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Island in the Sun (film)
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Island in the Sun is a 1957 film that stars an ensemble cast including James Mason, Joan Fontaine, Dorothy Dandridge, Joan Collins, Michael Rennie and Harry Belafonte. The cast includes also Diana Wynyard, Patricia Owens and Stephen Boyd. The film is about race relations and interracial romance set in the island of Santa Marta. Barbados and Grenada were selected as the sites for the movie based on the novel by Alec Waugh.
film follows several characters both black and white.
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Encyclopedia
Island in the Sun is a 1957 film that stars an ensemble cast including James Mason, Joan Fontaine, Dorothy Dandridge, Joan Collins, Michael Rennie and Harry Belafonte. The cast includes also Diana Wynyard, Patricia Owens and Stephen Boyd. The film is about race relations and interracial romance set in the island of Santa Marta. Barbados and Grenada were selected as the sites for the movie based on the novel by Alec Waugh.
Plot
The film follows several characters both black and white. Maxwell Fleury (James Mason) is a white plantation owner's son who suffers from an inferiority complex and makes rash decisions to prove his worth. He lives with his beautiful wife, Sylvia (Patricia Owens), who is extremely jealous of her husband and his younger sister Jocelyn (Joan Collins). Jocelyn is being courted by Evan Templeton (Stephen Boyd), a war hero visiting the Governor of the island, his father Lord Templeton (Ronald Squire).
The film also follows David Boyeur (Harry Belafonte), a young black man emerging as a powerful politician representing the common people and seen as a threat to the white ruling class. Mavis Norman (Joan Fontaine), a woman from the elite white class strikes up a romantic interest in Boyeur and much of the film explores the tension between these too.
Finally, the film takes a look at the interracial romance between Margot Seaton (Dorothy Dandridge), a black drug store clerk, and Denis Archer (John Justin), aide to the Governor.
Other characters include Hilary Carson (Michael Rennie) who Maxwell Fleury thinks is having an affair with his wife; Colonel Whittingham (John Williams), the head of police, who investigates the murder of Hilary Carson central to the plot; a journalist named Bradshaw (Hartley Power); and finally Julian Fleury (Basil Sydney) and his wife (Diana Wynyard) who are both hiding secrets from their children.
The characters and their relationships with each other are all shown to be complex and the issues being addressed were rather taboo for 1957. Furthermore, the film can be enjoyed for the lush, beautiful scenery and unpredictable plot dynamics.
Belafonte breaks his character to sing a calypso title song.
Cast
- James Mason as Maxwell Fleury, white plantation owner's son
- Patricia Owens as Sylvia Fleury, wife of Maxwell Fleury
- Joan Collins as Jocelyn Fleury, sister of Maxwell Fleury
- Diana Wynyard as Mrs. Fleury, mother of Maxwell Fleury
- Basil Sydney as Julian Fleury
- Stephen Boyd as Euan Templeton, war hero courting Jocelyn
- Ronald Squire as Governor Templeton
- Harry Belafonte as David Boyeur, politician representing the common people
- Joan Fontaine as Mavis Norman, from the elite white class strikes up a romantic interest in Boyeur
- Dorothy Dandridge as Margot Seaton, a black drug store clerk
- John Justin as Denis Archer, aide to the Governor, romancing Margot Seaton
- Michael Rennie as Hilary Carson, a retired war hero, seems to be pursuing Sylvia Fleury
- John Williams as Colonel Whittingham, the head of police
- Hartley Power as Bradshaw, an American journalist visiting Santa Marta
Music
The title song Island in the Sun was written by Harry Belafonte and Irving Burgie. There are now over 40 cover versions recorded by various artist like The Merrymen, José Carreras, Caterina Valente in German and The Righteous Brothers, just to name a few.
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