This was on TCM the other night and I only watched it because of George Sanders - he's the epitome of an upper-crust snake. To this day, I don't think there is an actor that's better at portraying wealthy, powerful, manipulative sadists that literally ooze smooth sliminess and snobbery. His characters are always convincing and authentic and scarily real, never fake or two-dimensional or overplayed. Good old George doesn't disappoint this time around, either. He's at his usual heartless, self-serving, cold-blooded best here.
The big surprise was how fantastic the rest of the cast is. Tyrone Power is impossibly handsome and kind-hearted, but he somehow pulls it off. Frances Farmer is his gorgeous, but not-so-innocent, first cousin. She and Tyrone are passionate lovers despite this being Merry Olde England, not West Virginia.
Things get really interesting when Tyrone ends up on a South Pacific island diving for a fortune in pearls with his partner, John Carradine. I kept waiting for Mr. Carradine to double-cross Tyrone, but he's actually a good guy on this occasion. This island is an adolescent boy's fantasy, complete with Gene Tierney as the ideal girlfriend. She's awesomely beautiful, falls madly in love with Tyrone right off the bat, and is unfailingly compliant and worshipful of her white boyfriend, although she's entirely unconvincing as a native island girl. She's so perfect that she doesn't even get pregnant! That's a development which would really complicate things tremendously for old Ty! And when Ty has to leave to return to England to set things aright, she's still supportive and loving and even gives him absolution for deserting her: "I can never be happy unless you are happy, too. You must go!". So Ty goes back, gives everybody involved (good and bad) their just due, and then very wisely returns to his island paradise and Miss Tierney, thank God.
I only mentioned a few of the actors, but "SOF" is packed with great cast members who all deliver top-notch performances. This film zips along with no dull spots and has a fresh energy that overcomes the constant clichés and incredible implausibilities. It's very enjoyable to watch and hits all of the audience's buttons, and indeed hits them dead-center. It's built to please and does so with great skill. For pure entertainment value, "SOF" and its ilk are far superior to a lot of the remakes and comic-book-inspired, CGI-laden, bloated blockbusters being cranked out today.
The big surprise was how fantastic the rest of the cast is. Tyrone Power is impossibly handsome and kind-hearted, but he somehow pulls it off. Frances Farmer is his gorgeous, but not-so-innocent, first cousin. She and Tyrone are passionate lovers despite this being Merry Olde England, not West Virginia.
Things get really interesting when Tyrone ends up on a South Pacific island diving for a fortune in pearls with his partner, John Carradine. I kept waiting for Mr. Carradine to double-cross Tyrone, but he's actually a good guy on this occasion. This island is an adolescent boy's fantasy, complete with Gene Tierney as the ideal girlfriend. She's awesomely beautiful, falls madly in love with Tyrone right off the bat, and is unfailingly compliant and worshipful of her white boyfriend, although she's entirely unconvincing as a native island girl. She's so perfect that she doesn't even get pregnant! That's a development which would really complicate things tremendously for old Ty! And when Ty has to leave to return to England to set things aright, she's still supportive and loving and even gives him absolution for deserting her: "I can never be happy unless you are happy, too. You must go!". So Ty goes back, gives everybody involved (good and bad) their just due, and then very wisely returns to his island paradise and Miss Tierney, thank God.
I only mentioned a few of the actors, but "SOF" is packed with great cast members who all deliver top-notch performances. This film zips along with no dull spots and has a fresh energy that overcomes the constant clichés and incredible implausibilities. It's very enjoyable to watch and hits all of the audience's buttons, and indeed hits them dead-center. It's built to please and does so with great skill. For pure entertainment value, "SOF" and its ilk are far superior to a lot of the remakes and comic-book-inspired, CGI-laden, bloated blockbusters being cranked out today.