Islands in the Stream (film)
Encyclopedia
Islands in the Stream is a 1977
American drama film
, an adaptation of Ernest Hemingway
's novel of the same name
. The film was directed by Franklin J. Schaffner and starred George C. Scott
, Hart Bochner
, Claire Bloom
, Gilbert Roland
, and David Hemmings
.
. Schaffner tells the tale in four parts:
1977 in film
The year 1977 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*In the Academy Awards, Peter Finch, Faye Dunaway and Beatrice Straight win Best Actor and Actress and Supporting Actress awards for Network....
American drama film
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
, an adaptation of Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Miller Hemingway was an American author and journalist. His economic and understated style had a strong influence on 20th-century fiction, while his life of adventure and his public image influenced later generations. Hemingway produced most of his work between the mid-1920s and the...
's novel of the same name
Islands in the Stream (Hemingway)
Islands in the Stream is the first of the posthumously published works of Ernest Hemingway. The book was originally intended to revive Hemingway’s reputation after the negative reviews of Across the River and Into the Trees. He began writing it in 1950 and advanced greatly through 1951...
. The film was directed by Franklin J. Schaffner and starred George C. Scott
George C. Scott
George Campbell Scott was an American stage and film actor, director and producer. He was best known for his stage work, as well as his portrayal of General George S. Patton in the film Patton, and as General Buck Turgidson in Stanley Kubrick's Dr...
, Hart Bochner
Hart Bochner
Hart Matthew Bochner is a Canadian film actor, screenwriter, director, and producer.-Life and career:Bochner was born in Toronto, Ontario, the son of Ruth , a concert pianist, and actor Lloyd Bochner...
, Claire Bloom
Claire Bloom
Claire Bloom is an English film and stage actress.-Early life:Bloom was born in the North London suburb of Finchley, the daughter of Elizabeth and Edward Max Blume, who worked in sales...
, Gilbert Roland
Gilbert Roland
Gilbert Roland was a Mexican-born American film actor.He was born Luis Antonio Dámaso de Alonso in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico and originally intended to become a bullfighter like his father. When the family moved to the United States, however, he became interested in acting when he was...
, and David Hemmings
David Hemmings
David Edward Leslie Hemmings was an English film, theatre and television actor as well as a film and television director and producer....
.
Plot
Like the novel, the story is about artist Thomas Hudson, an American who has left the civilized world for the simple life in the CaribbeanCaribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
. Schaffner tells the tale in four parts:
- The Island - Introduces Hudson and the people he knows. The area is the Bahamas, and the time is 1940. While he is glad to see his friends, Tom, as he is called, is concerned about his friend Eddy, who loves to drink and brawl with anyone he finds. Later the residents of the island and Tom celebrate the Queen Mother's Anniversary.
- The Boys - Weeks after the celebrations for the Queen Mother, Tom sees his three sons for the first time. It is a bittersweet reunion as he had left them and his wife Audrey many years ago. Later, the four, including the youngest David, go on a challenging fishing trek to catch a MarlinMarlinMarlin, family Istiophoridae, are fish with an elongated body, a spear-like snout or bill, and a long rigid dorsal fin, which extends forward to form a crest. Its common name is thought to derive from its resemblance to a sailor's marlinspike...
. The segment ends as the boys return to the United States, while oldest son Tom joins the Royal Air ForceRoyal Air ForceThe Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
in time for the Battle of BritainBattle of BritainThe Battle of Britain is the name given to the World War II air campaign waged by the German Air Force against the United Kingdom during the summer and autumn of 1940...
. Their father writes and tells them in a monolog how much he misses them.
- The Woman - Tom's wife Audrey is introduced. Hoping she can give him companionship and love, Audrey returns to Tom to try to find what feelings may still exist between them. Tom finds he still loves his wife, but her real motive is revealed as the segment ends: she is there to tell him that young Tom is dead. The passing of their son spoils her attempt at a reconciliation.
- The Journey - In an attempt to help others escape the Nazis, Tom decides to go on a search for refugees. He is accompanied by Joseph and Eddy. Leaving the British owned Bahamas for the waters near neutral Cuba, Tom finds the refugees and tries to get them near land so they can go to the port of Havana en route ultimately to the U.S. He comes to a set of conclusions, that he may not be able to trust "rummy" Eddy, the refugees may or may not make it, and this trip may be suicide for all concerned as they will face the Cuban Coast Guard. In the novel's actual climax, Tom battles a U boat that is off the coast of Bimini.
Cast
- George C. ScottGeorge C. ScottGeorge Campbell Scott was an American stage and film actor, director and producer. He was best known for his stage work, as well as his portrayal of General George S. Patton in the film Patton, and as General Buck Turgidson in Stanley Kubrick's Dr...
as Thomas Hudson - David HemmingsDavid HemmingsDavid Edward Leslie Hemmings was an English film, theatre and television actor as well as a film and television director and producer....
as Eddy - Gilbert RolandGilbert RolandGilbert Roland was a Mexican-born American film actor.He was born Luis Antonio Dámaso de Alonso in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico and originally intended to become a bullfighter like his father. When the family moved to the United States, however, he became interested in acting when he was...
as Captain Ralph - Susan TyrrellSusan TyrrellSusan Tyrrell is an American actress of Irish descent, known for her role as Ramona Rickettes in the film Cry-Baby.-Background:...
as Lil - Richard EvansRichard Evans-Literary figures:*Richard J. Evans , English historian on the subject of Germany before and during World War II*Richard Paul Evans , American author of books with Christian themes; best known for 1995's The Christmas Box...
as Willy - Claire BloomClaire BloomClaire Bloom is an English film and stage actress.-Early life:Bloom was born in the North London suburb of Finchley, the daughter of Elizabeth and Edward Max Blume, who worked in sales...
as Audrey - Julius HarrisJulius HarrisJulius W. Harris was an American actor who appeared in more than 70 movies and numerous television series in a career that spanned four decades.-Early life and career:...
as Joseph - Hart BochnerHart BochnerHart Matthew Bochner is a Canadian film actor, screenwriter, director, and producer.-Life and career:Bochner was born in Toronto, Ontario, the son of Ruth , a concert pianist, and actor Lloyd Bochner...
as Tom - Brad SavageBrad SavageBrad Savage is an American actor best known for his role as Danny in the 1984 movie Red Dawn, for which he received a nomination for the Young Artist Award in the category "Best Young Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture Musical, Comedy, Adventure or Drama".-Biography:Brad Savage was born in...
as Andrew - Michael-James Wixted as David
- Hildy Brooks as Helga Ziegner