Outcast of the Islands

Probably the most exotic film of the black & white phase of Carol Reed's career as a director, 'An Outcast of the Islands' marks his venture into Conrad's heart of darkness.

Although Ralph Richardson gets star billing as Captain Lingard the film plainly belongs to Trevor Howard in the title role as Peter Willems, succumbing to the pleasures of the flesh in the feral form of Kerima.

The British empire are represented by Robert Morley who brings weighty presence to the part of Almayer (with Wendy Hiller as his wife kitted out incongruously in a cute little bonnet and carrying a parasol); while further down the cast list comes the remarkable sight of George Coulouris in blackface and veteran silent director A. V. Bramble as Kerima's father, a blind village elder who when he throws a curse on Howard draws the response - displaying typical British sang froid - "Well, that's not very helpful!"

I am a big fan of THE THIRD MAN, I think it is one of the seven greatest movies ever made, I liked ODD MAN OUT, and also liked Reeds earlier effort of THE FALLEN IDOL. His latter film, THE KEY, while not being totally successful in my eyes in a good film, and an even better film is OUR MAN IN HAVANA. So I was excited about seeing this film. Perhaps if I was more patient, had seen this in a movie theater as it was meant to be seen, and did not have the benefit of a remote control for a VCR, I would have liked it more.

Everyone has said how great Trevor Howard is. I have also liked him in staring roles like Brief Encounter, Clouded Yellow, but here, even though he has some great moments, more towards the end of the film, I somehow feel he has been miscast. In one of the opening scenes, when he leaves the Billiards club, I felt I was watching Howard Imitating Orson Welles from THE THIRD MAN. if Reed and Welles could have formed a partnership, and that might have actually been from ODD MAN OUT, I think he would have been a better choice, though I'm sure they couldn't get him. One of the problems with his character is, that we realize right from the beginning what a jerk he is, and their fore, we never really care about him. This film would have worked better for me if I would have liked this guy in the beginning. Welle's Harry Lime, was a likable character, even though he was not a good man. Bogarts Harry Dobbs in Treasure Of the Sierra Madre works because we care about him in the beginning, and are sad to see his mental destruction. Howard's character elicits no such feelings, and for me this is one of the major failings of the film, and why this film has not received the accolades of Reed's previous three films.

I found Ralph Richardson's performance hammy, I just could not buy him as a captain, appeared to be a poor makeup job, and since we don't see him much, (He ironically got top billing), he does not appear to be important to this story, even if he gives the final denouncement. I also disliked George Courlouris (did I spell that right) as a native. Since they filmed this in Ceylon, they did not need an actor doing a role in black face.

Robert Morley is excellent in this film however. Those people who have always looked upon him as that jolly Englishmen who did those British Airline commercials, or seen him in other films, will get quite a revelation in this film. He is the one standout in this movie. One can just imagine how his daughter might turn out having a father like this. His character, while perhaps not being the character that Howard's character is, just oozes slime, would you want a father like this, and his acting makes the most of it. Wendy Hiller is alright as the suffering wife of Morely, and they should have made more of what I thought might have been her lust for the Howard character, while Howard's character lusts after the native woman, who, played by an actress named Kerima, who is supposed to have been born in Algeria, almost looks like an English actress given a darker skin tone, though probably not.

Reeds direction at the beginning of this film is unimaginative, I was quite disappointed with the back screen shots that were employed considering the location photography, and I always remember his great cinematography from his other films (Love that tilted camera). However never has lust been filmed so amazingly in an early 1950's movie, (British at that), here Howard is quite good, and the shots of Kerima, our realizing that she does not love this man and may have ulterior motives, in closeup, without Howards knowledge are well done. The last two climactic sequences, with Morely and Howard in a sequence that seems to predate Cornel Wilde's THE NAKED PREY, which probably sent shock waves in cinema's of the early 1950's, and the sequence at the end between Howard and Richardson are two very memorable moments from this film.

