Islands in the Stream (1977)

An isolated sculptor is visited by his three sons just before the start of WWII.

Director:

Franklin J. Schaffner

Writers:

Ernest Hemingway (story), Denne Bart Petitclerc

Stars:

George C. Scott, David Hemmings, Gilbert Roland

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview:
George C. Scott	...	Thomas Hudson
David Hemmings	...	Eddy
Gilbert Roland	...	Captain Ralph
Hart Bochner	...	Tom
Susan Tyrrell	...	Lil
Richard Evans	...	Willy
Claire Bloom	...	Audrey
Julius Harris	...	Joseph
Brad Savage	...	Andrew
Michael-James Wixted	...	David
Hildy Brooks	...	Helga Ziegner
Jessica Rains	...	Andrea
Walter Friedel	...	Herr Ziegner
Charles Lampkin	...	Constable

Storyline

An isolated sculptor is visited by his three sons just before the start of WWII.

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Plot Keywords:

sculptor | son | seaplane | beach | jewish refugee | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 August 1977 (Denmark)

Also Known As:

A Ilha do Adeus

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Zeeuwse Maatschappij N.V.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Average Shot Length = ~5.7 seconds. Median Shot Length = ~4.9 seconds.

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Goofs

When the boat is slowly cruising up the river in Cuba looking for refugees, a crew member's hand can be seen moving tree branches away from the camera.

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Quotes

Tom: [on the war refugees] They're sure pitiful.
Thomas Hudson: They're the lucky ones. They got here.

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Connections

References Planet of the Apes (1968)

User Reviews

George C. Scott makes this competent Hemingway adaptation worth seeing.

"Islands in the Stream" takes place on an island in the Caribbean just before World War II. George C. Scott plays a sculptor, Thomas Hudson, who married twice, has three sons, and chooses to work in isolated island exile. Claire Bloom plays his estranged wife. The film has an episodic structure, probably because the screenwriter, Denne Bart Petitclerc based his script on a series of short stories by Ernest Hemingway that appeared in a women's magazine under the title "Island (singular) in the Stream." Had Hemingway lived, he would have combined this and additional material to publish the collection as a novel. Petitclerc does a good job of translating the work to the screen.

The episodes could stand alone, yet each is sufficiently connected both in character and time consecutively to create a coherent, full-length film. The first, "The Boys," has the greatest strength. We see the arrival of Hudson's sons and how each brings out a different quality in the relation of parent and child. Scott handles this, and the whole film, with a natural, understated, and thoughtful strength. His admirers should make an effort to see this wonderful performance in this lesser-known production. In the middle episode, Claire Bloom as the second wife complements Scott beautifully in a dialog minuet which unfolds the decline of their marriage.

The film also features excellent performances by David Hemmings and Michael-James Wixted as the sensitive middle son. A check of the IMDb reveals that he never made another movie, and that's a loss.

While the action takes place on a British possession in the West Indies, the producers chose to do the actual filming in Hawaii. The score by Jerry Goldsmith and cinematography by Fred Koenekamp work well. Koenekamp received an Oscar nomination for his work here; he'd previously won it for his work on Patton, also with director Franklin Schaffner and Scott. I recommend seeing this film in widescreen format for Koenekamp's compositions.