The Blue Lagoon

Plot

In 1841, 9-year-old Emmeline Foster and 10-year-old Michael Reynolds, two British children, are the survivors of a shipwreck in the South Pacific. After days afloat, they are marooned on a lush tropical island in the company of kindly old sailor Paddy Button. Eventually, Paddy falls to his death during a drinking binge, leaving Emmeline and Michael alone. They survive solely on their resourcefulness and the bounty of their remote paradise.

Eight years later, in 1849, the now-adult couple live together in the island paradise, fish, and collect "beads" from the shellfish in the surrounding lagoon. One day, a ship arrives carrying Doctor Murdoch and James Carter, two British men, who are intimated to have fled as criminals from civilization. Surprised to find the couple on the island, Murdoch soon realises that Michael collects valuable pearls without knowing their true worth. While Murdoch attempts to trick Michael into getting him a bounty of pearls, Carter tries to kidnap Emmeline and escape. Murdoch and Carter kill each other on the boat, and Michael and Emmeline vow to never attempt to leave the island again. They marry, and during a tropical storm, a child, Paddy, is born.

In 1852, Emmeline is reminded of the outside world and wants to leave the island. She fears for their child if Michael and she should die. Michael gives in to her pleading, and they pack a small boat and leave the island. Becalmed in mid-ocean, they succumb to exposure. A British ship finds them, but the movie only shows that Paddy is still alive in the small boat, leaving their fate unclear.

Cast

Jean Simmons as Emmeline Foster

Donald Houston as Michael Reynolds

Susan Stranks as Emmeline (younger)

Peter Rudolph Jones as Michael (younger)

Noel Purcell as Paddy Button

James Hayter as Dr. Murdock

Cyril Cusack as James Carter

Nora Nicholson as Mrs. Stannard

Maurice Denham as Ship's Captain

Philip Stainton as Mr. Ansty

Patrick Barr as Second Mate

Lyn Evans as Trotter

Russell Waters as Craggs

John Boxer as Nick Corbett

Bill Raymond as Marsden

Production history

The film was an adaptation of a novel whose previous screen adaptation was completed for release in 1923, but it is the earliest surviving adaptation.

In 1928, Herbert Wilcox acquired the motion picture rights to the novel from I.W. Schlesinger to produce a remake. To eliminate competition with his film, Wilcox purchased all existing prints of the 1923 adaptation that weren't in circulation. A year later, he officially announced the inclusion of this project in his portfolio of motion pictures in production. He planned to film it in multiple-language versions in French and Spanish, in 2-strip Technicolor, and with a full libretto of native music. The project was abandoned due to the Great Depression and was not restarted until 1935, now with backing from the newly formed General Film Distributors (GFD). After development resumed, Wilcox planned to cast either Joel McCrea or Richard Cromwell as the male lead. It was going to be shot in 3-strip Technicolor in Honolulu.

After a spectacular fire at the British and Dominions Imperial Studios on 9 February 1936 destroyed the last surviving print of the 1923 film, Wilcox lost interest in the project, and the rights were assumed by GFD's new sister company Gainsborough Pictures at the recommendation of Frank Launder, who always admired the novel. Gainsborough announced the film in 1938 as part of a slate of 10 films. The stars were to be Michael Redgrave and Margaret Lockwood, who had just appeared in Gainsborough's The Lady Vanishes; Will Fyffe was to co-star. It was going to be shot on location in the East Indies for the exteriors and at the Islington Poole Street studio for the interiors. Carol Reed was going to direct. In 1939, Gainsborough went into a co-production with 20th Century Fox to secure funding, and Lockwood was going to co-star with Richard Greene, under contract to Fox. Plans to make the film were postponed due to World War II.

The project was reactivated after the war and announced in 1946, with Frank Launder attached to direct. Extensive location searches were undertaken before deciding to make the film in Fiji.

Plans to make the film were postponed due to Britain's currency difficulties, but eventually, plans were reactivated.

Censorship

In 1946, Joseph Breen told Universal Studios that they could turn the book into a movie if they made some changes to follow the Hays Code. Breen said the characters could not be related, the love should be between grown-ups, and there could not be any sex scenes or birth scenes. He also asked them to take out the parents' suicide. In 1948, Breen approved the script with further changes, like no nudity or suggestive content, and suggested they show the marriage passing incontinently. Indeed, though there were rules and restrictions, they still made and released the movie.

Casting

Jean Simmons was attached to the project at an early stage due to her success in Great Expectations (1946).