If the film comes out on DVD, with some interesting extras, a good audio commentary, I would be interested to see it again, and Hopefully get some further insight that might change my mind. However, of the six movies I have seen of Director Carol Reed, This is my least favorite.

Despite being of Polish descent and not learning English until his twenties Joseph Conrad became one of the greatest writers in the English language. His novels are deeply pessimistic and depict Man as being able neither to escape nor elude his destiny. To say that his works are unfilmable would be an overstatement but they certainly pose particular challenges. Such a pity that David Lean's plan to direct Conrad's late work 'Nostromo' did not come to fruition.

Here we have his second novel directed by another of our truly great directors Carol Reed. Although Reed's films of the 1960's show a distinct falling off, this comes from a period when he is really 'on form'. There are changes from the novel but that is par for the course where film adaptations are concerned. Conrad was fascinated by the nature of evil and here it is personified by Trevor Howard as Willems who plays his part with tremendous relish. Ralph Richardson brings his presence to bear as Lingard although his appearance is rather pantomimic. Robert Morley and Wendy Hiller are excellent as Mr. And Mrs. Almayer but her role is underwritten and 'ambiguous' to say the least.

In the novel Willems dies but here he is left to exist in the living hell he has created for himself and Aissa, played by Kerima, whose sexual magnetism has caused so much destruction. Willems has described his feelings for her as 'something between love and hate but stronger' and this ambivalence is powerfully depicted.

Reed and adaptor William Fairchild have ended the film with a masterful shot of Aissa lowering her head in despair. This sweeping and mesmerising film with a majestic score by Brian Easdale is from a director at the top of his game.

This movie got short shrift critically, because it followed Carol Reed's three greatest films, "Odd Man Out," "The Fallen Idol," and "The Third Man." It's been a while since I saw it, but if you get a chance and you're a fan of Reed's adventurous filmmaking, check it out. A riveting performance by Trevor Howard -- this, plus his performances in 3rd Man and Brief Encounter show an astonishing range. Robert Morley is wonderful as well.

My most memorable moments that still haunt me years after I saw the film: Morley "singing" a lullaby to his daughter ("Schlaf, kindchen, Schlaf") as Howard approaches in the night -- and said daughter calling "Pig!" after Howard's character later in the same scene. The bonfire, and Morley's torture. And Howard spotting Kerima standing in the water among the posts -- beautiful photography.

An unjustly forgotten film. May it play at a repertory theater near you.

Although he made a handful of worthwhile films before them and won a competitive Oscar much later, Carol Reed is still most admired for his immediate post-WWII work: ODD MAN OUT (1947), THE FALLEN IDOL (1948), THE THIRD MAN (1949) – all of them BAFTA winners – and the movie under review. The latter is the least-seen and least-regarded of the lot (perhaps because there are very few sympathetic characters in it!) but emerges a remarkable achievement nevertheless, with the director's sure hand more than evident in several striking sequences throughout. It features a great cast, all of whom deliver splendid performances: Trevor Howard (second-billed but clearly the protagonist here), Ralph Richardson, Robert Morley, Wendy Hiller, George Coulouris (as an English-speaking native!), Wilfrid Hyde-White and Frederick Valk.

While the Far East atmosphere is undeniably vivid and captivating (and John Wilcox's cinematography suitably gleaming), this never draws attention away from the complex character study at the center of Joseph Conrad's typically sea-based and compelling plot line (which works its way up to an abrupt yet memorable ending) about a rogue trader driven mad by lust for a native girl (the silent Kerima) and delusions of grandeur a' la Kurtz in the same author's "Heart Of Darkness". For the record, OUTCAST OF THE ISLANDS was also a BAFTA nominee, was apparently shorn of 8 minutes for U.S. TV screenings and is featured in cult American film-maker Monte Hellman's All-Time Top 10 list, apart from being championed by eminent movie critics like Pauline Kael and David Thomson!