Lord Jim *** (1965, Peter O’Toole, James Mason, Eli Wallach, Paul Lukas, Jack Hawkins, Daliah Lavi, Curt Jurgens, Akim Tamiroff) – Classic Movie Review 6342

Richard Brooks’s 1965 film adaptation the gloomy 1900 Joseph Conrad novel was always going to be difficult to film and hard going. But Peter O’Toole is excellent as Lord Jim and there is good star support from James Mason. 

At the height of his popularity, Peter O’Toole bravely decided to play Lord Jim, the 19th-century sailor discredited as a coward and searching for truth and redemption in the Far East.

Writer-director Richard Brooks’s long, thoughtful and uneven 1965 film adaptation of a particularly gloomy and introspective 1900 Joseph Conrad novel was always going to be difficult to film, and was always going to be as hard going to watch as it is to read.

However, O’Toole is excellent as James Burke, there is good star support from James Mason as Gentleman Brown, Eli Wallach, Paul Lukas, Jack Hawkins, Daliah Lavi, Curt Jurgens [Curd Jürgens] and Akim Tamiroff, and a lavish, lovely-looking production by producer René Dupont and designer Geoffrey Drake, while Brooks does pretty sterling, intelligent work on direction and adaptation under these difficult circumstances.

Above all, it is magnificently photographed in Technicolor and Super Panavision by Britain’s Freddie Young, winner of three Oscars, but not for this film, which was entirely overlooked by the Academy Awards and received just two Bafta nominations – for Freddie Young for Best British Cinematography (Colour) for Geoffrey Drake for Best British Art Direction (Colour), with no wins.

Yes, there is adventure, romance and drama in Lord Jim, but just don’t expect any fireworks, thrills or excitement.

Also in the cast are Eric Young, Andrew Keir, Jack MacGowran, Walter Gotell, Noel Chester, Serge Reggiani, Marne Maitland, Newton Blick and Christian Marquand.

It is the second film of Conrad’s novel after a 1925 silent directed by Victor Fleming.

It had its world premiere on 15 February 1965 at the Odeon Leicester Square, London, as the Royal Film Performance in the presence of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, Princess Margaret Countess of Snowdon and the Earl of Snowdon.

It is produced by Richard Brooks (who optioned the novel in 1957), Jules Buck and Peter O’Toole (as associate producers) for Keep Films and released by Columbia Pictures. Brooks and O’Toole had a nasty shock when the film had adverse reviews and poor box-office returns ($5,000,000 in US/ Canada cinema rentals). However O’Toole stood by the film and said the role was the finest he ever did.

It was made at Shepperton Studios, England, and on location in Angkor Wat, Cambodia; Hong Kong; and Malacca, Malaysia.

O’Toole recalled his location filming difficulties: ‘The three months we spent in Cambodia were dreadful. Sheer hell. A nightmare. There we were, all of us, knee deep in lizards and all kinds of horrible insects. And everyone hating us. Awful.’

The Bronisław Kaper score features gamelan musicians. Gamelan is the traditional ensemble music of the Javanese, Sundanese, and Balinese peoples of Indonesia, predominantly made up of percussive instruments.

Cambodian translator Dith Pran was a liaison between Cambodians and the cast and crew. He left the country after the 1975 Communist takeover and his imprisonment, as seen in the 1984 film The Killing Fields with Haing S Ngor as Pran.

The Cambodian Head of State and former King Norodom Sihanouk disliked the film’s portrayal of Cambodia and replied in an interesting way. He edited, wrote and directed the 1966 Cambodian romantic drama film, his first feature-length and colour film.

The cast are Peter O’Toole as Lord Jim, James Mason as Gentleman Brown, Curd Jürgens as Cornelius, Eli Wallach as The General, Jack Hawkins as Marlow, Paul Lukas as Stein, Daliah Lavi as The Girl, Akim Tamiroff as Schomberg, Jūzō Itami as Waris, Tatsuo Saitō as Du-Ramin, Andrew Keir as Brierly, Jack MacGowran as Robinson, Eric Young as Malay, Noel Purcell as Captain Chester, Walter Gotell as Captain of Patna, Marne Maitland as Elder, A J Brown as Magistrate, Christian Marquand as the French Officer, Noel Chester, Serge Reggiani, and Newton Blick.

© Derek Winnert 2017 Classic Movie Review 6342

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