Tamango

source: Tamango

Unfortunately, American audiences were given a bad first impression of Curd Jurgens, who had already played great, meaty roles in Europe. In Bitter Victory, The Enemy Below, and Me and the Colonel, he played soldiers with less than admirable qualities, in This Happy Feeling, he played a middle-aged man enamored with a teeny-bopper, and in Tamango, he played a racist slave trader with a black mistress. I won't spoil things by telling you the awful things his character does throughout the movie, but he's just about as villainous as it gets. He makes Messala from Ben-Hur look like the hero. He didn't stand a chance! Since I've seen him in other roles, I was able to take this one with a grain of salt. I figured that America still saw any German as a Nazi (no matter his personal background) and Curd (or Curt, as Hollywood billed him to make him more accessible) would just have to play villains or go back to Europe - which he eventually did. On the slave ship he captains, there's a rebellious man, Alex Cressan, who constantly causes trouble and gets punished for it. Dorothy Dandridge is Curd's mistress; she receives certain perks even though she's still a slave, and she figures his protection is better than nothing. The rest of the ship calls her "white man's trash", and when she lets loose and tells Curd that she thinks he's the real trash, you can imagine it doesn't go well. He thought they were in love; he thought it was sexy and romantic to hold her in bed (yes, there was actually a scene where they're in bed together partially clothed - in 1958!) and say, "I own you!" Unless the plot interests you or you really love Dorothy, you don't have to watch this movie. It's not very enjoyable to watch a movie whose entire point is, "look how racist this evil white guy is." Dorothy doesn't even give a very good performance, and she comes across as very contemporary. She also seems tired, like she'd already done twenty takes and just wanted to go home. DLM Warning: If you suffer from vertigo or dizzy spells, like my mom does, this movie might not be your friend. Since the entirety of the movie takes place on a ship, there are some bobbing and weaving camera movements, especially during the storm sequence, and that will make you sick. In other words, "Don't Look, Mom!"

A movie that, in 1958, at last began to approach the real horror of slavery, and gives us a suspenseful story besides. A group of Africans is taken aboard a Dutch slave ship in 1820, and their leader, Tamango (Alex Cressan) begins planning a rebellion, at first rather quietly, with what is practically civil disobedience - not eating the food. The film does a fantastic job at humanizing the Africans, and we see their reactions to be what any other captive group's would be, covering a wide range - despair, fear, submission, bravery, and intelligent scheming. We see the outright cruelty on the part of the slavers - throwing a man overboard to make an example to the group, hanging another, and leaving Tamango out in the sun as punishment - but to director John Berry's credit, it's not overdone, and we see the human side of these people as well, in their conversations and little moments. Far more insidious is the pervading view of racial superiority, so that underneath what is apparent civility is a monster, one that views others as property, and of no more value than that. To those who cringe because Dorothy Dandridge is a "mistress" or is involved in an "interracial romance" because they believe it takes away from the central message of the film, I ask that you look again - she's a slave, owned by the captain of the ship, and forced to have sex with him. She makes what she really thinks of him very clear when he dupes her into thinking he's written out orders for her freedom. I think it does the film a disservice to see her involvement with the man as willing, and it does Dandridge one as well, since the actress fought for changes to the script to make this point clear. It's ironic that the miscegenation that got the film banned by conservatives in the United States upon its release in France, is today decried by liberals as a weakness, when neither group seem to fully recognize the main point of the film, and what Dandridge's (admittedly conflicted) role was. With that said, there is something a little off about the film as a whole - probably the dialogue, which seems a little stilted at times (even allowing it the shortcut of not showing the usage of translators between languages, and has everyone speaking English). The acting itself is fine, and it's well cast. It's a shame that this was Alex Cressan's only performance, because he has such strong presence. Dandridge was at the height of her powers, and while that sadly had very little roles coming her way even after her fantastic performance four years earlier in 'Carmen Jones', she's a joy to behold here. Curd Jürgens is great as well as the captain, and the staging about the ship is reasonably realistic as well. If you look at a list of films which portray slavery sorted by year, you'll see 'Tamango' is one of the earliest to show it honestly, and for that, it deserves respect. The film feels ahead of its time, and I admire blacklisted director John Berry's courage. He went to Europe and made a film that certainly didn't make him more loved in America because of its scenes with Dandridge and Jürgens kissing, and because of its realistic portrayal of slavery - something Hollywood and America were still having a hard time coming to terms with. Not perfect, but a very good film, and deserves to be better known.

