The Beachcomber (film)
Encyclopedia
The Beachcomber is a 1954 British comedy-drama film directed by Muriel Box
starring Donald Sinden
, Glynis Johns
, Robert Newton
, Paul Rogers
, Donald Pleasence
and Michael Hordern
. The film is based on the story The Vessel of Wrath
by W. Somerset Maugham
and was adapted by Sydney Box
. It was the second screen adaptation of the book following the 1938 film Vessel of Wrath. The film was shot in Ceylon.
), arrives in full uniform by ship anticipating the excitement of a posting in the tropical Indian Ocean
. He is informed that the last Governor had shot himself from 'loneliness', which dampens his spirits a little. On landing he finds his quarters are not ready for him, and he is invited to stay by the local missionary
Owen Jones (Rogers
) and his sister Martha (Glynis
. He soons finds their company, while friendly, a little overbearing - and returns to stay at his own residence despite it not being finished. That evening he is visited by the only other European resident of the island, known as the 'Honorable Ted' who introduces himself a drinks a large amount of Gray's whiskey. Despite having been warned that Ted was a scoundrel, Gray soon warms to him.
A year after arriving on the island, Gray is disappointed to see Ted arrested and brought up before him in court for encouraging a girl at the mission to steal some money which he then spent on drink before becoming involved in a drunken brawl. Gray breaks with precedent and sentences Ted to three months hard labour on a neighbouring island. While there the local headman (Horden) suffers from apendicitus. Because her brother, who functions as a local doctor as well as running the mission, is unwell his sister travels out and successfully performs the operation. She nurses the headman back to health, while also tending to a local elephant
that had injured its trunk. On the way back she travels in a boat with Ted, who has now finished his sentence. She strongly disapproves of Ted, and the fact that he and the crew are drunk on arrack. She is horrified when the propeller
fails and they are forced to spend the night on a small desert island
. She is convinced that Ted will try and molest her, but to her surprise he leaves her alone all night - except to put some blankets on her to stop her becoming cold.
When they return to the capital, she is now slightly infatuated with Ted - in whom she can now see signs of goodness. He remains repulsed by her, and ignores her gentle attempts to get to know him better. His drunken behaviour on the island carries on as before, and he is involved in another brawl. This time Gray is forced to sentence him to deportation to Australia
. His departure is delayed by a sudden outbreak of cholera
which sweeps the islands. With all available hands needed in the capital, only Martha can be spared to go to the northern islands to treat the outbreak there. Because the governor and her brother are worried that the spread of disease might encourage a native rebellion
they are hesitant to let her go. Ultimately they agree provided she takes Ted with her. At first he refuses to help her when he is approached, but later guiltily agrees to join her.
Once they reach the northern islands, they discover the inhabitants have become hostile to them blaming the spread of the disease on the whites. However Martha persuades them to let her help, reminding them of how she saved the life of the headman months before. They assent to her presence, and she and Ted throw themselves into the task of fighting the disease. Slowly they grow extremely fond of each other, and finally embrace. Each has made an emotional journey, Martha from a repressed state to being a more sensually aware woman while Ted has changed from a morally dubious character to being a more upstanding person.
After failing to save the life of a young woman, they are suddenly seized by a mob and threatened with death. Pegged out, they are about to be trampled to death by an elephant, but the animal stops at the last moment - recognising her as the woman who had nurses his trunk months before. Astonished by this miraculous survival, the native inhabitants let them go. Back in the capital, Martha and Ted marry - and he takes up playing the organ to accompany her in the mission. Gray takes some satisfaction from the fact that the number of deaths have been dramatically reduced since the last outbreak of disease.
as Ted and his homage to the earlier portrayal of the role by Charles Laughton
in the 1938 film version.
Muriel Box
Muriel Box was a prolific English screenwriter and director in what at the time was basically a male industry, and is generally considered to be one of the most successful females in the history of British film....
starring Donald Sinden
Donald Sinden
Sir Donald Alfred Sinden CBE is an English actor of theatre, film and television.-Personal life:Sinden was born in Plymouth, Devon, England, on 9 October 1923. The son of Alfred Edward Sinden and his wife Mabel Agnes , he grew up in the Sussex village of Ditchling, where their home doubled as the...
, Glynis Johns
Glynis Johns
Glynis Johns is a South African-born Welsh stage and film actress, dancer, pianist and singer . With a career spanning seven decades, Johns is often cited as the "complete actress", who happens to be a trained pianist and singer...
