Le vagabond des îles

Ah, unlikely romance. The perky Glynis Johns plays the sister of a rather sanctimonious missionary in the islands while the Honourable Ted, Newton, is the beachcomber. He gets drunk and destructive and is sent off to a penal island and teams up with Glynis Johns to fight a cholera outbreak. Romance blooms and the perky albeit up-tight missionary links up with the good-hearted beachcomber with a great happy ending. The team of cute, pert and perky Glynis Johns (memorable from her roles in No Highway in the Sky, The Sundowners and others) and Newton (Long John Silver), the compleat epitome of piratedom is great. Sadly, no video available but catch it as I did, on the late show. You won't regret it.

"Anyone who drinks water deserves all they get," says drunkard Ted as he travels to cholera-plagued islands with missionary/nurse Martha.

This is not dazzling film-making, but it is well-done and engaging, with a solid Maugham story, a marvelous turn by Donald Pleasance in his first role (as a perpetually smiling Indonesian clerk), and three notable stars:

Glynis Johns is a delight to watch, and she brings a lot of heart, soul, and spirit to Martha, a woman so inexperienced that she keeps her eyes wide open when a man kisses her for the first time.

Entering with a torn hat, filthy jacket over filthy undershirt, and five o'clock shadow, Robert Newton establishes himself immediately as an irresistible reprobate. Introducing himself to the new colonial kingpin, he scrounges a whiskey, announces that he's been banished from England, and says it's not so bad on Barru island: "There are ways of passing the time. Are you married? (answer no) Well, any time you feel like a little bit of fun, just let me know."

The third star, truly, is the locations in Sri Lanka and the colonial British islands of the South Atlantic. Not just gorgeous—fearfully gorgeous. There is a remarkable scene of an alligator attacking an elephant as it drinks. Hell of a fight, splashing, bellowing. The alligator wounds its trunk, but the elephant soon tramples the reptile, and then-- and this is wonderful—kicks its attacker ashore, and then, instead of just walking away, it kicks the corpse back into the water. That final kick, which is clearly unnecessary, seems almost punitive. And thrillingly deliberate. That elephant is a genuine character in the film-- not a big role, but a crucial one because of the ending, which reminds us that an elephant never forgets.

Having seen the 1938 Charles Laughton version, with a young and handsome Robert Newton in a minor role, I was intrigued to see the 1954 version. Although Laughton was a great character actor I was unmoved by the quirky 'romance' in the story. However, many years after his brief appearance with Laughton-and several pounds heavier, Newton is endearingly charming as the incorrigible Ted. He pervades warmth through the screen and his eyes are full of mischief-he clearly enjoyed this role (not too far removed from his own lovable but rebellious nature). There is a real chemistry between him and Glynis Johns-all the ladies in fact-and he appears to improvise for comic effect, several times. The minor characters lack charisma but all in all, this is a sweet and up-lifting film with a beautiful location.

Having seen both versions of The Beachcomber, I like the 1938 original better. The obvious reason is the real-life couple of the costars. How adorable is it to see a gruff Charles Laughton romancing his wife, missionary Elsa Lanchester? Since Robert Newton and Glynis Johns weren't married in real life, the audience didn't get to coo over them.

There's also so much more charm to the original. Seeing Charles Laughton let down his hair and frolic with native island girls is adorable. Seeing Robert Newton pretend to be a drunken bum is slightly less adorable, since he drank himself to death within three years of making the film. He is an excellent actor with natural screen presence, but it is rather sad to watch him in the role so close to the end of his life. Also, he doesn't have nearly as much screen time as Charles did in the original. Much of this movie is dedicated to Glynis and her missionary brother, Donald Sinden, as they go about their work. There is a very pretty theme, though, by Daniele Amfitheatrof, that sets you right on the island with them.

Muriel Box's first film in Technicolor is conspicuous by its absence from the current season on the South Bank; the presence of Donald Pleasance and Michael Hordern in blackface (the latter rendered almost recognisable under huge moustache) probably doesn't help. This second version of the novel by Somerset Maugham can however be seen by discerning viewers thanks to the miracle of Talking Pictures.

Although inevitably it can only fail to rise to the heights of the 1938 version but Robert Newton is a more than adequate substitute for Charles Laughton, while Glynis Jones (soon to celebrate her hundredth birthday) entirely lacks the eccentricity of the unique Elsa Lanchester but amply supplies her own cow-eyed charm.