Donald Houston was chosen as the male protagonist from a pool of more than 5,000 candidates, including Laurence Harvey and Roger Moore, 100 of whom had screen tests.

Filming

Before embarking on their journey to the island, Launder, Noel Purcell, and Jean convened with Prince Thakombow of Fiji, who was studying in London at the time. They treated the prince to a tour of Pinewood, followed by a relaxed discussion regarding the film's production intricacies, including the imminent expedition to the islands, which the prince enthusiastically supported. Before departure, Jean had the privilege of visiting Henry de Vere Stacpoole, the author of The Blue Lagoon, who resided on the Isle of Wight. During this visit, the 84-year-old gifted Jean a green coral charm he had acquired from Fiji four decades earlier while gathering material for his renowned novel.

On 27 November 1947, Jean Simmons embarked on a journey from Poole aboard a BOAC seaplane bound for Sydney, Australia. Arranged by the Rank Organisation in coordination with her voyage to Fiji, a comprehensive tour of Australia was on her itinerary. The extensive flight included layovers in Cairo, Calcutta, and Singapore. Her departure garnered significant press coverage, with film footage capturing the moment featured in various newsreels. The farewell at the airport was emotionally charged, particularly for Winifred, Jean's mother, who accompanied her daughter. This marked not only Jean's maiden flight but also her inaugural trip abroad, evoking tears as mother and daughter bid each other farewell. After three days, Jean encountered a delay in her flight bound for Sydney when the immigration service in Darwin detained her and twelve other passengers for three hours. Their vaccination documents against cholera were deemed insufficient, causing concern as they had arrived from Cairo, where the virus was rampant, prompting scrutiny from the Australian Department of Health. Fortunately, the situation was resolved the following day.

Jean's journey encountered complications when the Brisbane airport closure due to inclement weather halted the resumption of her travels. After a prolonged wait, the plane, which had paused for refueling, eventually landed in Sydney on 2 December amidst the enthusiastic welcome of 50 fans. Her first act upon arrival, as recounted in local media, was to send a food parcel to her mother. On 5 December, she graced the gala premiere of Launder's latest film, Captain Boycott, featuring Stewart Granger, who later married Simmons. Jean's explorations across Australia, spanning from Sydney to Adelaide to Melbourne and back, were meticulously documented in national newspapers. Engagements such as press interviews, radio appearances, visits to various institutions including hospitals, schools, botanical gardens, and zoos, as well as attendance at film premieres, ballet performances, formal dinners, and other public events, filled her schedule until 21 December, when she finally departed for the Fiji Islands. There was uncertainty regarding her entry into Fiji due to her age of 18. The colonial government of Fiji was discussing the possibility of prohibiting individuals under 19 from entering the country as a preventative measure against the introduction of polio. On 22 December, a light plane carrying Leslie Gilliat, the producer and brother of Sidney Gilliat, crashed into a river near Suva. Both Gilliat and the pilot escaped unharmed. On New Year's Eve, Houston and Simmons were almost injured in Fiji when their car was overturned.

Reception

Commercial

The Blue Lagoon was the seventh-most popular film at the British box office in 1949. According to Kinematograph Weekly, the 'biggest winner' at the box office in 1949 Britain was The Third Man with "runners up" being Johnny Belinda, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, The Paleface, Scott of the Antarctic, The Blue Lagoon, Maytime in Mayfair, Easter Parade, Red River, and You Can't Sleep Here.

The film generated producer's receipts amounting to £186,500 within the United Kingdom and £164,900 in overseas markets, ultimately yielding a profit of £40,300 by 24 December 1949 primarily driven by its international earnings.

Critical

Writing for the Spectator, Virginia Graham praised the film by deftly navigating the potential pitfalls of a South Seas romance, anticipating a clichéd spectacle of tropical excess but finding instead a charming narrative. She commended the film for its restraint from sentimentality, noting the poignant early scenes with child actors Susan Stranks and Peter Jones. She criticized Donald Houston's acting, albeit acknowledging his aesthetic fit for the role while praising Jean Simmons for her performance. Graham also highlighted the film's visual appeal, particularly the scenery. Despite the film's potential for tropical clichés, Graham found it pleasantly devoid of such excesses, making it rather charming.

