Outcast of the Islands

For the novel, see An Outcast of the Islands.

1952 British film

Outcast of the Islands

original movie poster

Directed by| Carol Reed
Screenplay by| William Fairchild
Based on| An Outcast of the Islands
1896 novel
by Joseph Conrad
Produced by| Carol Reed[1]
Starring| Trevor Howard
Ralph Richardson
Robert Morley
Wendy Hiller
Cinematography| Edward Scaife
John Wilcox
Edited by| Bert Bates
Music by| Brian Easdale
Color process| Black and white

Production
company

London Film Productions

Distributed by| British Lion Films Corporation

Release date

* 18 January 1952 (1952-01-18) (London)

Running time

| 100 minutes
Country| United Kingdom
Language| English
Box office| £149,335 (UK)[2]

Outcast of the Islands is a 1951 British adventure drama film directed by Carol Reed and starring Trevor Howard, Ralph Richardson, Robert Morley and Wendy Hiller.[3] The screenplay was by William Fairchild based on Joseph Conrad's 1896 novel An Outcast of the Islands.

## Plot

[edit]

Peter Willems, 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 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. Lingard's son-in-law, Elmer Almayer, 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, 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

[edit]

* Trevor Howard as Willems
* Ralph Richardson as Captain Lingard
* Robert Morley as Elmer Almayer
* Wendy Hiller as Mrs. Almayer
* Kerima as Aissa
* George Coulouris as Babalatchi
* Tamine as Tamine
* Wilfrid Hyde-White as Vinck
* Peter Illing as Alagappa
* Betty Ann Davies as Mrs Williams
* Frederick Valk as Hudig
* A. V. Bramble as Badavi
* Marne Maitland as ship's mate
* James Kenney as Ramsey
* Annabel Morley as Nina Almayer
* Ranjana as dancer (as T. Ranjana)
* K. Gurunanse as dancer

## Production

[edit]

In the wake of the success of The Blue Lagoon, Alexander Korda was able to get funding for a Outcast of the Islands.[citation needed] It was filmed on location in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) and at Shepperton Studios in England.

## Reception

[edit]

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "The basic mistake of this adaptation seems to lie in the script, which is so overwhelmed by the narrative itself that the characters and relationships fail mostly to crystallise. Even so, some painstaking condensation still obliges the film to end two-thirds of the way through the novel (in which Aissa finally kills Willems). One can see how Reed was approaching the subject – an anti-romantic view of the East, not beautiful, not exotic, but a squalid wasteland in which only Lingard and some of the poverty-stricken natives preserve any human dignity. One has a suspicion that the film has been overshot, and in being cut down to 100 minutes has been reduced more and more to the bare outlines of the story."[4]

Variety wrote: "Reed has not succeeded in extracting the suspense normally associated with his work. Film is somewhat overlong and shows signs of substantial scissoring in an endeavor to keep it within reasonable bounds. John Wilcox has lensed the production skillfully while Brian Easdale has contributed a satisfying musical score."[5]

Picturegoer wrote: "Few directors can, in the first quarter of an hour of a film, achieve a really convincing atmosphere and also give an incisive introduction to the characters of the story. Fewer again, I would imagine, could pull it off where one of Joseph Conrad's novels is being brought to the screen, for the author is an expert at atmosphere building chapter by chapter. But with this film, Carol Reed proves he is one of the select few. In fact, his handling of this Conrad work confirms his position as one of our best directors. And he doesn't forget to give us flashes of his somewhat impish humour that can always be associated with his work."[6]

Picture Show wrote: "Superbly beautiful Eastern settings back an enthralling story, intelligently acted, and skilfully directed. Trevor Howard is outstanding in a new field – villainy – for he takes the role of a degenerate white man who betrays all the laws of decency and loyalty to satisfy his own desires, when he falls violently in love with the daughter of a native chief. The repercussions of his arrival at the Jondlys trading post where this happens are violent and exciting, and the retribution is unusually satisfying. Sir Ralph Richardson is excellent as the kindly, loyal trading schooner captain, and these two head a splendidly-chosen cast. Don't miss this."[7]

## Accolades

[edit]

Outcast of the Islands was nominated for best British film and best film from any source at the 1953 BAFTA awards.

