The Comedians (1967)

A cynical Welsh hotel owner secretly romances a diplomat's wife in Haiti, under the violent reign of the despot "Papa Doc" Duvalier.

Director:

Peter Glenville

Writers:

Graham Greene (novel), Graham Greene (screenplay)

Stars:

Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor, Alec Guinness

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 3 wins.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Richard Burton	...	Brown
Elizabeth Taylor	...	Martha Pineda
Alec Guinness	...	Major H. O. Jones
Peter Ustinov	...	Ambassador Manuel Pineda
Paul Ford	...	Smith
Lillian Gish	...	Mrs. Smith
Georg Stanford Brown	...	Henri Philipot
Roscoe Lee Browne	...	Petit Pierre
Gloria Foster	...	Mrs. Philipot
James Earl Jones	...	Dr. Magiot
Zakes Mokae	...	Michel
Douta Seck	...	Joseph
Raymond St. Jacques	...	Captain Concasseur
Cicely Tyson	...	Marie Therese

Storyline

Set in the Haiti of "Papa Doc" Duvalier, this movie tells the story of a sardonic Welsh hotel owner and his encroaching fatalism as he watches Haiti sink into barbarism and poverty. Complications include his inability to sell the hotel so he can leave, a friendship with a rebel leader, some politically "charged" hotel guests, an affair with the German-born wife of a South American ambassador, and the manipulations of a British arms dealer who's in over his head.

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Plot Keywords:

reference to harry s. truman | haiti | arms dealer | rebel | poverty | 

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Taglines:

They lie, they cheat, they destroy...they even try to love.

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

Alec Guinness plays 'Major' Jones, and also played the character James Wormold in Greene's earlier movie, Our Man in Havana. In both movies, the character was an Englishman pretending to be something he wasn't. In the Comedians, he was pretending to have been a military leader during the war, while in the earlier film, Guinness played the part of an Englishman pretending to gather classified information for the secret service.

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Goofs

In the last few shots in the movie, as the Character is leaving the airport, there is initially a departing Vickers VC10 airliner flying overhead from right to left, this changes to a close up, followed by a shot of the same airliner now flying into the distance - unfortunately this is different 4 engine Jetliner, probably a Boeing 707.

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Quotes

Dr. Magiot: I'm worried about young Philipot. I had a message from him today.
Brown: Does he share your faith?
Dr. Magiot: He doesn't read Karl Marx, if that's what you mean. Rebels are not always communists, unless America insists.

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Connections

Featured in Lionpower from MGM (1967)

User Reviews

Very good and politically informing movie.

This movie is another of the many forgotten ones. The story line, though highly condensed, is faithful to the novel on which it is based. Both the novel and the film have relevant political lessons in spite of the writer's sanitized view of the communist party. I first saw this movie at a theater with my mother who presumed it would be funny. It frightened me since I was a second-grader who thought the atrocities were occurring in Florida because of the palm trees and proximity to the sea.

Details

Country:

France Bermuda USA

Language:

English French Haitian Spanish

Release Date:

31 October 1967 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Comedians

Filming Locations:

Franstudio, Saint-Maurice, Val-de-Marne, France

Box Office

Gross USA:

$5,200,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Maximillian Productions, Trianon Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

152 min (TCM print)

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1