John Laurie yes, he of Dads Army fame has the most poignant line in this reissue of the 1951 film, a simple yet dismissive exclamation women! This extraordinary-looking restored version of a film of which the negative is still lost is heavy with sexual atmosphere, not surprising as it was the first Technicolor film for Ava Gardner.
She is Pandora, a woman driving all of the men she comes near mad with desire. First of all poor Reggie (Goring) commits suicide when she rebuffs him, then playboy Stephen (Patrick) happily pushes the car he and Laurie have built to break the land speed record over the edge of a cliff hence Lawries bitter outburst and a young matador is wounded by a bull trying to show off to her. Pandora is clearly revelling in her sexual hold over these men, but all that changes when a mysterious yacht appears in the ocean next to the Spanish village they all inhabit. The owner of that will be bald, old and fat, you wouldnt be interested, says Stephen boy is he wrong.
Pandora swims out to the yacht wearing nothing and discovers Hendrik Van der Zee (Mason) on board. Not only does he seem to be expecting her, he has just painted a picture of her face. Baffled, she seeks the help of mythology expert Geoffrey, who tells the story of the flying Dutchman, a man cursed to roam the seas, only coming ashore once every seven years to look for a woman who will give her life for him.
The film then takes an even stranger turn, as Hendrik begins to translate Geoffreys ancient text, and appears as himself in the 17th century fable. It all gets very literary and strange, until we end up back in the present with the men still fighting over Pandora, while she apparently only has eyes for Hendrik.
Director and writer Lewin was a literary man, big friends with Somerset Maugham, and his script gets way too bogged down in details and historical facts. However the real reason to see this is the visuals, restored to their splendour thanks to another marvellous revamping. The late great cinematographer Jack Cardiff, who had a documentary about his work released two weeks ago, is at his Technicolor best here, and in his element too he liked working with beautiful women, and Ava Gardener was certainly that. Several shots are works of shimmering beauty, and one, of Avas head lying at the top of a cliff with Masons yacht lit by the moon in the background, is literally breathtaking. Cardiff was also an amateur painter, and the painting Mason produces owes a huge debt to Magritte. The cinematographer is most famous for his work with Powell and Pressburger, and this can be seen as a companion piece to Black Narcissus, with which it shares a heady sexual tension and gorgeous visuals. Strangely the film also stars two P&P regulars, Marius Goring, who commits suicide, and Sheila Sim, who gets to slap Gardner around the face through sheer frustration.
Overall Verdict: As a story its a bonkers mess, but as a visual treat its unequalled. A fascinating piece in the jigsaw of 1950s cinema.
Reviewer: Mike Martin