Island in the Sun (1957)

Director:

Robert Rossen

Writers:

Alfred Hayes
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:

Island | Racism | Murder | Infidelity | Kiss

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
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Barbara Upton	...	Colonel's Secretary

Directed by
Robert Rossen

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Alfred Hayes
Alec Waugh		novel

Produced by
Darryl F. Zanuck	....	producer

Original Music by
Malcolm Arnold

Cinematography by
Freddie Young

Film Editing by
Reginald Beck

Production Design by
John DeCuir

Art Direction by
John DeCuir		(as John de Cuir)

Costume Design by
Phyllis Dalton
David Ffolkes

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Gerry O'Hara	....	assistant director
Douglas Twiddy	....	second assistant director
Michael Birkett	....	second assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
John Graysmark	....	set designer (uncredited)

Sound Department
Michael Hickey	....	sound
J.B. Smith	....	sound
Gerry Turner	....	sound

Camera and Electrical Department
Robert Walker	....	camera operator

Editorial Department
Bert Bates	....	additional editing (uncredited)

Music Department
Malcolm Arnold	....	conductor
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra	....	music played by

Other crew
Maggie Unsworth	....	script supervisor (as Margaret Sibley)

Production Companies

• Darryl F. Zanuck Productions
• Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Distributors

• Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation (1957) (USA) (theatrical)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1970) (USA) (TV) (pan/scan)
• Fox Video (????) (USA) (VHS) (pan/scan)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

119 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

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

Filming Locations:

Barbados

Company:

Darryl F. Zanuck Productions

Trivia:

In August 1957, this film was being being shown on a double bill with Monkey on My Back (1957).

Quotes:

Mavis Norman:Does it make any difference, having an aim in life?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar (1995)

Soundtrack:

Eileen Allanah

1950s tale of interracial relationships and racial tensions on a British Caribbean island.

This was a very unique movie for Hollywood in the 1950s because it explored interracial relationships from both a political as well as romantic perspective. No doubt, it made audiences extremely uncomfortable.

The cast is very strong (with Dorothy Dandridge, Joan Fontaine, John Williams and James Mason--who never disappoints,) and the storyline both intriguing and unpredictable. Harry Belafonte portrays a proud, outspoken labor leader who fights racial injustice on a British Caribbean island, but this is only a secondary plot line. The "forbidden fruit" of interracial relationships is explored from several different perspectives giving this movie an important place in the history of American Cinema. Although racism and class-ism are common elements, the characters are empathetically portrayed. This movie was released in Jim Crow America and, younger viewers may not fully appreciate its' unique portrayal of Blacks in non-subservient roles. Blacks were typically cast as inarticulate maids and butlers, but Dorothy Dandridge (nominated as Best Actress for Carmen Jones in 1954) and Harry Belafonte (a top ten pop singer) were particularly stunning and sophisticated, an anomaly for Black actors in films roles at the time. Nevertheless, Belafonte's acting is often stilted, revealing that this was an early role while Dandridge's character lacks depth--though her acting superb, given that she has been given so little with which to work.

An important side note is that Harry Belafonte was a top-selling West Indian Calyso singer (Day-0-The Banana Boat Song) at the time that this movie was released and performed the title song. In addition to making a strong political statement about the need for racial justice--via his character in this film--he also was a high-profile figure within the Civil Rights Movement, marching with the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King.