The black slave
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | The black slave |
| Original title | Tamango |
| Country of production | France |
| original language | French |
| Publishing year | 1958 |
| length | 95 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 16 |
| Rod | |
| Director | John Berry |
| script | John Berry Leo Gold Tamara Hovey |
| production | René G. Vuattoux |
| music | Joseph Kosma |
| camera | Edmond Séchan |
| cut | Roger Dwyre |
| occupation | |
| |
The black slave (original title: Tamango ) is a French film from 1957, which was shown in Germany on April 2, 1958. He gained fame through his daring love scenes with Curd Jürgens and Dorothy Dandridge. The literary template came from Prosper Mérimée ; The production company was Films du Cyclope .
action
The action takes place in 1815, when the slave trade was already outlawed in France, but was continued in the illegality.
On board the ship “L'Esperanza” the captain leads a cruel regiment; he keeps his black people trapped on the Guinea coast on chains and below deck, but he ensures their physical strength and gives them enough food - after all, they are worth real money. One of the prisoners, Tamango, clashes with the captain. He teaches him, who he can sell dearly, a lesson by killing one of the other slaves and then having Tamango tied up on deck. While Tamango is roasting under the hot sun, the captain's slave lover, a mulatto named Aiche, tries to persuade him to keep quiet. Tamango rejects Aiche's recommendation and plans a riot with his fellow warriors. One of his fellow prisoners is killed while preparing for the attack. Meanwhile, Aiche is caught between her love for the captain and her loyalty to her countrymen; she also has to fend off the advances made by Corot, the cynical ship's doctor.
Below decks, Tamango takes revenge for his friend's killing during a storm by murdering his killer, first mate Bébé, and hiding his body. When Aiche learns from Corot that the captain will never marry her and that he has a fiancée waiting for him in France, she decides to support the prisoners. With their support, Tamango and the other slaves steal the crew's weapons and begin the uprising. They take hostages, kill eight of the captain's men. Aiche lets him choose between his love for her and revenge for the bloodbath. When an attempted fumigation of the prisoners fails, the captain has a cannon aimed at the slaves and kills his entire human cargo.
background
The Black Slave was director John Berry's first film after it was blacklisted in the McCarthy era. Only two years after its world premiere did the film reach US cinemas to a limited extent.
criticism
“Prosper Mérimée's novella was an elegantly cynical digression, a blow against the aristocracy and the bourgeoisie. The film, well staged and colorful and broadly, is a lewd morality. "
“[H] a wholesome widescreen horror [...] even the piquant combination of actors Curd Jürgens-Dorothy Dandridge cannot help the film up. As a serf negress and arch-Germanic gentleman, the two stars form a rather grim than exciting couple. "
The international criticism was much more positive; The TV Guide writes: "What is immediately noticeable about the new CinemaScope copy is that Tamango looks excellent; the use of color, lighting and the equipment leave one amazed. Even more remarkable, however, is the script, which consistently features the side of the African prisoners sympathizes and never misuses their situation in a sensationalistic way. "
Web links
- The black slave in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ The black slave. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .
- ↑ cf. spiegel.de
- ↑ http://movies.tvguide.com/tamango/review/119766