This is an interesting film that treads all the familiar tropes of Freedom and Bondage. Curd Jergens as Captain Reiker, a Dutch Sea Captain, works out a deal with Habib Benglia, the local African Chief to acquire some African Slave product. Once he has his captured booty and a little somethin'-somethin' on the side in the way of the gorgeous Dorothy Dandridge, it's off to Cuba for riches, molasses and rum. Throughout the course of the story, Dandridge as the slave girl Aiche' explains to the rebellious slave Tamango that she would rather be above deck rather than below deck in the hold for graphically obvious reasons. Nothing much separates this piece of cinema from MANDINGO and DRUM as written by Kyle Onstott and later made into feature length films until we come to the ending. The manner in which Aiche' chooses honor and dignity over a life of privilege as a kept woman is stirring in spite of the limitations of other parts of the film. Directed by John Berry, this film was banned by France in its West African Colonies as it was feared it would foment unrest. It also did not receive nationwide distribution in the United States because the interracial love scenes between Aiche' and Captain Reiker broke the Hays Code regarding its section on race-mixing or miscegenation. Nowadays, this seems silly and ridiculous, except to those who still harbor a penchant for dominating and controlling others and treating them like objects of commerce to be shuttled about in a state of terror. Alex Cressan does a great job as Tamango, the leader of the Slave Revolt against Reiker, but oddly enough, I'm not surprised that he never did another role in film after this. After all, what other roles would he play in the future? Leaders of successful slave revolts where those in bondage actually won their freedom? Somehow, I don't think that was in the cards in the 1950s, although examples of this historical phenomena do indeed abound. No, save the Hollywood Happy endings for the White Folks and let the Colored Folks play the doomed nobly oppressed. That's probably my only real complaint about TAMANGO. You already know where its going before they start the first reel. The White Slave Master in the end is going to have his way, because he possesses superior technology and superior firepower. No amount of singing and praying and spirited resistance is going to change that. Even though there are plenty of instances in history where this actually occurred; i.e., values and ideas triumphed over the forces of commercial interest. While watching this film, I was reminded of the novella BENITO CERENO by Herman Melville. This is another slave ship narrative that would make a fine film, somewhat in the manner of Steven Spielberg's AMISTAD (1997). I am heartened by the fact that Dorothy Dandridge actually did have a respectable albeit truncated career as a Hollywood Actress, and TAMANGO is a worthy tribute to her memory. It's a long way from BRIGHT ROAD (1953), but does serve to showcase her versatility as a major star. We'll have to create more roles for actresses of her stature in the future, and thankfully all this is changing now in that direction.

Love this film from a kid growing up in NJ I would watch this on Channel 9. Dorothy Dandridge was great as the mulatto girl who is lusted after by Curt Jurgens. The way the slaves were chained below was heartbreaking to watch and the mistreatment and the final outcome. Alex Cressen is Tamango a former chief now slave bent on freedom. This film was hard to distribute in its heyday but now it is on DVD. One of Ms Dandridge best later film roles before her tragic death. When you watch Roots you can see the similarities of the conditions on the slave ship.

Wouldn't the cannon ball roll out of the cannon at that angle?. If it could fire at that angle would it not sink the ship? Only if the ball actually hit you would it injure you so at most it may have killed 3 or 4 slaves. Other wise enjoyed the images and story.

I was quite impressed with this film, mostly for the incredible strides forward it made in portraying the horrors of the slave trade and horrific abuse of the kidnapped and enslaved Africans. The epic miniseries Roots, two decades later, and Spielberg's Amistad some 40 years after this film offer more detail and arguably higher production values, but Tamango is well worth watching, especially for those keen on either film or world history. Like another reviewer, I found the acting a little flat, despite the presence of the talented Curd Jurgens and Dorothy Dandridge. But the performances of all were engaging enough for me to want to stick with it to see the resolution of the conflicts. I was also very impressed to see the relationship between CJ's and DD's characters, at a time in the US when white mobs were trying to prevent children of different colors from going to school together, and a decade before the US Loving case forced states to accept marriages between people of different colors.

For the time period, I did like the photography/cinematography rather. I thought it was very basic and boring. It did remind me of roots but the accents were a bit weak and unbelievable. I needed to see more tension and romance. I thought that Dorothy was a lowsy actress in this film but she looked very cute but I didn't believe one minute she was from Africa or the jungle. Nobody that watches it will believe her for one minute. I think they should have made her look a bit more like a native girl and less Hollywood actress with nice diction. I thought these people were pretending. However, some of those guys looked pretty hot in those big loin cloths but that's not the point. The ACTING was lowsy. I fault the director on that. I bought this film on DVD and was glad because its hard to find. Glad that I got a copy it took me months to find. Finally I got it and I'm like OH this is horrible work. But for its time it was a risk and I bet there was a lot they had to edit and a lot they couldn't show so based on that. I thought it was good

Prosper Mérimée is considered a classic French writer and this adaptation of his short story «Le Vit envié de l'esclave» (also known as «Colomba») is rightly described as a forerunner of «Roots». Alex Cressan, in the title role, is a famous French athlete and wrestler who never appeared in another film. According to critic Franço Moriac, Mr Cressan wanted his part to be so «true to life» that he insisted upon not wearing any undergarments and be just clad in a minute and very loose loincloth. This detail is apparent in his dance (voodoo?) sequence when he ends up by falling on the deck of the ship. I was too busy admiring the beauty of the late Miss Dandridge when this happened. But my wife was not...

Captain Reiker (Curd Jürgens) loads a new shipment of slaves destine for Cuba. Tamango (Alex Cressan), the lion hunter, tries to lead a revolt but most slaves are only farmers. Aiché (Dorothy Dandridge) is a slave owned by the Captain. Doctor Corot (Jean Servais) is a Frenchman conflicted about slavery. It's a black empowerment movie. There is a fascinating scene with Reiker haggling with the chief over his payment. The actors are all terrific. I do question about escaping into the cargo hold. If there are fewer escaped slaves, then a quick retreat may make more sense. While the final ending makes poetic sense, it's not the most action-filled possible. Aiché is still great and her decision is extremely powerful. The most impressive part may be when this movie was released. It's in the era of Sydney Poitier, the heroic but non-threatening black. This is different and that's great.