''Tamango'' is a 1958

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

directed by John Berry, a

blacklisted Blacklisting is the action of a group or authority compiling a blacklist (or black list) of people, countries or other entities to be avoided or distrusted as being deemed unacceptable to those making the list. If someone is on a blacklist, t ...

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

director who exiled himself to Europe. The film stars

Dorothy Dandridge Dorothy Jean Dandridge (November 9, 1922 – September 8, 1965) was an American actress, singer and dancer. She is the first African-American film star to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress, which was for her performance in ''Ca ...

Curd Jürgens Curd Gustav Andreas Gottlieb Franz Jürgens (13 December 191518 June 1982) was a German-Austrian stage and film actor. He was usually billed in English-speaking films as Curt Jurgens. He was well known for playing Ernst Udet in ''Des Teufels Gener ...

, Alex Cressan and Jean Servais. Based on a short story written by

Prosper Mérimée Prosper Mérimée (; 28 September 1803 – 23 September 1870) was a French writer in the movement of Romanticism, and one of the pioneers of the novella, a short novel or long short story. He was also a noted archaeologist and historian, and a ...

that was first published in 1829, the film concerns a slave ship on its crossing from Africa to Cuba, the various people that it carries and the slaves' rebellion while on board.

Plot

Captain Reiker, a Dutch sea captain, embarks on what he intends to be his last slave-ship voyage. After capturing slaves with the complicity of an African chief, Reiker starts his voyage for Cuba. Along with the slaves below deck, the passengers include his mistress, the slave Aiché, and the ship's doctor, Corot. Tamango, one of the captured men, plans a revolt and tries to persuade Aiché to join him and the other slaves. When the captured slaves rebel, Tamango holds Aiché hostage. A deadlock between the two sides develops and Captain Reiker states that he will fire a cannon into the ship’s hold and kill all the slaves unless they surrender. Aiché is given a chance to leave by Tamango, but after looking up the ladder that leads out of the hold, she chooses to stay with her fellow slaves. The captain fulfills his threat and shoots the cannon into the hold.

Controversy

The film was controversial in different parts of the world. Although the project was filmed in the

city of

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...

, France banned ''Tamango'' in its West African colonies "for fear it would cause dissent among the natives." The film was released in 1959 in New York City but did not receive nationwide distribution until 1962, as it ran afoul of the

Hays Code The Motion Picture Production Code was a set of industry guidelines for the self-censorship of content that was applied to most motion pictures released by major studios in the United States from 1934 to 1968. It is also popularly known as the ...

restriction on scenes depicting

miscegenation Miscegenation ( ) is the interbreeding of people who are considered to be members of different races. The word, now usually considered pejorative, is derived from a combination of the Latin terms ''miscere'' ("to mix") and ''genus'' ("race") ...

.Hayward, page 210

Cast

as Aiché, Reiker's mistress *

as Captain John Reiker *

Jean Servais Jean Servais (; 24 September 1910 – 17 February 1976) was a Belgian film and stage actor. He acted in many 20th century French cinema productions, from the 1930s through the early 1970s. He was married to Gilberte Graillot, and later actr ...

as Doctor Corot * Alex Cressan as Tamango *

Roger Hanin Roger is a given name, usually masculine, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", "honour") and ', ' ( ...

as 1st Mate Bebe *

Guy Mairesse Guy Mairesse (10 August 1910 – 24 April 1954) was a French racing driver. He participated in three Formula One World Championship ''Grands Prix'', debuting on 3 September 1950. He scored no championship points. Mairesse built a haulag ...

as Werner *

Clément Harari Clément Harari (10 February 1919 – 16 February 2008) was an Egyptian-born French film and television actor.Bazin p.14 Selected filmography * '' It Happened in Paris'' (1952) * ''Ça va barder'' (1955) - Sammy Kern * ''Mon curé chez les pauv ...

as Cook * Doudou Babet as Chadi * Habib Benglia as Le chef noir * Pierre Rosso as the diving sailor

References

External links

* * * {{John Berry (film director) 1958 drama films 1958 films Films about race and ethnicity Films about slavery Films based on works by Prosper Mérimée Films directed by John Berry Films set in the 1810s French drama films Films about interracial romance Italian drama films Films set on ships English-language French films English-language Italian films Films scored by Joseph Kosma Films about rebels 1950s Italian films 1950s French films