## Home media

[edit]

Outcast of the Islands was released on home video by Kino Lorber on April 28, 2020 as a Region 1 Blu-Ray.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Alexander Korda Film Credits". \- B.F.I. Retrieved 2016-01-10
2. ^ Vincent Porter, 'The Robert Clark Account', Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, Vol 20 No 4, 2000 p495
3. ^ "Outcast of the Islands". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
4. ^ "Outcast of the Islands". The Monthly Film Bulletin. 19 (216): 4. 1 January 1952. ProQuest 1305817345.
5. ^ "Outcast of the Islands". Variety. 185 (7): 6. 23 January 1952. ProQuest 962815147.
6. ^ "Outcast of the Islands". Picturegoer. 23: 14. 2 January 1952. ProQuest 1705140120.
7. ^ "Outcast of the Islands". Picture Show. 58 (1509): 10. 1 March 1952. ProQuest 1879608515.

## External links

[edit]

* Outcast of the Islands at IMDb
* Outcast of the Islands at the TCM Movie Database

* v
* t
* e

Films directed by Carol Reed

* Midshipman Easy (1935)
* Laburnum Grove (1936)
* Talk of the Devil (1936)
* Who's Your Lady Friend? (1937)
* Bank Holiday (1938)
* Penny Paradise (1938)
* Climbing High (1938)
* A Girl Must Live (1939)
* The Stars Look Down (1940)
* The Girl in the News (1940)
* Night Train to Munich (1940)
* Kipps (1941)
* A Letter from Home (1941)
* The Young Mr. Pitt (1942)
* The New Lot (1943)
* The Way Ahead (1944)
* The True Glory (1945)
* Odd Man Out (1947)
* The Fallen Idol (1948)
* The Third Man (1949)
* Outcast of the Islands (1951)
* The Man Between (1953)
* A Kid for Two Farthings (1955)
* Trapeze (1956)
* The Key (1958)
* Our Man in Havana (1959)
* The Running Man (1963)
* The Agony and the Ecstasy (1965)
* Oliver! (1968)
* Flap (1970)
* Follow Me! (1972)

* v
* t
* e

Films by Alexander Korda

As director|

* Watchhouse in the Carpathians (1914)
* The Duped Journalist (1914)
* Tutyu and Totyo (1914)
* Lyon Lea (1915)
* The Officer's Swordknot (1915)
* White Nights (1916)
* The Grandmother (1916)
* Tales of the Typewriter (1916)
* The Man with Two Hearts (1916)
* The One Million Pound Note (1916)
* Cyclamen (1916)
* Struggling Hearts (1916)
* The Laughing Saskia (1916)
* Miska the Magnate (1916)
* St. Peter's Umbrella (1917)
* The Stork Caliph (1917)
* Magic (1917)
* Harrison and Barrison (1917)
* Faun (1918)
* The Man with the Golden Touch (1918)
* Mary Ann (1918)
* Ave Caesar! (1919)
* White Rose (1919)
* Yamata (1919)
* Man of Gold (1919)
* Neither at Home or Abroad (1919)
* Number 111 (1919)
* The Prince and the Pauper (1920)
* Masters of the Sea (1922)
* A Vanished World (1922)
* Samson and Delilah (1922)
* The Unknown Tomorrow (1923)
* Everybody's Woman (1924)
* Tragedy in the House of Habsburg (1924)
* Dancing Mad (1925)
* Madame Wants No Children (1926)
* A Modern Dubarry (1927)
* The Stolen Bride (1927)
* The Private Life of Helen of Troy (1927)
* Yellow Lily (1928)
* Night Watch (1928)
* Love and the Devil (1929)
* The Squall (1929)
* Her Private Life (1929)
* Lilies of the Field (1930)
* Women Everywhere (1930)
* The Princess and the Plumber (1930)
* The Men Around Lucy (1931)
* Rive gauche (1931)
* Marius (1931)
* Longing for the Sea (1931)
* The Golden Anchor (1932)
* Service for Ladies (1932)
* Wedding Rehearsal (1932)
* The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933)
* La dame de chez Maxim's (1933)
* The Girl from Maxim's (1933)
* The Private Life of Don Juan (1934)
* Rembrandt (1936)
* That Hamilton Woman (1941)
* Perfect Strangers (1945)
* An Ideal Husband (1947)

