Lord Jim (1965)

After being discredited as a coward, a 19th century seaman lives for only one purpose: to redeem himself.

Director:

Richard Brooks

Writers:

Joseph Conrad (novel), Richard Brooks (written for the screen by)

Stars:

Peter O'Toole, James Mason, Curd Jürgens

Nominated for 2 BAFTA Film Awards.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Peter O'Toole	...	Lord Jim
James Mason	...	Gentleman Brown
Curd Jürgens	...	Cornelius (as Curt Jurgens)
Eli Wallach	...	The General
Jack Hawkins	...	Marlow
Paul Lukas	...	Stein
Daliah Lavi	...	The Girl
Akim Tamiroff	...	Schomberg
Jûzô Itami	...	Waris (as Ichizo Itami)
Tatsuo Saitô	...	Du-Ramin
Andrew Keir	...	Brierly
Jack MacGowran	...	Robinson
Ric Young	...	Malay (as Eric Young)
Noel Purcell	...	Captain Chester
Walter Gotell	...	Captain of Patna

Storyline

James Burke, after distinguishing himself as a midshipman in the British merchant marine, rapidly rises to the rank of executive officer, second in command of a ship. A broken foot necessitates that he be put ashore to heal. After his recovery, the very proud Jim - his pride rooted in his competence, which had made him a highly respected and admired naval officer - signs on as the executive officer of the Patna, a rusty tub manned by a third-rate crew overseen by a barbarous captain, that is transporting a group of Moslem pilgrims to Mecca. During a severe storm that causes the unseaworthy ship to founder, Jim abandons ship with the rest of the white crew without even lowering the other lifeboat for the passengers. The fleeing crew are prepared to swear they saw the Patna sink with all its passengers; however, in what Jim believes is a cosmic joke upon himself, it is revealed when they get into port on their lifeboat that the Patma did not sink but had been salvaged by a French vessel...

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Plot Keywords:

character name as title | merchant marine | lifeboat | warlord | naval officer | 

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Taglines:

Filmed in the far corners of the Far East...High Adventure that reaches across the world!

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Upon returning to England, Peter O'Toole said, "If I live to be a thousand, I want nothing like Cambodia again. It was a bloody nightmare". Cambodia's crown prince, Norodom Sihanouk, took exception to this remark and banned O'Toole from the country. "That is the sort of thing that makes tourists nervous", was the royal quote.

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Goofs

When Lord Jim's lone crew member deserts him on the river, Jim chooses to carry on alone. Before he starts to row, the boat begins moving.

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Quotes

Gentleman Brown: [to Cornelius after breaking his liquor bottle with his sword] Drunk, you're useless... unreliable!
Schomberg: Sober he's the same.

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Connections

Featured in My Favorite Year (1982)

User Reviews

Peter O'Toole is magnificent as a deranged sailor in an interesting story of cowardice and redemption

Exciting and brooding picture based on the complex novel written by Joseph Conrad (who also wrote Darkness heart) and brought to the screen in lavish budget and colorful visual style .After being discredited as a coward, a 19th century seaman (Peter O'Toole) in British Merchant Marine lives for only one purpose : to redeem himself. As he suffers a deep scar and pain for the rest of his life . But then , he becomes leader of a Southeast Asia village in spite of his past clouded by allegations of betrayal and cowardice . Meanwhile , the native villagers are being slavered by a group nasty cutthroats led European thugs (Eli Wallach , Curt Jurgens) . As the belief shown in him by the villagers is put to the test .

This is a thought-provoking and intelligent story based on Joseph Conrad's novel written in 1900. This prestigious novel has been simplified for easier compression , appreciation and nicely developing . This adventure flick contains , thrills , action , intrigue and wonderful outdoors . Excellent acting by Peter O'Toole in the title role , he is a sailor in Souteast Asia who is adopted by a suppressed village as its leader . After the film's tepid reception, especially for his own starring performance, a once-enthusiastic Peter O'Toole declared, 'It was a mistake and I made the mistake because I was conservative and played safe and that way lies failure'. Movie's biggest moments provided by strange acting by the great Peter O'Toole . Supporting cast is frankly sensational such as Curd Jürgens , Eli Wallach , Jack Hawkins , Paul Lukas , Daliah Lavi , Akim Tamiroff , Andrew Keir , Jack MacGowran ,Ric Young , Noel Purcel , Walter Gotell , among others .Evocative and exotic cinematography by Freddie Young , shot on location in Malacca, Malaysia Lantau Island, Hong Kong, China and Angkor Wat, Siem Reap, Cambodia. Although the Cambodian government never demanded any script approval, one condition of its agreement to allow on-location shooting in the troubled nation was for the production company to build a lot of rooms addition to an existing hotel near the famed Angkor ruins .

Directed and screen-played with awesome style by Richard Brooks . He was a fine writer/director so consistently mixed the good and average which it became impossible to know that to expect from him next . Firstly he worked regularly as a Hollywood screenwriter . After that , his initial experience of directing was one of his own screenplays called ¨Crisis¨. The Richard Brooks films that have the greatest impact are realized during the 50s and 60s as ¨Cat on a hot tin roof¨, ¨Something of value¨ , ¨Elmer Gantry¨, ¨Sweet bird of youth¨, ¨In cold blood¨ , ¨Lord Jim¨. Brooks was a writer and director of Chekhovian depth , who mastered the use of understatement, anticlimax and implied emotion . His films enjoyed lasting appeal and tended to be more serious than the usual mainstream productions . Richards formerly directed two good Western titled ¨Bite the bullet¨ and ¨The professionals ¨ with various tough stars as Burt Lancaster , Lee Marvin , Jack Palance and Robert Ryan , including the same musician , Alex North , and similar outdoors . The ¨Lord Jim¨ is an authentic must see , not to be missed for buffs of the genre . A magnificent movie , hardly noticed for its theatrical release ; however , being nowadays very well considered . Rating : Above average because of its awesome acting , dialog , score are world class.

Details

Official Sites:

Sony Movie Channel [United States]

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 February 1965 (USA)

Also Known As:

Lord Jim

Filming Locations:

Cambodia

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia British Productions, Keep Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

154 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System) (35 mm prints) 70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1