When the sudden presence of loner Gary Cooper stirs the natives up against obsessive missionary Barry Jones (who has basically made them slaves out of a misguided sense of duty to God), Cooper's romance with island girl Roberta Haynes takes a twist and begins to change him. Native superstitions mixed with Cooper's desire for solitude seem to call on some nasty curse, and the continued presence of Jones (minus his evil disciples which diminishes his power until Cooper leaves) guides the story which leads the island into danger as World War II approaches.
Whike attractive to look at, this film doesn't really have a linear storyline out of the basic conflict of island living and the situation with Jones in the first half hour of the film. His character goes through so many changes that he becomes very unrealistic, and his attempt to atone and explain his motives fall flat. Cooper is basically playing the same type of character he had been playing since the early thirties, handsome and heroic, seemingly ageless, but without real direction and certainly no loyalty to the woman he leaves behind as well as the child she bares.
It seems that every time the story runs out of a place to go, the editor through in a repeat of the song first heard over the opening credits, and it becomes an ear sore after the first few times. The story by James A. Michener was probably better on paper, but so much seem to have been edited out to fit it into a typical 90 minute running time. Certainly, in this era when the code was still prevalent, much of the key of what was going on had to be diminished, so a lot is lost in the transition from Michener's writing to the script. The directions by Mark Robson however is not flawed as he makes what is there flow and keep the audience entertained in spite of the flaws.
Whike attractive to look at, this film doesn't really have a linear storyline out of the basic conflict of island living and the situation with Jones in the first half hour of the film. His character goes through so many changes that he becomes very unrealistic, and his attempt to atone and explain his motives fall flat. Cooper is basically playing the same type of character he had been playing since the early thirties, handsome and heroic, seemingly ageless, but without real direction and certainly no loyalty to the woman he leaves behind as well as the child she bares.
It seems that every time the story runs out of a place to go, the editor through in a repeat of the song first heard over the opening credits, and it becomes an ear sore after the first few times. The story by James A. Michener was probably better on paper, but so much seem to have been edited out to fit it into a typical 90 minute running time. Certainly, in this era when the code was still prevalent, much of the key of what was going on had to be diminished, so a lot is lost in the transition from Michener's writing to the script. The directions by Mark Robson however is not flawed as he makes what is there flow and keep the audience entertained in spite of the flaws.