Boy on a Dolphin (1957)
Phaedra is a poor sponge diver on the lovely Greek isle of Hydra. While diving, she discovers an ancient brass and gold statue of a boy riding a dolphin, which is said to have the magical power to grant wishes. Her shiftless boyfriend wants to sell it to an unscrupulous art collector, but Phaedra wants to give it to anthropologist Jim Calder, who would return it to the Greek government.
- Jean Negulesco
- Carlo Lastricati
- Eli Dunn
- Dwight Taylor
- Ivan Moffat
- David Divine
Rating: 5.5/10 by 28 users
Alternative Title:
Der Knabe auf dem Delphin - DE
Country:
United States of America
Language:
ελληνικά
English
Runtime: 01 hour 51 minutes
Budget: $0
Revenue: $0
Plot Keyword: gold, based on novel or book, diving, dolphin, athens, greece, greek, artifact, beautiful woman, aegean sea, sunken treasure, diver, art dealer, greek island, archeology, statue, sunken ship, treasure hunter, sponge divers
I can't help but wonder if this might not have worked better in black and white? As it is, it's a rather sterile and distinctly unsexy treasure hunt with a scantily clad, but off-form Sophia Loren in the role of sponge diver ("Phaedra"). On one such dive, she discovers a statue of a young boy riding a dolphin, nestled amongst the weeds. Desperate for some cash, she soon has the interest of the honourable "Dr. Calder" (Alan Ladd) and the unscrupulous "Parmalee" (Clifton Webb) vying for her attention - and for the location of this legendary work of art. It's not that it's a bad film, this - its just that there is way too much dialogue and nowhere near enough action. Webb's manoeuvrings are the highlight, but Ladd just looks like he is here (Greece) for a suntan. Geoffrey Keen turns in quite an engaging performance as the dipsomaniac doctor "Hawkins" and it has a pleasing soundtrack with the odd dance from Miss Loren before an ending that though right and proper, I found a bit, well, twee! Anyway, the cinematography looks nice and there is some good underwater photography to admire, but it's still all a pretty forgettable adventure with nobody really firing on all cylinders.