As producer only|

* Men of Tomorrow (1932)
* That Night in London (1932)
* Women Who Play (1932)
* Strange Evidence (1933)
* Counsel's Opinion (1933)
* Cash (1933)
* Catherine the Great (1934)
* The Private Life of the Gannets (1934) (short)
* The Scarlet Pimpernel (1934)
* Things Are Looking Up (1935)
* Sanders of the River (1935)
* The Ghost Goes West (1935)
* Things to Come (1936)
* I Stand Condemned (1936)
* Men Are Not Gods (1936)
* Forget Me Not (1936)
* The Man Who Could Work Miracles (1936)
* Fire Over England (1937)
* I, Claudius (1937) (unfinished)
* Dark Journey (1937)
* Elephant Boy (1937)
* Farewell Again (1937)
* Storm in a Teacup (1937)
* Knight Without Armour (1937)
* The Squeaker (1937)
* Paradise for Two (1937)
* The Divorce of Lady X (1938)
* South Riding (1938)
* The Challenge (1938)
* Prison Without Bars (1938)
* Q Planes (1939)
* The Four Feathers (1939)
* The Rebel Son (1939)
* The Spy in Black (1939)
* The Lion Has Wings (1939)
* Over the Moon (1939)
* 21 Days (1940)
* Conquest of the Air (1940)
* The Thief of Bagdad (1940)
* Old Bill and Son (1941)
* Lydia (1941)
* To Be or Not to Be (1942)
* Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book (1942)
* The Shop at Sly Corner (1947)
* A Man About the House (1947)
* Mine Own Executioner (1947)
* Night Beat (1948)
* Anna Karenina (1948)
* The Winslow Boy (1948)
* The Fallen Idol (1948)
* Bonnie Prince Charlie (1948)
* That Dangerous Age (1949)
* The Last Days of Dolwyn (1949)
* Saints and Sinners (1949)
* The Third Man (1949)
* The Man Who Loved Redheads (1955)
* A Kid for Two Farthings (1955)
* The Deep Blue Sea (1955)
* Storm Over the Nile (1955)
* Richard III (1955)
* Smiley (1956)

* v
* t
* e

Joseph Conrad (works)

Novels and
novellas|

* Almayer's Folly
* An Outcast of the Islands
* The Nigger of the "Narcissus"
* Heart of Darkness
* The End of the Tether
* Lord Jim
* The Inheritors
* Typhoon
* Falk
* Romance
* Nostromo
* The Secret Agent
* Under Western Eyes
* Freya of the Seven Isles
* Chance
* Victory
* The Shadow Line
* The Arrow of Gold
* The Rescue
* The Nature of a Crime
* The Rover
* Suspense

Short stories|

* "The Idiots"
* "An Outpost of Progress"
* "The Lagoon"
* "Karain: a Memory"
* "Youth"
* "Amy Foster"
* "The Secret Sharer"
* "Because of the Dollars"
* "The Tale"

Other works|

* The Inheritors (1901)
* Romance (1903)
* A Personal Record
* Last Essays

Adaptations|

* Victory (1919)
* Lord Jim (1925)
* The Silver Treasure (1926)
* Dangerous Paradise (1930)
* Sabotage (1936)
* Victory (1940)
* Outcast of the Islands (1951)
* Lord Jim (1965)
* The Rover (1967)
* The Duellists (1977)
* Apocalypse Now (1979)
* The Secret Agent (1992)
* Heart of Darkness (1993)
* Victory  (1996)
* The Secret Agent (1996)
* Nostromo (1997 TV)
* Gabrielle (2005)
* Almayer's Folly (2011)
* Spec Ops: The Line (2012 video game)
* Hanyut (2014)
* Secret Sharer (2014)
* The Secret Agent (2016)
* The Young One (2016)

Related|

* Apollo Korzeniowski (father)
* Joseph Conrad's career at sea
* Joseph Conrad (ship)

* v
* t
* e

Joseph Conrad's Lingard Trilogy

Characters|

* Thomas Lingard

Almayer's Folly (1895)|

* Almayer's Folly (2011)
* Hanyut (2012/2016)

An Outcast of the Islands (1896)|

* Outcast of the Islands (1951)

The Rescue (1920)|

* The Rescue (1929)

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template