Writing for the New Statesman, William Whitebait offered a disparaging perspective, likening the arrival of popular novels and plays to the screen to the unanticipated appearance of a heavily advertised product on a store shelf. He stated, "Best-sellers from the circulating library and the stage have an awful way of looming up on the screen like some toothpaste or pickle which, threatening for years from advertisements, at last, confronts us as the only brand on the counter." Whitebait described the film as a "sad, absurd little idyll" of two castaways, a boy, and a girl, on an island, criticizing the lack of character growth, the film's reliance on the idyllic setting, and the charm of its leads, Donald Houston and Jean Simmons. He noted, "They do a good deal of hopping about beaches instead; and since Mr. Donald Houston and Miss Jean Simmons make a charming pair, and the beach is real Pacific in Technicolor, this is a dream of a film for the snowy evenings." Whitebait concluded his review with a critique of Houston's performance, suggesting that the actor may have taken liberties with his character's dialogue. He wrote, "I don’t know, by the way, that Mr. Houston had been playing quite fair, because when the revelation comes he quotes very pat to the moment [John] Donne’s 'I wonder, by my troth, what thou and I Did till we loved?'"

According to A. H. Weiler, a reviewer from the New York Times, the film depicted a tranquil Polynesian utopia accurately but was lacking in excitement. Nonetheless, he acknowledged that the leisurely-paced events were juxtaposed against a picturesque backdrop of Technicolor sunsets, gorgeous beaches, and verdant vegetation. Additionally, he commended the competent performances of the limited cast. Nevertheless, Weiler believed that the movie's most noteworthy feature was its magnificent Technicolor scenery.

In his review for Variety, Harold Myers expressed that the Technicolor cinematography of a stunning South Pacific setting was an appropriate and romantic setting for the movie. However, he found fault with the weak plot and stated that the tale of two children marooned on a South Sea island lacked a cohesive storyline. Although he praised the movie's visual beauty, he criticised the leading actors for not being challenged beyond their physical appearances.

Legacy

David Cronenberg has stated to David Breskin that it was the scariest movie that he ever saw as a child due to the separation of the child protagonists and their parents. According to Cronenberg, " I think kids can take a lot of things that adults find terrifying, but what is almost universally terrifying for a kid is the idea of being separated from his parents".

An interview with Susan Stranks for the BFI channel on YouTube in 2021 revived interest in the film.

Other versions and sequel

The novel was adapted into a motion picture by a Hollywood studio (Columbia Pictures) for the first time in a version that was released in 1980 starring Brooke Shields and Christopher Atkins. The updated version, directed by Randal Kleiser and written by Douglas Day Stewart, included nudity and sexual content, although not as much as the book. According to Kleiser himself, it was the book and not the 1949 film that inspired his version of the story, but his version did use the same locations as the 1949 film. That version was followed in 1991 by the sequel Return to the Blue Lagoon, starring Milla Jovovich and Brian Krause. Although the sequel bears a strong similarity to the 1980 film, it bears little resemblance to Stacpoole's second novel, The Garden of God. The pearl-greedy traders do not appear in Stacpoole's original novel, but in the third novel, The Gates of Morning, a pair of sailors attack the people of a nearby island for pearls after seeing a woman wearing a double pearl hair ornament, as Emmeline does in the 1949 film.

A "contemporary remake" of The Blue Lagoon was made for television in 2012. Called Blue Lagoon: The Awakening, it depicts two teenagers Emmaline Robinson (Indiana Evans) and Dean McCullen (Brenton Thwaites) being stranded on a tropical island. The male lead from the 1980 film, Christopher Atkins, appears in this film as one of the teachers on the shipborne field trip where Emma and Dean are lost at sea and end up on an island.

Availability

The Blue Lagoon made its television debut in the United States on ABC's Famous Film Festival on 18 December 1955. By the 1960s and 1970s, it became a television staple but, due to tighter broadcast schedules and several royalty disputes, its last appearances on broadcast television were in 1980 on WOR-TV in New York, in 1981 on TCN-9 in Sydney, and in 1982 on Tyne Tees Television. As a result, the film remained unseen on television due to rights conflicts between the estate of the novel's author Henry De Vere Stacpoole, who died in 1951, and controlled the motion picture rights to the story in every English-language-speaking country except for the United States, where the novel has already become part of the public domain, and the Rank Organisation, who controlled the rights to the 1949 film, rendering the movie as a virtual orphan work. Due to these issues, the film has not yet been released formally on home video. However, Carlton Communications, later merged with Granada plc to form ITV plc, which inherited Rank's film library, licensed clips of the film to Sony Pictures Home Entertainment for their 2003 DVD release of the 1980 film adaptation of the book.

Preservation

One 16mm copy is held at the UCLA Film and Television Archive. The film could be viewed at the BFI National Archive.