''Outcast of the Islands'' is a 1951 British
adventure
An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme spo ...
drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...
film directed by
Carol Reed
Sir Carol Reed (30 December 1906 – 25 April 1976) was an English film director and producer, best known for '' Odd Man Out'' (1947), '' The Fallen Idol'' (1948), ''The Third Man'' (1949), and ''Oliver!'' (1968), for which he was awarded the ...
based on
Joseph Conrad's 1896 novel ''
An Outcast of the Islands
''An Outcast of the Islands'' is the second novel by Joseph Conrad, published in 1896, inspired by Conrad's experience as mate of a steamer, the ''Vidar''.
The novel details the undoing of Peter Willems, a disreputable, immoral man who, on th ...
''. The film features
Trevor Howard
Trevor Wallace Howard-Smith (29 September 1913 – 7 January 1988) was an English stage, film, and television actor. After varied work in the theatre, he achieved star status with his role in the film ''Brief Encounter'' (1945), followed by ''T ...
,
Ralph Richardson,
Robert Morley
Robert Adolph Wilton Morley, CBE (26 May 1908 – 3 June 1992) was an English actor who enjoyed a lengthy career in both Britain and the United States. He was frequently cast as a pompous English gentleman representing the Establishment, of ...
and
Wendy Hiller
Dame Wendy Margaret Hiller, (15 August 1912 – 14 May 2003) was an English film and stage actress who enjoyed a varied acting career that spanned nearly 60 years. Writer Joel Hirschorn, in his 1984 compilation ''Rating the Movie Stars'', desc ...
.
Plot
Peter Willems (
Trevor Howard
Trevor Wallace Howard-Smith (29 September 1913 – 7 January 1988) was an English stage, film, and television actor. After varied work in the theatre, he achieved star status with his role in the film ''Brief Encounter'' (1945), followed by ''T ...
), a selfish and ambitious man, is accused of stealing in his position as manager of a shipping port operation near Singapore. After he is dismissed for his misconduct he reacquaints himself with the trading ship Capt. Lingard (
Ralph Richardson) who befriended him as a 12-year-old boy. Lingard agrees to help Willems regain his reputation by taking him to a trading village located up a difficult-to-navigate channel near the coast of
Batam
Batam is the largest city in the province of Riau Islands, Indonesia. The city administrative area covers three main islands of Batam, Rempang, and Galang (collectively called Barelang), as well as several small islands. Batam Island is the c ...
. Lingard's son-in-law, Elmer Almayer (
Robert Morley
Robert Adolph Wilton Morley, CBE (26 May 1908 – 3 June 1992) was an English actor who enjoyed a lengthy career in both Britain and the United States. He was frequently cast as a pompous English gentleman representing the Establishment, of ...
), operates a trading operation for Capt. Lingard in the village. Lingard asks Almayer to take Willems under his wing and teach him the business. While Lingard is away on one of his sea trips, Willems abuses his trust, seduces the village chieftain's daughter Aissa (
Kerima), attempts to steal Almayer's business operation, humiliates Almayer before the villagers, and shares the navigation secrets of the channel with an Arab trader who competes with Capt. Lingard. Lingard returns to discover the mess Willems has made and confronts Willems – who has now been condemned by the villagers because of the shame he brought to the frail and dying chieftain. He abandons Willems to live in isolation and exile.
Cast
*
Trevor Howard
Trevor Wallace Howard-Smith (29 September 1913 – 7 January 1988) was an English stage, film, and television actor. After varied work in the theatre, he achieved star status with his role in the film ''Brief Encounter'' (1945), followed by ''T ...
as Willems
*
Ralph Richardson as Captain Lingard
*
Robert Morley
Robert Adolph Wilton Morley, CBE (26 May 1908 – 3 June 1992) was an English actor who enjoyed a lengthy career in both Britain and the United States. He was frequently cast as a pompous English gentleman representing the Establishment, of ...
as Elmer Almayer
*
Wendy Hiller
Dame Wendy Margaret Hiller, (15 August 1912 – 14 May 2003) was an English film and stage actress who enjoyed a varied acting career that spanned nearly 60 years. Writer Joel Hirschorn, in his 1984 compilation ''Rating the Movie Stars'', desc ...
as Mrs. Almayer
*
Kerima as Aissa
*
George Coulouris
George Alexander Coulouris (1 October 1903 – 25 April 1989) was an English film and stage actor.
Early life
Coulouris was born in Manchester, Lancashire, England, the son of Abigail (née Redfern) anNicholas Coulouris a merchant of Greek o ...
as Babalatchi
* Tamine as Tamine
*
Wilfred Hyde-White as Vinck (as Wildrid Hyde White)
*
Peter Illing
Peter Illing (4 March 1899 – 29 October 1966) was an Austrian-born British film and television actor.
Selected TV series
* '' Deadline Midnight'' (1961) as Captain Dnieprovsky
* '' The Saint'' (1962) as Inspector Buono
Filmography
* '' The S ...
as Alagappa
*
Betty Ann Davies as Mrs Williams
*
Frederick Valk
Frederick Valk (10 June 1895 – 23 July 1956) was a German-born Jewish stage and screen actor of Czech Jewish descent who fled to the United Kingdom in the late 1930s to escape Nazi persecution, and subsequently became a naturalised British cit ...
as Hudig
*
A.V. Bramble as Badavi
*
Marne Maitland
James Marne Kumar Maitland (18 December 1914 – March 1992) was an Anglo-Indian character actor in films and television programmes.
Biography
Maitland was born in Calcutta, and educated at Bedales School before going up to Magdalene College, ...
as Ships Mate
* James Kenney as Ramsey
* Annabel Morley as Nina Almayer
* Ranjana as Dancing by (as T. Ranjana)
* K. Gurunanse as Dancing by
Production
In the wake of the success of ''
The Blue Lagoon'',
Alexander Korda
Sir Alexander Korda (; born Sándor László Kellner; hu, Korda Sándor; 16 September 1893 – 23 January 1956)[Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...](_blank)
) and at
Shepperton Studios
Shepperton Studios is a film studio located in Shepperton, Surrey, England, with a history dating back to 1931. It is now part of the Pinewood Studios Group. During its early existence, the studio was branded as Sound City (not to be confused ...
in England.
Reception
''Outcast of the Islands'' was nominated for best British film and best film from any source at the 1953
BAFTA awards.
References
External links
*
*
*
1952 films
1952 adventure films
British historical adventure films
Films based on works by Joseph Conrad
Films shot in Sri Lanka
Films based on British novels
Films set in Singapore
Films set in Indonesia
Films set in the 19th century
London Films films
Films directed by Carol Reed
1950s historical adventure films
Films shot at Shepperton Studios
British Lion Films films
British black-and-white films
1950s English-language films
1950s British films
{{1950s-UK-film-stub