I recently received an alert from a longtime reader & friend about a movie I thought that I'd seen before, but in truth had not!
No Man is an Island (1962) starred a beloved favorite of mine, Mr. Jeffrey Hunter, and tells the story (based on an actual incident) of a WWII sailor who evades capture for an extended time on Japanese-held Guam. The confusion stemmed from a decade-earlier movie,
Sailor of the King (1953) in which a shipwrecked Hunter works overtime single-handedly to thwart a German ship.
No Man has our stalwart hero struggling to eke out an existence with practically no equipment or provisions and a death threat hanging over any island citizen who aids him. This poster above left gives NO indication of the staggering beauty that Hunter brings to the table. The Philippine scenery (subbing for Guam) is lovely and the cinematography is generally handled well, but the real eye-catch is Jeff, who possessed the most crystalline blue eyes. This isn't a rundown of the movie, but sort of a Hunter highlight reel with a specialty ending. (I'll give you a hint... I watched this yesterday, two days after I had posted my latest tribute to April showers.)
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The eyes have it...
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The year before this, Hunter had portrayed our lord and savior Jesus Christ (King of Kings, 1961) and I did occasionally hear myself repeating those words as the film unfolded...! I hated the way his hair was smoothed back (even more than in the pic at left above) towards the start of the film, but as it went on, he sported a more disheveled look which was quite dreamy.
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He is strikingly photographed time and again. It's not just a one-man show. Marshall Thompson has a supporting role, there are many local actors who have significant parts and Barbara Perez (aka - The Audrey Hepburn of the Philippines) comes in late with an appealing and lovely performance as well. But always my attention stuck to Hunter.
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The rugged, shopworn appearance he adopts for much of the picture was probably considered unkempt and degraded at the time, but by today's standards he looks wonderful.
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The longer his ordeal goes on, the more tattered and abbreviated that shirt becomes.
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The moment depicted on this lobby card didn't appear in the version of the film I saw. He looks like he was down to almost nothing by this point!
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::Spoiler Alert:: Hunter does eventually get rescued. He's taken aboard ship and seems to have drawn an interested crowd. I wonder what's so fascinating...
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Oh, I see! Hell, yeah...! I'll crowd into that room for this, too!
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The poor guy is so undernourished after having stuck it out under grueling conditions for a long time that he's brought a pitcher of milk and a glass.
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He's so ready for it he slurps it down right there during his shower.
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Then he wants some more, please.
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Milk. It does a body good.
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After he's cleaned up, all eyes are still on him as he accepts various bits of clothing from the other seamen. And again, I can't blame a one of them...! This movie is okay, not tremendous and not bad. But fans of Jeff should enjoy it more than others.
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Um... I'm just gonna leave this right here... Pleasant dreams! Ha ha!
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