Cathardincu Surprisingly incoherent and boring

AniInterview Sorry, this movie sucks

Afouotos Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Nayan Gough A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

edwagreen Somerset Maughn always seemed to have as his trademark the idea of bitter, mean people who don't care who they hurt. We saw this in Mildred, as the cocktail waitress, in "Of Human Bondage," and her male counterpart could be George Sanders in this film.Narrated by Herbert Marshall, who also co-stars, it details the life of a stockbroker who gives everything up to paint. After a while, his wife becomes indifferent after he leaves her and their children.Another theme of Maughan is played out here when again we see kindness paid by cruelty and ultimate tragedy.As a Tahitian matchmaker, Florence Bates looked absolutely ridiculous here.This is the ultimate story of an indifferent man finding ultimate happiness after causing misery to so many, then only to find tragedy ending that happiness.

vincentlynch-moonoi If what you are looking for is a standard film story about a painter, look elsewhere. This is a strange story and a strange movie. But don't take that as criticism. I found it very compelling.They say that the story was about Gauguin...and if so, then I can't say he was a very admirable fellow. Here "he's" Charles Strickland, a middle-aged businessman who abandons his wife and children so he can paint in Paris. His tale is told through the eyes of Herbert Marshall. Could there be a worse human being than George Sanders as Charles Strickland. Virtually no redeeming qualities...at least until he gets married to a girl in the South Pacific. Of course, life always pays one back, and Strickland declines into leprosy.The cast here is intriguing. This is one of the best -- though not likable -- performances given by George Sanders. Herbert Marshall is perfect as the eyes of the story (watch for scenes where he is walking...you can notice a limp due his real artificial leg). Elena Verdugo is interesting as the South Seas girl...you may remember her best from her recurring role in "Marcus Welby, M.D." Florence Bates (usually the nagging mother-in-law type) has, perhaps, the most unusual role of her career. Albert Bassermann, as the South Seas doctor, is interesting, though I'm not sure he was any great actor. But his career story is something worth looking up on Wikipedia.I guess we should thank the George Eastman House for restoring this film, although I'm not sure if the nitrate copies were so badly decomposed to explain the relatively poor quality of the print (as shown on TCM), or whether they just did a poor job of restoration. The images are not crisp, and the color scenes in Tahiti are terribly deteriorated.Nevertheless, this is a film to watch. It's unusual and intriguing.

Patricia Hammond While the beginning of this film is a bit slow, with a few touches of humour sitting a bit uncomfortably, soon we are treated to a simple but effective treatment of this extraordinary story. As the Gauguin-like painter Charles Strickland, Sanders actually does a bit more than play his 'typical cad', but relishes his character's poking fun at a hypocritical society, and shows real passion in describing to the Maugham-like figure exactly WHY he leaves his ordinary London existence. We absolutely believe him when he insists "I HAVE to paint". Wisely, the director doesn't let us see any of Strickland's canvases, and we are only limited by our own imaginations as to how powerful they must be. The only exception comes at the end, and without spoiling anything, I believe that it's handled extremely well. Other performances are a delight, particularly in the entertaining vignettes of turn-of-the-century Tahitian life.

smithy-8 As far as I know, this is George Sanders first starring movie and it hits a home run. It is based loosely on Paul Gauguin's life. Mr. Sanders is superb and is backed by a terrific supporting cast. Too bad Mr. Sanders wasn't given the chance to star in better movies. The only other good movie that he starred in was "Village of the Damned", a very scary science fiction movie. .