The Sailor from Gibraltar (1967)

In Italy, a vacationing Englishman leaves his girlfriend for a wealthy mysterious American widow who's sailing the seas in search of her long-lost sailor friend.

Director:

Tony Richardson

Writers:

Marguerite Duras (novel), Christopher Isherwood

Stars:

Jeanne Moreau, Ian Bannen, Vanessa Redgrave

Nominated for 2 BAFTA Film Awards.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jeanne Moreau	...	Anna
Ian Bannen	...	Alan
Vanessa Redgrave	...	Sheila
Orson Welles	...	Louis de Mozambique
Zia Mohyeddin	...	Noori
Hugh Griffith	...	Llewellyn
Umberto Orsini	...	Postcard Vendor
Erminio Spalla	...	Eolo
Eleonora Brown	...	Carla
Gabriella Pallotta	...	Girl at Dance
Arnoldo Foà	...	Man on Train
Claudio de Renzi	...	Jeannot
Fausto Tozzi	...	Captain
John Hurt	...	John
Thodoros Roubanis	...	Theo (as Theo Roubanis)

Storyline

Alan, after quarreling with his girlfriend Sheila, becomes intrigued by Anna, a mysterious widow who's searching for a sailor she had known many years before. Alan and Anna begin the search on board a yacht bound for Greece, but they don't find the sailor. After a stop in Africa, Louis de Mozambique joins the party and suggests that the sailor may never have existed other than in Anna's mind.

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Plot Keywords:

yacht | search | party | italy | jealousy | 

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 April 1967 (USA)

Also Known As:

El marinero de Gibraltar

Filming Locations:

Athens, Greece

Box Office

Gross USA:

$215,000, 31 December 1967

Company Credits

Production Co:

Woodfall Film Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Tony Richardson's vociferous (and very personal) complaints about Ian Bannen and his behavior during the making of this film, were perhaps a revenge for remarks the actor made at the time the film first appeared, when he told an interviewer that the plot had never made sense, that there had been re-writes of the script almost every day up to the end of filming, and that these re-writes were usually presented to the cast members handwritten on toilet paper.

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Quotes

Alan: What do you do when you don't know what you want? When you know you're desperate but don't know why. When you can't express how you feel, even to yourself. And when a way out seems a thousand to one chance.

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Connections

Featured in Hollywood U.K.: The Last Wave (1993)

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Soundtracks

Jo le rouge
Music by Serge Rezvani (as Cyrus Bassiak)
English Lyrics by Julian More

User Reviews

A Courageous Woman's Endless Search for the Man of Her Dreams

I watched this on ThisTV and hope someday to watch it unbroken, but here are some thoughts:

The male lead is a boorish, self-absorbed jerk; cynically rejecting the status quo. But, I suppose he might be considered the "protagonist" - though more of an observer - our eyes and ears in this quest for "the sailor".

Vanessa Redgrave was mostly wonderful and at times beautiful to look at as well.

I thought her character seemed so heroic (and the real protagonist). Maybe I've misjudged her, but I thought her quest for that perfect lover - the love she lost (imaginary or real?) - was a heroic quest.

And, what a brave (even pioneering) movie - a wealthy widow sailing the Mediterranean into exotic ports with her burly handsome crew. She, a sensualist, sleeping with any man she fancied and then setting sail (a twist on the old merchant sailor's practice of "leaving a man in every port" - nearly). Her crew joked about her sexual exploits behind her back and speculated as to whether her "Sailor from Gibraltar" really even existed (or just an excuse to go "cruising" for men).

At its foundation, the film's outlook seems Existential Nihilism - life has no purpose and, is there even such a "thing" as love?

Is that all there is - just to exist and then die? Shall we give in to our hedonist desires - and just go on from one day to the next - on an endless cruise? Maybe love is all there is - and "mystery".

Was there a Sailor? Did she really once know the greatest love? Will she search for him forever, sailing from port to port? Will there finally be someone to join her in her search and shelter her from the heckling world - as it closes in around her - to love her as she is?

This film, though flawed and uneven in spots - is IMO a gem. There are so many precious (I think) moments, like when she goes on safari into the African bush (searching for her sailor - in the company of cannibals) and stands eye-to-eye with a beautiful statuesque African woman - peering into her eyes - trying to discern if she has been with her man (and would she give him up?).

I'm looking forward to watching this film again.

And: I don't say this very often, and with all due respect to this work of art - I would really, really like to see this movie remade! Please!