Tamango (1958)

A Dutch slave captain, on a voyage to Cuba, faces a revolt fomented by a newly captured African slave, Tamango. The slaves capture the captain's mistress, forcing a showdown.

Director:

John Berry

Writers:

John Berry (screenplay), Lee Gold (screenplay)

Stars:

Dorothy Dandridge, Curd Jürgens, Jean Servais

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dorothy Dandridge	...	Aiché, Reiker's Mistress
Curd Jürgens	...	Captain John Reinker
Jean Servais	...	Doctor Corot
Alex Cressan	...	Tamango
Roger Hanin	...	1st Mate Bebe
Guy Mairesse	...	Werner
Julien Verdier	...	Fernando
René Hell
Hassane Fall
Abesakar Samba
Karamoko Cisse	...	(as Cissé Karamako)
Samuel M'Bondi
Douta Seck	...	Slave Warrior
S. Damiz	...	Slave Bride (as Bouraima Damiz)
Gil Lator

Storyline

A Dutch slave captain, on a voyage to Cuba, faces a revolt fomented by a newly captured African slave, Tamango. The slaves capture the captain's mistress, forcing a showdown.

---

Plot Keywords:

cuba | africa | 1800s | slave ship | foreign language adaptation | 

---

Taglines:

The story they said could never be filmed! (Lobby cards).

---

Genres:

Drama | History

---

Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Due to its popularity with black viewers, the film played over a year in Washington, DC.

---

Connections

Featured in Biography: Dorothy Dandridge: Little Girl Lost (1999)

User Reviews

tamango

While undeniably cutting edge in its treatment of black/white relations, especially the more intimate kind, (i.e. small wonder this French/Eng. production was given limited release in the Hayes Office dominated United states in 1958!) and while the violence is properly graphic, as befits a slave revolt movie, and the ending was definitely not what I expected there is an unconscious racism that plays throughout this film that, to say the least, undermines its central theme of the evil of putting one race above another. I'm referring of course to the fact that the white characters, specifically Curt Jurgens' slave ship captain and Jean Servais' cynical drunken ship's doctor, are the only persons aboard the ship who are given any depth or complexity of characterization. They are also the only ones who are given any humor! The characters of color, by contrast, are all presented as The Noble Oppressed and stiffly declaim rather than talk, kind of like Native Americans in westerns of the time. I'm sure this was done by director John Berry for only the highest of motives. After all, you don't want to present the slave as in any way flawed. Alas, the result is that Tamango and his cohorts are all placed upon pedestals for the admiration of the audience as if they were objects in a History Of Virtue exhibit at the Museum Of The Politically Correct. And by placing the slave above the master Berry is doing the exact same thing, only in reverse, as a better director, DW Griffith, did 43 years earlier. So, let's give this well intentioned, occasionally powerful but ultimately self defeating film a C plus. PS...Dorothy Dandridge is best when sexy.

Details

Country:

France Italy

Language:

French

Release Date:

24 January 1958 (France)

Also Known As:

Den sorte slavinde

Filming Locations:

Studios de la Victorine - 16 avenue Edoard Grinda, Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

CEI Incom, Da.Ma. Cinematografica, Les Films du Cyclope

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric)

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1