, Robert Newton
Robert Newton
Robert Newton was an English stage and film actor. Along with Errol Flynn, Newton was one of the most popular actors among the male juvenile audience of the 1940s and early 1950s, especially with British boys...
, Paul Rogers
Paul Rogers (actor)
Paul Rogers is an English actor of film, stage and television.Rogers was born in Plympton, Devon, England, and later trained at the Michael Chekhov Theatre Studio at Dartington Hall and made his film debut in 1932...
, Donald Pleasence
Donald Pleasence
Sir Donald Henry Pleasence, OBE, was a British actor who gained more than 200 screen credits during a career which spanned over four decades...
and Michael Hordern
Michael Hordern
Sir Michael Murray Hordern was an English actor, knighted in 1983 for his services to the theatre, which stretched back to before the Second World War.-Personal life:...
. The film is based on the story The Vessel of Wrath
The Vessel of Wrath
"The Vessel of Wrath" is a short story by W. Somerset Maugham. Written in 1931 it first appeared in the April 1931 edition of Hearst's International Cosmopolitan . Maugham often introduced short stories as a contribution to periodicals and then later included them in books or collected editions...
by W. Somerset Maugham
W. Somerset Maugham
William Somerset Maugham , CH was an English playwright, novelist and short story writer. He was among the most popular writers of his era and, reputedly, the highest paid author during the 1930s.-Childhood and education:...
and was adapted by Sydney Box
Sydney Box
Sydney Box was a British film producer and screenwriter, brother of another prominent British filmmaker, Betty Box. He produced the postwar screenplay, The Seventh Veil, which earned him the 1946 Oscar for best original screenplay with his then wife Muriel Box after which the couple were hired by...
. It was the second screen adaptation of the book following the 1938 film Vessel of Wrath. The film was shot in Ceylon.
Plot
The new British governor of the Welcome Islands, Ewart Gray (SindenDonald Sinden
Sir Donald Alfred Sinden CBE is an English actor of theatre, film and television.-Personal life:Sinden was born in Plymouth, Devon, England, on 9 October 1923. The son of Alfred Edward Sinden and his wife Mabel Agnes , he grew up in the Sussex village of Ditchling, where their home doubled as the...
), arrives in full uniform by ship anticipating the excitement of a posting in the tropical Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
. He is informed that the last Governor had shot himself from 'loneliness', which dampens his spirits a little. On landing he finds his quarters are not ready for him, and he is invited to stay by the local missionary
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
Owen Jones (Rogers
Paul Rogers (actor)
Paul Rogers is an English actor of film, stage and television.Rogers was born in Plympton, Devon, England, and later trained at the Michael Chekhov Theatre Studio at Dartington Hall and made his film debut in 1932...
) and his sister Martha (Glynis
Glynis Johns
Glynis Johns is a South African-born Welsh stage and film actress, dancer, pianist and singer . With a career spanning seven decades, Johns is often cited as the "complete actress", who happens to be a trained pianist and singer...
. He soons finds their company, while friendly, a little overbearing - and returns to stay at his own residence despite it not being finished. That evening he is visited by the only other European resident of the island, known as the 'Honorable Ted' who introduces himself a drinks a large amount of Gray's whiskey. Despite having been warned that Ted was a scoundrel, Gray soon warms to him.
A year after arriving on the island, Gray is disappointed to see Ted arrested and brought up before him in court for encouraging a girl at the mission to steal some money which he then spent on drink before becoming involved in a drunken brawl. Gray breaks with precedent and sentences Ted to three months hard labour on a neighbouring island. While there the local headman (Horden) suffers from apendicitus. Because her brother, who functions as a local doctor as well as running the mission, is unwell his sister travels out and successfully performs the operation. She nurses the headman back to health, while also tending to a local elephant
Elephant
Elephants are large land mammals in two extant genera of the family Elephantidae: Elephas and Loxodonta, with the third genus Mammuthus extinct...
that had injured its trunk. On the way back she travels in a boat with Ted, who has now finished his sentence. She strongly disapproves of Ted, and the fact that he and the crew are drunk on arrack. She is horrified when the propeller
Propeller
A propeller is a type of fan that transmits power by converting rotational motion into thrust. A pressure difference is produced between the forward and rear surfaces of the airfoil-shaped blade, and a fluid is accelerated behind the blade. Propeller dynamics can be modeled by both Bernoulli's...
fails and they are forced to spend the night on a small desert island
Desert island
A desert island or uninhabited island is an island that has yet to be populated by humans. Uninhabited islands are often used in movies or stories about shipwrecked people, and are also used as stereotypes for the idea of "paradise". Some uninhabited islands are protected as nature reserves and...
