IMDb RATING
6.3/10
2.3K
YOUR RATING
A cynical Welsh hotel owner secretly romances a diplomat's wife in Haiti, under the violent reign of the despot "Papa Doc" Duvalier.A cynical Welsh hotel owner secretly romances a diplomat's wife in Haiti, under the violent reign of the despot "Papa Doc" Duvalier.A cynical Welsh hotel owner secretly romances a diplomat's wife in Haiti, under the violent reign of the despot "Papa Doc" Duvalier.
- Awards
- 3 wins & 1 nomination
Thomas Baptiste
- Haitian Soldier
- (uncredited)
Make Bray
- Haitian Soldier
- (uncredited)
Robin Langford
- Angelito Pineda
- (uncredited)
Dennis Alaba Peters
- César
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaTo get Dame Elizabeth Taylor to do the movie at a "bargain" salary, producer and director Peter Glenville told her that he had offered it to Sophia Loren. She promptly cut her customary $1 million salary in half and signed on.
- GoofsIn the last few shots in the movie, as the Character is leaving the airport, there is initially a departing Vickers VC10 airliner flying overhead from right to left, this changes to a close up, followed by a shot of the same airliner now flying into the distance - unfortunately this is different 4 engine Jetliner, probably a Boeing 707.
- Quotes
Petit Pierre: [to Brown] They are waiting for Major Jones. For some reason they believe that only white men are experts in killing.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The Comedians in Africa (1967)
Featured review
chilling depiction of Haiti
I saw this movie many years ago and it left me cold. When it came up again on cable, the combination of the stellar cast - Alec Guinness, Richard Burton, Peter Ustinov, Peter Ford, Lillian Gish, James Earl Jones, Liz Taylor - and a script based on a Graham Greene novel, prompted me to give it a second look. Maybe because I'm a lot older now I can appreciate its many qualities. Graham Greene's cynical, post-Catholic sensibility is clearly in evidence here. The production qualities are high, and the story line is engaging. The portrayal of the misery of Haiti and the terror of the Duvalier government with its tontons macoutes secret police, is chilling. It is still true today that if you look up "Third World Hell Hole" in your Funk & Wagnalls, there will be a picture of Haiti. The characters are well-drawn. Burton's character, Brown - who seems to be missing a first name - is a sardonic, cynical and jaded hotel owner who puts one in mind of Rick in Casablanca. His character transformation, involving the shedding of his cynicism, is very effectively portrayed. Mr. & Mrs. Smith (Ford / Gish) might have been portrayed to be the slightly silly and naive characters they appear to be, but in the end they demonstrate a touching bravery and idealism. The weak spot here is Elizabeth Taylor's Martha Pineda. Her attempt, as an ambassador's European wife, at an accent is simply ridiculous, ranging from French (sorta), to British, to German (kinda) depending on the scene. In addition, the film makers decided that extra dollops of Rich and Liz's lovemaking scenes would be an added draw; not a good idea, as they slow down the action and force us to endure listening to Taylor. It's a long movie but it keeps us going to its tragic finale.
helpful•60
- rupie
- Apr 8, 2014
- How long is The Comedians?Powered by Alexa
Details
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $5,200,000
- Runtime2 hours 30 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content