Die schwarze Perle

Brothers on a whaling schooner become romantic rivals. In the South Pacific islands, two brothers, one good and one bad, fight over the same girl and over a bag of pearls. Directed by Richard Thorpe, stars Robert Taylor, Stewart Granger and Ann Blyth. The music score is by Miklós Rózsa. This 1953 film is a remake of the 1923 silent film that starred Lon Chaney, made by Metro Pictures. Thorpe, who by the way was the original director of The Wizard of Oz, enjoyed a long career at MGM. He directed a variety of ¨A¨ productions like Two Girls and a Sailor, White Cargo, Ivanhoe (probably his best), Knights of the around Table to name just a few. He used to be a good craftsman.

A good old fashioned swashbuckler. Taylor's acting comes across as a bit wooden at times, but the scenes with his brother and the Polynesian girl are enticing.....reminiscent of Gauguin in Tahiti. A good way to get lost for a few hours.

It's 1857. Joel Shore (Robert Taylor) returns to New Bedford, Massachusetts after three years at sea. He hears that his brother Mark (Stewart Granger) had gone missing on a whaling ship. There are rumors surrounding the incident and Joel has questions. Joel marries Priscilla Holt (Ann Blyth) and they board the Nathan Ross.

This got an Academy Award nomination for Best Color Cinematography although I don't really like the way the film looks. It may be technically good, but the story requires grime and salty crust. Everything and everyone looks way too crisp. After the initial introduction, there is the flashback section which is a thriller adventure. I like it and almost wouldn't mind that as the movie. The other main section is the paranoia of potential mutiny and that has too much melodramatic acting. Joel would have tried harder to convince Priscilla. For each element that I like, there is some sort of drawback.

Based upon the novel by Ben Ames Williams who died the year it was released this is produced by crowd pleaser Pandro S. Berman and directed by Richard 'one-take' Thorpe. MGM stalwart Robert Taylor is lumbered with the part of the good brother whilst Stewart Granger has by far the most interesting role as his villainous sibling. Ann Blyth, replacing Elizabeth Taylor, is the meat in the sandwich. This proved to the last film alas of veteran Lewis Stone. Ravishing Betta St. John plays her customary 'exotic' role. Keenan Wynn and James Whitmore were to enjoy long careers and teamed up that year to steal the show as Lippy and Slug with their priceless rendition of 'Brush up your Shakespeare'. George Folsey was again Oscar-nominated for his superlative cinematography but again missed out and the score by Miklos Rosza is suitably stirring. The whale hunt is well done although obviously filmed in a studio tank and the final fisticuff-fest well choreographed. Despite its cast and production values it is alas rather plodding and fails to excite. Granger's description of it as a 'crappy melodrama' seems unduly harsh but he was notoriously dismissive of most of his films. This prickly actor parted company with MGM four years later while the more 'accommodating' Robert Taylor continued his thirty-year long association.

This swashbuckling yarn pits Robert Taylor and Stewart Granger against each other as brothers who have very different ideas about how to captain a ship. There's mutiny, island lasses, palm trees, and lots of that flat, too-bright lighting common to Technicolor films from the 1950s. George Folsey received his billionth Oscar nomination for the film's color cinematography, but I'm guessing it was more for capturing some pretty ocean scenery than it was any artistic decisions.

Ann Blyth gives a sub-par performance as Taylor's wife who comes along for the sea voyage. She's a boring character and her presence teeters the film too often into romantic melodrama, when what we really want is more macho battle of wills.

Grade: B-