. She is convinced that Ted will try and molest her, but to her surprise he leaves her alone all night - except to put some blankets on her to stop her becoming cold.
When they return to the capital, she is now slightly infatuated with Ted - in whom she can now see signs of goodness. He remains repulsed by her, and ignores her gentle attempts to get to know him better. His drunken behaviour on the island carries on as before, and he is involved in another brawl. This time Gray is forced to sentence him to deportation to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. His departure is delayed by a sudden outbreak of cholera
Cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission occurs primarily by drinking or eating water or food that has been contaminated by the diarrhea of an infected person or the feces...
which sweeps the islands. With all available hands needed in the capital, only Martha can be spared to go to the northern islands to treat the outbreak there. Because the governor and her brother are worried that the spread of disease might encourage a native rebellion
Rebellion
Rebellion, uprising or insurrection, is a refusal of obedience or order. It may, therefore, be seen as encompassing a range of behaviors aimed at destroying or replacing an established authority such as a government or a head of state...
they are hesitant to let her go. Ultimately they agree provided she takes Ted with her. At first he refuses to help her when he is approached, but later guiltily agrees to join her.
Once they reach the northern islands, they discover the inhabitants have become hostile to them blaming the spread of the disease on the whites. However Martha persuades them to let her help, reminding them of how she saved the life of the headman months before. They assent to her presence, and she and Ted throw themselves into the task of fighting the disease. Slowly they grow extremely fond of each other, and finally embrace. Each has made an emotional journey, Martha from a repressed state to being a more sensually aware woman while Ted has changed from a morally dubious character to being a more upstanding person.
After failing to save the life of a young woman, they are suddenly seized by a mob and threatened with death. Pegged out, they are about to be trampled to death by an elephant, but the animal stops at the last moment - recognising her as the woman who had nurses his trunk months before. Astonished by this miraculous survival, the native inhabitants let them go. Back in the capital, Martha and Ted marry - and he takes up playing the organ to accompany her in the mission. Gray takes some satisfaction from the fact that the number of deaths have been dramatically reduced since the last outbreak of disease.
Cast
- Glynis JohnsGlynis JohnsGlynis Johns is a South African-born Welsh stage and film actress, dancer, pianist and singer . With a career spanning seven decades, Johns is often cited as the "complete actress", who happens to be a trained pianist and singer...
as Martha Jones - Robert NewtonRobert NewtonRobert Newton was an English stage and film actor. Along with Errol Flynn, Newton was one of the most popular actors among the male juvenile audience of the 1940s and early 1950s, especially with British boys...
as Edward Wilson - Donald SindenDonald SindenSir Donald Alfred Sinden CBE is an English actor of theatre, film and television.-Personal life:Sinden was born in Plymouth, Devon, England, on 9 October 1923. The son of Alfred Edward Sinden and his wife Mabel Agnes , he grew up in the Sussex village of Ditchling, where their home doubled as the...
as Ewart Gray - Paul RogersPaul Rogers (actor)Paul Rogers is an English actor of film, stage and television.Rogers was born in Plympton, Devon, England, and later trained at the Michael Chekhov Theatre Studio at Dartington Hall and made his film debut in 1932...
as Owen Jones - Donald PleasenceDonald PleasenceSir Donald Henry Pleasence, OBE, was a British actor who gained more than 200 screen credits during a career which spanned over four decades...
as Tromp - Walter Crisham as Vederala
- Michael HordernMichael HordernSir Michael Murray Hordern was an English actor, knighted in 1983 for his services to the theatre, which stretched back to before the Second World War.-Personal life:...
as The Headman - Auric Lorand as Alfred, Major Domo
- Tony Quinn as Ship Captain
- Ah Chong Choy as Wang the Barkeep
- Ronald LewisRonald LewisRonald Lewis , was a Welsh actor, best known for his appearances in British films of the 1950s and 1960s.Lewis was born in Port Talbot and made his first screen appearance in 1953. From then on, he averaged one or two films a year until the mid-60s, including classics like The Wind Cannot Read ...
as Headman's Son
Reception
The film receives two stars out of five in the Radio Times: Guide to Films which praises the performance of Robert NewtonRobert Newton
Robert Newton was an English stage and film actor. Along with Errol Flynn, Newton was one of the most popular actors among the male juvenile audience of the 1940s and early 1950s, especially with British boys...
as Ted and his homage to the earlier portrayal of the role by Charles Laughton
Charles Laughton
Charles Laughton was an English-American stage and film actor, screenwriter, producer and director.-Early life and career:...
in the 1938 film version.