Islands in the Stream (film)

Islands in the Stream
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Franklin J. Schaffner
Produced by	Peter Bart Max Palevsky
Screenplay by	Denne Bart Petitclerc
Based on	The novel Islands in the Stream by Ernest Hemingway
Starring	George C. Scott David Hemmings Gilbert Roland
Music by	Jerry Goldsmith
Cinematography	Fred J. Koenekamp
Edited by	Robert Swink
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release dates	March 9, 1977 (United States)
Running time	105 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Islands in the Stream is a 1977 American drama film, an adaptation of Ernest Hemingway's novel of the same name. The film was directed by Franklin J. Schaffner and starred George C. Scott, Hart Bochner, Claire Bloom, Gilbert Roland, and David Hemmings.^[1][2]

Plot

Artist Thomas Hudson is an American who has left the civilized world for a simple life in the Caribbean. Schaffner tells the tale in four parts:

• The Island - Introduces Hudson and the people he knows. It is set in The Bahamas, circa 1940. Tom is concerned about his friend Eddy, who loves to drink and brawl with anyone he finds. Later the residents of the island and Tom celebrate the Queen Mother's Anniversary.
• The Boys - Weeks after the celebrations for the Queen Mother, Tom is reunited with his three sons. It is a bittersweet reunion, because he left them and his wife Audrey four years before. Later they go on a challenging fishing trek to catch a Marlin. The segment ends as the boys return to the United States, where oldest son Tom joins the Royal Air Force in time for the Battle of Britain. Their father writes and tells them in a monolog how much he misses them.
• The Woman - Tom's wife Audrey is introduced. Hoping she can give him companionship and love, Audrey returns to Tom to try to find what feelings may still exist between them. Tom finds he still loves his wife, but her real motive is revealed as the segment ends: she is there to tell him that young Tom is dead. This spoils her attempt at a reconciliation.
• The Journey - Tom attempts to help refugees escape the Nazis. He is accompanied by Joseph and Eddy. Leaving the British-owned Bahamas for the waters near neutral Cuba, Tom finds the refugees and tries to conduct them to the port of Havana, and ultimately to the U.S. He worries that he may not be able to trust "rummy" Eddy, that the refugees may not survive the voyage, and this trip may be suicide for all concerned if they face the Cuban Coast Guard. (In the novel's climax, Tom battles a U-boat off the coast of Bimini.)

Cast

• George C. Scott as Thomas Hudson
• David Hemmings as Eddy
• Gilbert Roland as Captain Ralph
• Susan Tyrrell as Lil
• Richard Evans as Willy
• Claire Bloom as Audrey
• Julius Harris as Joseph
• Hart Bochner as Tom
• Brad Savage as Andrew
• Michael-James Wixted as David
• Hildy Brooks as Helga Ziegner

References

1. Variety film review; March 9, 1977, page 16.
2. Islands in the Stream at the Internet Movie Database

External links

• Islands in the Stream at the Internet Movie Database
• Islands in the Stream at AllMovie
• Islands in the Stream film trailer on YouTube