The Greengage Summer

Susannah York as Joss.

Knowing my affinity for 1960s British cinema, my blogger friend Connie from Silver Scenes recently recommended The Greengage Summer (aka Loss of Innocence). Currently available on YouTube, it turned out to be an ideal way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Set 15 years after World War II, The Greengage Summer opens with a train arriving in the "Green and Gold Champagne Country of France." Mrs. Grey, a mother of four, exits the train on a stretcher. She has blood poisoning and must be transported directly to a hospital. She puts her oldest daughter, 16-year-old Joss (Susannah York), in charge of her siblings. 

Danielle Darrieux and Kenneth More.

When the children arrive at their hotel, the manager nor the owner want to accept the motherless children as guests. However, a gentleman "friend" of the owner, Eliot (Kenneth More), intercedes on the children's behalf. They are allowed to stay at the Hotel Oeillets, and as the days pass, they bond closely with the fortyish Eliot. Hester, the second oldest daughter, notices that Eliot has begun to look at Joss differently. Joss has noticed this as well and likes the attention, though she carefully avoids being alone with Eliot on a country outing.

Screenwriter Rumer Godden based The Greengage Summer on her own 1958 novel. As with Godden's earlier Black Narcissus, there's an emotional intensity suppressed within most of the characters. The hotel's owner, Madame Zisi, is hopelessy in love with Eliot, even though she knows very little about him. She does, however, quickly realize that Joss has become a rival for Eliot's affections. The hotel manager, Madame Corbet, is in love with Zisi (though this subplot is never explored). Paul, a young man who works at the hotel, playfully banters with Hester--but he, too, is attracted to Joss. Emotions begin to overflow near the climax when Zisi, unable to contain her pent-up jealousy any longer, flings a glass of champagne at Joss in front of Eliot and other guests.

Susannah York and Kenneth More.

The most intriguing character is Joss, who is an instigator as well as a victim. Once she realizes her youthful beauty gives her power over men, she uses it to her advantage. She convinces Eliot to save Paul from being dismissed. She makes a grand entrance at a party after Madame Zisi specifically told her to stay in her room and then dances with practically every man. Yet, she is still a teenager, and when she overhears Eliot referring to her as a child, she becomes angry and strikes back at him in a very hurtful way.

The Greengage Summer is well acted by almost the entire cast. Susannah York makes it easy to believe that men would swoon over her (though she looks much older than sixteen). Kenneth More finds the right tone as a middle-aged man infatuated with a teenage girl. It would be easy to make Eliot a creepy character, but More deftly avoids that with his sincerity. (Some fans have suggested Dirk Bogarde would have been a better Eliot, but I disagree).

Jane Asher and Paul McCartney.

However, the standout in the cast is Jane Asher as Hester. Asher later gained celebrity status in the 1960s as Paul McCartney's girlfriend and eventual fiancee. They never married, supposedly due to Paul's infidelities. However, many Fab Four critics think that she was the subject of several Beatles' songs such as "And I Love Her" and "Here, There and Everywhere."

While The Greengage Summer lacks the thematic complexity of Black Narcissus, I quite enjoyed it. In fact, it sent me looking for other films based on Rumer Godden's works. Next up on my watchlist: The Battle of the Villa Fiorita (1965) starring Maureen O'Hara.

Sands of the Kalahari: Fear Not the Baboons

These aren't Bette Davis eyes.

1965 was a banner year for well-made survivalist adventures. Two of the best-known examples of that subgenre--The Flight of the Phoenix and The Naked Prey--were released that year. A third representative, the lesser-know Sands of the Kalahari, hit theaters as well. It did not click with movie-goers nor critics (Bosley Crowthers of the New York Times wrote: "It is largely a question of who can take the Technicolored agony longer, the characters or the customers"). However, time has been kind to this sometimes brutal film and it has developed a cult reputation over the years.

Susannah York as the lone female.

The opening scenes closely mirror The Flight of the Phoenix with six passengers boarding a small cargo plane for Johannesburg after their commercial flight is delayed. The pilot accepts one final passenger even though he knows it puts the plane over its weight-carrying limit. During the flight, the aircraft encounters an enormous horde of locusts that clogs the engines and sends the plane crashing into the Kalahari desert. The pilots are killed, but the passengers escape before the plane bursts into flames.

A passenger called Sturdevan (Nigel Davenport) emerges as the group's leader. He guides the others to a mountainous area with drinkable water, melons for food, and caves for protection. There is also a congress of baboons (yes, I looked that up) nearby, but the monkeys with the scary-looking teeth only express curiosity about their new neighbors. When Sturdevan leaves the group to seek out help, O'Brien (Stuart Whitman) assumes his role. He heartlessly kills the baboons, explaining that they are the group's competitors for food. However, it gradually becomes clear that O'Brien is an extreme survivalist who wants to get rid of more than just the baboons.

Baboons have sharp teeth!

I recently watched Sands of the Kalahari for the first time in probably two decades. I could have sworn the central premise pitted the passengers against the baboons. I was mistaken, though, for the baboons are not the film's villain; that would be O'Brien. Indeed, although the baboons play a key role in the climax, their primary purpose is to provide an analogy. In describing an article on baboons, a passenger named Dr. Bondrachai (Theodore Bikel) notes: "There is a leader, a king, an absolute monarch. He gets first choice to all the food and the females. And he can only be deposed if he is defeated by a younger and stronger challenger." Bondrachai could just as well have been talking about the his fellow survivors. The only difference is that O'Brien doesn't have to fight his biggest rival, Sturdevan. He just bides his time until Sturdevan  leaves, then O'Brien takes over as the monarch of the group.

In a film with a small ensemble cast, well-drawn characters and strong performances can make all the difference. Fortunately, Sands of the Kalahari features solid veteran British performers such as Stanley Baker, Harry Andrews, Susannah York, and Davenport. They bring their characters to life even though writer-director Cy Endfield fails to flesh their parts out as as skillfully as the survivors in The Flight of the Phoenix.

Director Enfield's numerous overhead shots suggest the baboons
are watching the humans.

Susannah York and Stuart Whitman face the toughest acting challenges. York plays Grace Munden, the lone female character, who displays a lack of moral strength until late in the film. Early on, she attaches herself to O'Brien, either because she wants the brutal hunter's protection or is attracted to his animal quality (or both). As a result, it's hard to empathize with Grace, even though it's conceivable that she has simply recognized her weaknesses and taken the most logical actions required for her survival.

Stuart Whitman as O'Brien.

Whitman initially seems an odd choice for O'Brien (allegedly, Baker, who also co-produced, wanted his friend Richard Burton to play the role). Still, he does an effective job of lurking in the shadows until it's time for O'Brien to take control of the group. Whitman may overplay his part at times, but O'Brien is clearly intended to be a egocentric ruler who believes he has found his destiny.

I'm not surprised that Sands of the Kalahari was a boxoffice failure. The plot borders on grim and brutal at times and it lacks the feel-good ending of Flight of the Phoenix. However, it's a fascinating film that keeps viewers continually guessing what's going to happen next. And when the baboons finally make their presence known in the film's climax, let's just say that it's a confrontation that you won't soon forget.