Island in the Sun (1957)

Director:

Robert Rossen

Writers:

Alfred Hayes (writer)
Alec Waugh (novel)

Release Date:

27 August 1957 (West Germany)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

The place is the West Indies . . . the sun hides many things.

Plot:

Set on a fictitious island in the Carribean during colonial British rule. It focuses on the life of...

Plot Keywords:

Miscegenation | Campaign | Racism | Interracial Romance | Union Leader

Cast

James Mason	...	Maxwell Fleury
Joan Fontaine	...	Mavis Norman
Dorothy Dandridge	...	Margot Seaton
Joan Collins	...	Jocelyn Fleury
Michael Rennie	...	Hilary Carson
Harry Belafonte	...	David Boyeur
Diana Wynyard	...	Mrs. Fleury
John Williams	...	Colonel Whittingham
Stephen Boyd	...	Euan Templeton
Patricia Owens	...	Sylvia Fleury
Basil Sydney	...	Julian Fleury
John Justin	...	Denis Archer
Ronald Squire	...	Governor Templeton
Hartley Power	...	Bradshaw

Runtime:

119 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Canada:G (Quebec) (video rating) (1998) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Barbados

Company:

DFZ Productions

Movie Connections:

Referenced in I Land in the Sun (2006)

Strong cast, weak story, vague look at race relations in Caribbean...

Alec Waugh's novel dealt with murder, incest, racism and other assorted social problems including politics--and one would think that the film made from his best-selling novel would have to be something really important and vastly entertaining. Sorry--not so. The script is a major dud requiring a viewer to sit through two hours of boredom relieved only by a chance to gape at some nice scenery.

The actors have all done better work elsewhere--and that includes JAMES MASON, HARRY BELAFONTE, JOAN FONTAINE, JOAN COLLINS, STEPHEN BOYD, PATRICIA OWEN and DOROTHY DANDRIDGE. At the time of release it may have stirred up some controversy because of the racial theme but none of the love interest is graphic enough to quicken anyone's pulse, then or now.

The Fontaine/Belafonte match suffers from poor writing and she looks vaguely uncomfortable in her role most of the time. It all comes off as cheap soap opera material, cleansed of any serious look or discussion of racial problems among the upper and middle class set depicted in the film.

But what matters most of all is that the film is a boring mess, long and very undistinguished despite its stellar cast.