Alan Ladd was paid $275,000 (the internet says today that's got purchasing power of about $3.5M, so good for him) for appearing in Boy on a Dolphin, and it was to the check that he clung as he realized he was nothing more in the film than an expensive prop 20th Century-Fox was using to promote an Italian bombshell named Sophia Loren. Loren (playing a Greek island girl named Phaedra, who finds a priceless Greek statue) enters the film's first scene boobs first, and rarely leaves it from that point on, usually showing lots of legs and wearing the tightest/wettest clothing possible.In Loren's autobiography, she mostly remembers the movie fondly and appears to have had fun playing her — stop me if you've heard this one before — uneducated, spontaneous, spitfire of a character, so I guess I shouldn't be mad on her behalf, but my god. The movie is so shallow it's almost embarrassing to watch, with the studio presenting as a prestige picture — the first American studio film shot on location in Greece, you guys! — and pretending its concern is cultural heritage when, really, all it wants to do is ogle Loren and persuade ticket-buying audiences to pay for the privilege of doing the same.Because, regardless of what it pretends to be, Boy on a Dolphin is little more than almost two hours of pretty scenery, a fancy!score, legs, and tits. And, to make matters worse, what little substance there is boils down to a righteous American archeologist (that's Ladd) lecturing a Greek woman about the importance of keeping Greek treasures in Greece. Like, who typed those words with a straight face?!Anyway, it sucks. Loren is gorgeous, obviously, but she's also hot in a bunch of much better movies. That said, I can't think of any other films in which Alan Ladd wears a big, chunky cardigan sweater, so that probably is a genuine selling point. This one also features Jorge Mistral in a rare English-language role as the avaricious fisherman boyfriend (who for some reason is Albanian? Why can he not just be Spanish, like Mistral IRL?!) of Loren's character who takes his shirt off a lot. This, too, is something but frankly, not the boobs, or the sweater, or the shirtless!Mistral is enough to make sitting through this nonsense worthwhile.
Getting back into the swing of things means only one thing, yet more films from the 1940's and 1950's starring my favourite actors from the era. Next week will see me dive headfirst into my pile of unwatched Glenn Ford titles, I've missed the genial Canadian with a penchant for shagging his leading ladies, almost as much as Alan Ladd, who makes me want to rewatch Shane every time I check out another film from him? Which brings me to Boy on a Dolphin, a film that saw Alan Ladd bring a Hollywood production to Greece for the first time, and the 20th Century Fox produced film would also see Sophia Loren make her debut in an English Language film too. The opening scene of this film is a delight, with Sophia Loren emerging from sponge diving in that little outfit to your left, and she makes an instant impression on the viewer. She's encounterd a statue on the seabed of the Aegean, lost for over 2000 years, but been cut on the thigh by a nail from the boat that carried it. It'll be the start of her attempt to get rich by selling the statue to the highest bidder, despite the fact that technically the artifact will have to be surrendered to the Greek authorities. This will see her encounter Alan Ladd's American archaeologist, who initially doesn't quite believe her story, and also an unscrupulous dealer in historical antiquities, Victor Parmalee, played by Clifton Webb, who hams things up beautifully in a shifty role. We'll get plenty of shots of the wonderful Greek countryside, the island of Hydra, yet more of Loren wet and smooth, and they even have her singing and dancing, surely getting their money's worth from the Italian beauty. The plot however is as flimsy as they come, two potential destinations for the statue, Ladd's honest archaeologist, or the chance of riches from Webb's Parmalee, and of course as money becomes involved, so does jealousy, deception, and that inevitable romance between the two leads here. Loren is raw, a little shouty at times, but a compelling watch every time she is onscreen, but there isn't any real chemistry between Ladd and her, which detracts from the finished film. I'm also not entirely sure how this film was received back in 1957, but I know that it was a troubled shoot, especially for Alan Ladd, who had the statuesque Loren's height to contend with, and some of the ways that director Jean Negulesco gets around the height disparity must have been embarrassing demeaning for Alan Ladd, who had to stand on a box for some scenes, and where a trench was dug for Loren to walk in the sand when they were together. It's also probably 20 minutes too long, has some padding here and there, and even though we also have the likes of Jorge Mistral in a supporting role as Loren's Phaedra's boyfriend, and English actor Laurence Naismith as a drunken doctor, it is left to Ladd, Loren, and Webb to carry the film.
This one’s going out for Alan Walbridge Ladd, born September 13, 1913, and for Sofia Villani Scicolone (aka Sophia Loren), born September 20, 1934.Boy on a Dolphin has a rep for being a bit dull. That’s because it’s a bit dull. But it’s worth a look for several reasons. It was the first American film to be shot in Greece. It’s the third CinemaScope film for director Jean Negulesco and was shot by Milton Krasner, Fox’s CinemaScope specialist. Those boys know how to make the most of the wide screen and the gorgeous scenery. The underwater scenes are also quite spectacular.But there’s an even more important reason for seeing the film. Even more gorgeous than the scenery and more spectacular than the underwater scenes is Sophia Loren, making both her English-language and her American-film debuts. And what a debut. We first see the divine one emerging from the sea with her skimpy sponge-diving outfit soaking wet, calling attention to two of her best assets. Seeing the film when it was fresh out of the box, I was afraid the theater manager, me old ma, one of my teachers, or Mamie Eisenhower would swoop down and pluck me from the seat to which I was riveted. I couldn’t believe such pulchritude was being exposed and that I was allowed to see it. Loren goes on to be magnetic and charming throughout the film, being effortlessly sexy in a way fresh and innocent compared with what else was going on in this era.Alas, Loren is saddled with a clearly uninterested Alan Ladd as her costar. He just walks through the film, and he and Loren never make a connection. The diminutive gentleman’s height seems to vary from shot to shot in an effort to make him seem taller than Sophia. Cary Grant and Robert Mitchum were considered for the part. Either would have been perfect, and we know from later developments that there would have been sparks between Loren and Archie Leach.Much better is Clifton Webb as an unscrupulous antiques dealer, an arch, cynical character who could be played no better by anyone but Webb. His scenes with Loren have a sparkle missing from hers with Ladd. Hugo Friedhofer’s lovely Oscar-nominated score provides a needed romantic touch, and a surprisingly uncredited Julie London does a swell job singing the title song. Almost as beautiful as Sophia is Webb’s gray 1953 Ferrari 375 America.Although Cinema Retro is devoted to films of the 50s and 60s, the spring 2023 issue offers seven heavily illustrated pages about the making of Boy on a Dolphin, including an appreciation of Loren’s seventeen-year-old double for the underwater scenes, Scilla Gabellini, who would go on to appear in several films, including Modesty Blaise. Beautiful Scilla will be 86 in January.“The smaller the man, the bigger the knife.”Random thought: This same year, Loren made another dully, Henry Hathaway’s desert drama Legend of the Lost with John Wayne, but despite the tepid script, it’s worth seeing for Loren’s charm, the spectacular cinematography of Jack Cardiff, and an unexpected solution to the central dilemma. I found it so boring in 1957 that I seriously considered walking out, but I was afraid I would be struck by lightning for abandoning the Duke.Watched on Amazon Prime. First seen in theater in Lanett, AL.
