The Beachcomber Summary
Director: Bartlett Cormack, Erich Pommer
Genres: Romance
Rating:
Based on a story by Somerset_Maugham, The_Beachcomber was originally released in Great Britain as Vessel of Wrath. This English version was much franker--and much more fun--than the abbreviated, watered-down US release prints. Even the American version, however, is successful in capturing the spirit of Maugham's tale of slovenly remittance man Charles_Laughton drinking and wenching away his monthly allowance in the picturesque Dutch Islands. Elsa_Lanchester (the real-life Mrs. Laughton) plays the prim sister of sanctimonious missionary Tyrone_Guthrie, who slowly regenerates the wastrelly Laughton. Our hero redeems himself fully through his courageous behavior during a cholera epidemic. This version of The_Beachcomber is based on the stage adaptation by Bartlett Cormick; the 1955 remake, which played faster and looser with the Maugham original than the Cormack version did, starred Robert_Newton, who plays the local British authority in the 1938 film. The_Beachcomber was the only film directed by producer Erich_Pommer, who spent most of the 1930s as Charles_Laughton's business partner. Hal Erickson, Rovi
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