Sangaree

Just saw this at the World 3-D Film Expo and it was a turkey through and through.

Clearly this was only made for the lonely housewife set to ogle at a half-naked Fernando with painted-on pants. If he'd had a bigger basket I probably would've given it a higher score...:)

The transitions between real-world and sound stage footage was clunky at best. I can't imagine even a naive 1950's moviegoer believing any of this was shot in the real Savannah, Georgia.

Were it not for gimmick of 3-D this one would have been relegated to the dustbin of Hollywood long ago.

This was Paramount's first 3-D film of the 1950's, which reportedly had begun production as a flat film, but then re-started in 3-D in the race to get a stereoscopic project into the theatres as soon as possible. Fernando Lamas also appeared in a second 3-Dimension film, JIVARO, in 1954.

I saw this one last night pretty much not knowing anything about it except that it was in 3-D and that it starred Fernano Lamas---He even says to someone in the film "You Look Fabulous!!" (as opposed to You Look Marvellous!) I really only saw it because there was absolutely nothing else around that i really wanted to see (which is extremely rare) and i didn't wanna go home just yet so i plunked down the money and took a chance on this----and it was actually a fun watch! Fernando is a poor doctor in Georgia in the 1780's i would say---(he was the son of servants and the rich man who was his parents' boss for some reason paid for him to go to med school on the condition that he return and be his doctor should he need one)Fernando is called back to the place he grew up where the man who was his benefactor when he was younger is dying and leaves Fernando as the heir to his estate and to tend to his various properties which seem to make up most of the town!

Needless to say most of the townspeople--and the actual blood daughter of the rich benefactor are ill at ease with this---The Daughter actually tries to sue him using the claim that her father wasn't in his right mind when he made that arrangement. Fernando's skills as a doctor,(the town is facing a plague epidemic) as a brawler (he gets into a couple of fistfights at the local bar and wards off some pirates who wanted to steal something or other) and as a suave, good humored guy with an accent cheesier than Kraft eventually wins the townspeople over--and wins the heart of Nancy (the blood daughter of his benefactor and it should be pointed out--actual rightful heir.) Movie actually has a lot of funny one liners played completely straight and deadpan--Fernando says to Nancy at one point half kiddingly "you're a woman--and you think like a woman" (the 2 of them spend at least half the movie sniping at each other which then becomes love of course!--when they first see each other she even bites his lip after kissing him "i wanted to give you something you're gonna remember" she purrs to him...when he sees her again a little later he kisses her gloved hand and then bites it for good measure. Given random moments like these throughout, I believe the film knew exactly how it was playing as.) Because of its sense of humor and to be honest a lot of that comes from Fernando himself although Arlene Dhal gives as good as she gets as Nancy----the movie manages to be quite watchable and even somewhat fun. No you won't remember it the morning after, i barely even remembered it on the ride home after--but if you're in the mood for a light hearted somewhat fun romantic-comedy southern Gothic costume post-revolutionary war epic this would definitely fit the bill.

Wow, finally got my DVD copy of "Sangaree" just recently, and this is a top notch movie for it's time.....Fernando Lamas with the Ricky Ricardo accent, his voice and Desi Arnaz almost sounds exactly the same......story concerns the old south and Lamas being awarded the rights to a plantation and all of its wealth by a dying patriarch...... The family of two beautiful women, Arlene Dahl and Patricia Medina and Tom Drake (of "Meet me in St Louis" fame).....take no particular stance against Lamas, but a con artist doctor and his son do and challenge the will in court....Lamas prevails, but has to fight tyranny in old Savannah trying to protect the vast Darby empire from pirates and the plague.....con artist doctor Bristol tries to hide his warehouse from the public because it contains stolen contraband and is a haven for infested rats. Lamas organizes the town citizens and exposes corruption in old Savannah.......in the end he winds up with Nancy Darby, played by Arlene Dahl....for my money I would have taken the lovely Patricia Medina as a love interest...she was a staple in 50s costume dramas and as beautiful as they come. Have to wonder why this film was never released to video by Paramount....a top notch cast and a very good story. This is just one of lots of classics that have never gotten past the courts or whatever and been released to video....why??? It took over twenty years of legal wrangling before "The High and the Mighty" with John Wayne was released also. If you like good 50s costume dramas you will love "Sangaree"......

This is a very rare film of the early fifties, from Paramount Pictures and directed by Eddie Ludwig, the master of adventure yarns with Lewis R Foster for this studio. It doesn't take place in exotic settings but it remains very glamourous, helped a lot with the presence and performance of Fernando Lamas and his future wife in real life Arlene Dahl. If you crave for film of this period, don't miss this one. There were lots of features speaking of the American Revolution and spying around it; for instance John Sturges' SCARLET COAT. But there was not such charm as in this Paramount film.