Pandora and the Flying Dutchman (1951)

Regista:

Albert Lewin

Sceneggiatore:

Albert Lewin (writer)

Data di uscita:

15 ottobre 1951 (USA)

Genere:

Drama | Mystery | Romance

Slogan:

The Woman of the year in the picture of the year ! [Australia Theatrical]

Plot:

Albert Lewin's interpretation of the legend of the Flying Dutchman. In a little spanish seaport named Esperanza...

Plot Keywords:

Antiquity | Enigma | Archeologist | Drunk | Beautiful Woman

Premi:

1 nomination

Recensioni degli utenti:

See it for its visual qualities and forgive the melodrama and pretentiousness

Cast

James Mason	...	Hendrik van der Zee
Ava Gardner	...	Pandora Reynolds
Nigel Patrick	...	Stephen Cameron
Sheila Sim	...	Janet
Harold Warrender	...	Geoffrey Fielding
Mario Cabré	...	Juan Montalvo
Marius Goring	...	Reggie Demarest
John Laurie	...	Angus
Pamela Mason	...	Jenny (as Pamela Kellino)
Patricia Raine	...	Peggy
Margarita D'Alvarez	...	Senora Montalvo
La Pillina	...	Spanish dancer
Abraham Sofaer	...	Judge
Francisco Igual	...	Vicente
Guillermo Beltrán	...	Barman

Alias:

Pandora (Italy) [it]

Durata:

122 min

Nazionalità:

UK

Lingua:

Inglese | Spagnolo

Colore:

Colore (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sonoro:

Mono

Divieti:

Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Luoghi delle riprese:

Barcelona, Cataluña, Spain

Company:

Dorkay Productions

Curiosità:

The tavern "Las Dos Tortugas" shares the same name (but in a different language) as the tavern "The Two Turtles" in Albert Lewin's earlier The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945).

Errori:

Anacronismi: The picture that Hendrik carries of his late wife is a photograph. Photography had not yet been invented in the 17th century, when his wife was last alive.

Citazioni:

Geoffrey Fielding: The measure of love is what one is willing to give up for it.

Movie Connections:

Fa riferimento a The Ancient Mariner (1925)

Colonna sonora:

Sailor's Song

See it for its visual qualities and forgive the melodrama and pretentiousness

Albert Lewin's 1951 movie injects the Flying Dutchman legend into an upper-class English-speaking community in a small port in 1930s Spain. Ava Gardner, never more beautiful and just about to emerge as a star, is the Pandora of the title, a night-club singer and femme fatale, engaged to be married to a gentlemanly racing car driver (Nigel Patrick), but with a hotheaded bullfighter (Mario Cabré) eager to win her.

Enter the Flying Dutchman, Hendrick van der Zee, trying to find a woman willing to give up her life for him so he can gain release from his eternal roving of the seas. James Mason's performance as Hendrick is one of the main salvations of the movie. With his grace, good looks and wonderfully expressive voice, he is able to give credibility to situations and lines that would be fatal for other actors.

But the film's prime asset is its visual richness. At a straightforward level there is lovely Mediterranean scenery, and some great action sequences, notably the flamenco dancing, land-speed record, and bullfight scenes. Then there are quite a few references to surreal art, matching the surreal nature of the film, such as Hendrick's Chirico-like painting of Pandora, and a remarkable shot of her, lying on her back with the profile of her face in close-up, like a Dali painting. (The film is set on the Costa Brava, near Dali's home town of Cadaques.) And throughout, there is Jack Cardiff's creative camerawork in beautiful technicolor. These visual qualities outweigh such flaws as an intrusive voice-over, and the stress laid on the - for me - irrelevant "Moving Finger" quatrain from the Rubaiyat.