like painting of Pandora, and a remarkable shot of her, lying on her back with the profile of her face in close-up, like a Dali painting. (The film is set on the Costa Brava, near Dali's home town of Cadaques.) And throughout, there is Jack Cardiff's creative camerawork in beautiful technicolor. These visual qualities outweigh such flaws as an intrusive voice-over, and the stress laid on the - for me - irrelevant "Moving Finger" quatrain from the Rubaiyat.