Lord Jim (1965)

Director:

Richard Brooks

Writers:

Joseph Conrad (novel)
Richard Brooks (written by)

Release Date:

25 February 1965 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama

Tagline:

Between Suez and the China Sea.... ...many nameless men live and die unknown!

Plot:

After being discredited as a coward, a 19th century seaman (Peter O'Toole) lives for only one purpose: to redeem himself. Based on Joseph Conrad's novel written in 1900.

Plot Keywords:

Inquiry | Merchant Marine | Naval Officer | Lifeboat | Warlord

Awards:

Nominated for 2 BAFTA Film Awards.

Cast

Peter O'Toole	...	Lord Jim
James Mason	...	Gentleman Brown
Curd Jürgens	...	Cornelius (as Curt Jurgens)
Eli Wallach	...	The General
Jack Hawkins	...	Marlow
Paul Lukas	...	Stein
Daliah Lavi	...	The Girl
Akim Tamiroff	...	Schomberg
Juzo Itami	...	Waris (as Ichizo Itami)
Tatsuo Saito	...	Du-Ramin
Andrew Keir	...	Brierly
Jack MacGowran	...	Robinson
Eric Young	...	Malay
Noel Purcell	...	Captain Chester
Walter Gotell	...	Captain of Patna

Runtime:

154 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (35 mm prints) | 70 mm 6-Track (Westrex Recording System) (70 mm prints)

Certification:

UK:PG (video rating) | Finland:K-12 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:U (original rating)

Filming Locations:

Angkor Wat, Siem Reap, Cambodia

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Dith Pran, the New York Times stringer who was the subject of the film The Killing Fields (1984), worked with the crew as a translator.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Lord Jim's lone crew member deserts him on the river, Jim chooses to carry on alone. Before he starts to row, the boat begins moving.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Desperation (2006) (TV)

Dull and over-long

Richard Brooks continued his flirtation with the great works of literature with this, you may think, unnecessarily lavish production of Joseph Conrad's novel which surely cried out for a more metaphysical treatment. What Brooks gives us isn't so much a tale of redemption as a lush adventure with a blue eyed blonde hero in exotic locations indulging in a load of derring-do.

As Lord Jim, Peter O'Toole reprises his role as Lawerence but this time round, since he has only an idea to work with, his performances comes across as moribund and dull. The film has a large, starry cast but Brooks' way with actors seems to have deserted him, except in the case of James Mason, who is the only actor to capture the Conrad spirit. Unfortunately he doesn't come into the picture until two-thirds of the way through by which time you have lost all interest in Jim and his exploits.

It is certainly a handsome epic, beautifully shot by Freddie Young, but it also overlong and a bit prosaic, something of the kiss of death for a film of this kind.