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A High Wind in Jamaica

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A High Wind in Jamaica
Image:High wind movieposter.jpg
original film poster
Directed by Alexander Mackendrick
Produced by John Croydon
Written by Stanley Mann
Ronald Harwood
Denis Cannan
Starring Anthony Quinn
James Coburn
Lila Kedrova
Music by Larry Adler
Cinematography Douglas Slocombe
Distributed by Twentieth Century-Fox
Release date(s) 1965
Running time 103 min.
IMDb profile
A High Wind in Jamaica is 1929 novel by Richard Hughes and a 1965 film.

[edit] Plot summary

The plot concerns a group of children who are captured by pirates, and was considered somewhat daring in its time because of the way they respond to their situation.

The book was turned into a film in 1965 by director Alexander Mackendrick for the 20th Century-Fox studio, starring Anthony Quinn and James Coburn as the pirates who capture the children (an interesting note: one of the child actors is the author Martin Amis).

The film is regarded highly today because of Mackendrick's direction and Anthony Quinn's lead performance as the pirate captain whose relationship with the children betokens a subtle change in his character, finally leading to his downfall and the pirates' end.

Mackendrick (1912-1993) was best known as a director of the Ealing comedies The Man in the White Suit (1951) and The Ladykillers (1955). The material in A High Wind in Jamaica afforded the director an opportunity to combine a light touch with serious drama. Essentially, what makes the film fascinating is the theme of children growing up and their contact with a world of adults (the pirates) who act as if they are grown-up children (Quinn's performance wonderfully captures the essence of the adult child).

[edit] External link

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