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.
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Clifton Webb and Alan Ladd are two competitive archaeologists in Greece, and when a girl from the islands present them with an opportunity, they get stuck on Sophia Loren more than on her findings. They are British and American, one with money, the other without, but Sophia is all Greek, and this film is all Greece in all its glory, Sophia matching it perfectly, as the best illustration and promotion Greece could ever get at the time. The colours are glorious, especially the underwater scenes are miraculous in their exploration, reminding of Jacques-Yves Costeau's and Louis Malle's "The Silent World" the year before, and the story is likeable enough, with the boy (Sophia's brother) acting as a deus ex machina, and the dyspeptic doctor (Laurence Naismith), who actually is the best actor of them all. I saw this film as a child and always wanted to see it again, but I had to wait for 60 years... but what a rewarding fulfillment!
... but I can't tell if it is or not because it isn't captioned. Please someone, caption this movie. I do appreciate that someone listened to my plea regarding another movie and 6 months later it was captioned.We hearing impaired people love movies, too. I especially admire Sophia Loren. She is so beautiful and sophisticated. I even read her beauty book years ago. If you want to know what it's like for us, watch the movie with the sound off. Even hearing people have grown to enjoy Closed Captioning for times when someone is making noise and they can't hear the TV.Thanks for reading this. Now I pray next time I see it on TCM it will be captioned.-Youseineko-
Sophia Loren's dancing partner was Dimitris Pantermarakis ( Dimitris Maras) who is also a Greek actor. The scene was taken in the island of Hydra. The choreography was from Yannis Flery along with the Dora Stratou's folklore ballet. At the time Dimitris was a reserve officer serving the Greek army. The film company requested Dimitris to go back to America with them, unfortunately that was not possible due to his army service. So he lost the opportunity an artist hopes for in a lifetime. The film was top notch. After the army Dimitris Maras Pantermarakis went on a very successful tour all over Europe working in many theaters, TV and motion pictures. Photos are available.
Ah, yes! Who can forget that image of Sophia, climbing aboard a small fishing vessel, her peasant blouse opulently revealing why she first became a movie star? 20th-Century Fox wisely featured a snippet of that scene in "Previews of Coming Attractions" for this film when it was first being distributed. The production itself benefits hugely from the gorgeous locations of its story and the Hollywood professionalism of everyone assigned to it. All that, plus Julie London lending her breathy vocalizing to the lovely title song.One of the things I recall about it was Sophia's retort when asked how much would be sufficient compensation for the ancient treasure she'd found under the Aegean. "For me, plenty of money is enough!" How convincingly she delivered that line and how lucky we've been ever since that her stardom led to many better displays of her talents.Where, oh! where is the DVD (CinemaScope ratio preserved, s'il vous plait!) of this sunken treasure?