Dorothy Dandridge @ 100: "Island In the Sun"

by Cláudio Alves

"Island in the Sun" | © 20th Century Fox

After Carmen Jones proved a financial triumph and earned Dorothy Dandridge a ground-breaking Best Actress nomination, 20th Century Fox signed her for a three-picture deal. As Baby Clyde mentioned in part one of this centennial, Darryl F. Zanuck was invested in Dandridge's success, planning to make her a screen icon unlike any other Black performer in Hollywood history up to that point. Unfortunately, however, nearly every project fell through, including a remake of The Blue Angel that would have seen Dandridge take on Marlene Dietrich's star-making role. Even so, while absent from the big screen, her fame rose.

So high was Dandridge's profile that she became a target for Confidential magazine's libelous articles. The erstwhile Carmen Jones was one of the few stars to testify against the publication in a series of suits that brought along its downfall. In 1957, Dorothy Dandridge's victory in court coincided with her return to the big screen. Island in the Sun was her first film in three years… 

Zanuck bought the rights to Alec Waugh's book before it was even published, envisioning an Island in the Sun movie as early as 1955. The homonymous novel concerns race relations in a former British colony, a fictional place somewhere in the West Indies. It involves an assortment of racially diverse characters whose stories juxtapose, as well as instances of interracial romance. The potential for heightened drama and sprawling vistas made it an appealing cinematic prospect, perfect for a star-studded cast shot in brightly-colored Cinemascope. Moreover, breaking social taboos about miscegenation was bound to cause controversy with American audiences, hopefully increasing ticket sales through polemic.

The movie mogul's faith in the project was so unshakeable that when Zanuck decided to leave Fox and return to producing his movies, the rights to the book were part of the deal. Island in the Sun would be one of the major motion pictures made by Darryl F. Zanuck Productions, with distribution guaranteed by 20th Century Fox. Robert Rossen was signed to direct, and the budget grew to an impressive three million dollars. Ensuring a return on investment was imperative, so the picture's casting became a delicate matter on which much depended. James Mason is first-billed as Maxwell Fleury, a plantation owner with a troubled marriage and political aspirations, not to mention a slew of secrets hiding in the closet of his family heritage.

Next comes Joan Fontaine as Mavis Norman, daughter to one of the region's oldest and wealthiest clans, whose love for Harry Belafonte's David Boyeur causes much melodrama. He's a Black politician turned beloved leader to the disenfranchised, a paragon in his island community, and the closest the movie comes to having a moral center. Many other players wander about, including Joan Collins as Maxwell's sister and Diana Wynyard as their mother. A pre-Ben Hur Stephen Boyd plays the future Alexis Carrington's present beau, while Michael Rennie is a war veteran in an affair with Maxwell's wife, played by a fragile-looking Patricia Owens.

You might have noticed that, amid all those names, Dorothy Dandridge is nowhere to be found. That's because, unlike what her former director and lover Otto Preminger wished, the actress's part in Island in the Sun is relatively small, a supporting role any way you look at it. She's Margot, an island native who works as a store clerk and shares a close friendship with David Boyeur. We first see her arriving with him at a party thrown by the white elite to welcome the new governor. A vision in rich orange, she's dazzling to behold and immediately zaps new life into the movie. The camera loves her like nobody's business, with Freddie Young's cinematography making her look more beautiful than ever.

And yet, it's not all a matter of stunning features, elegant costuming, expert lensing, and a good color story. Even when pushed to the sidelines of the frame, Dandridge is magnetic, a bottomless well of charisma whose chemistry with Belafonte is positively explosive. Island in the Sun marks the third and last of their on-screen collaborations, the only one where they're not meant to convey the sparks of romance but somehow still do. It's easy to imagine a different, more exciting movie where the two are paired up, but instead, Waugh's story sees Belafonte play-acting love with Fontaine. At the same time, Dandridge is asked to convey the ardor of forbidden passion with John Justin's Denis Archer, the governor's dutiful aid. Oh, also, he's white.

That factor, more than anything else in the script or role requirements, is key to understanding why Zanuck wanted Dandridge to be his Margot. At the time, the star had gained a reputation for mostly dating white men, including the aforementioned Preminger. The Confidential magazine story even suggested an illicit dalliance with a white musician out in the open of some woods, underlining just how much Dandridge's public persona had become entangled with her tabloid-ready relationships, her sex life, and perceived racial preferences. So if the studio execs planned on selling Island in the Sun based on the scandal of interracial romance, Dandridge was a logical name to splash across the credits, poster, and magazine spreads.

In other words, though imperceptible by most modern viewers, the actress' presence in this veritable soap opera is akin to a feat of stunt casting. The gambit paid off for Zanuck. Despite middling reviews and censorship problems, Island in the Sun was a commercial hit, finishing as the sixth-highest-grossing movie of 1957 at the American box office. For her part, Dandridge hated the final product and often talked negatively about the experience of making Island in the Sun. There's not much one can say to contradict the actress' assessment. Beyond gorgeous images and a tuneful soundtrack, the movie's a stiff affair, dripping with unconvincing interchanges while lacking in the sentimental pyrotechnics its premise promises. It also has no eros to speak of, but you can probably blame the production code for that. 

Maybe Sirk would have made the material sing, but Rossen isn't up to the task. Surprisingly enough, neither are most of its actors, no matter their formidable filmographies. The big exception is Dandridge, who, regardless of her feelings for the project, negotiates a delicate balance between star power and a barely-sketched characterization, hints of interiority dancing along with luminous smiles and graceful poses. Though the plot insists on foregrounding the white characters, reducing the Black islanders to exoticized set dressing, whenever Margot walks into frame, the film's very essence feels as if it shifts around her gravitational pull.

Intermittently, Island in the Sun becomes a Dorothy Dandridge vehicle, and only then is it truly worth watching.

If you want to see a flick from around this time that better showcases the star's talents, seek out John Berry's Tamango from 1958. That transnational Euro-production details a failed revolt aboard a slave ship in the early 19th century. Like Island in the Sun, it ran into trouble with the Hays Code back in the States and was further banished from screening in various West African colonies. However, unlike the Zanuck dirge, Dandridge actually gets to do something in the movie. She plays Aiché, the Dutch captain's enslaved mistress whose changing alliances make for a superlative challenge. The moment when this woman makes her final, fateful choice is maybe the pinnacle of Dandridge's work as a dramatic actress.

You can rent Island in the Sun on many  platforms. If you're curious about Tamango, it's streaming on The Film Detective and Fandor.

Comments

[joel6]

I agree with everything you say about the film. Dorothy looks great but isn't given much to do and the film is a tough sit. It's not overtly awful just slow moving and on the dull side despite a decent cast.

I didn't think much of Tamango either, though it was better than The Decks Ran Red, but Dorothy did at least had a sizable role.

[Dave in Hollywood]

Since I love Harry Belafonte and like most everyone else in this, I know I've seen this, but it's pretty slow and boring for a "soap opera." I think it's best viewed as a travelogue with great 50s costumes, and sets, etc. You certainly come away understanding why all of these people are movie stars, even if they can't quite make this material work.