| Boy on a Dolphin | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Jean Negulesco |
| Screenplay by | |
| Based on | Boy on a Dolphin byDavid Divine |
| Produced by | Samuel G. Engel |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Milton Krasner |
| Edited by | William Mace |
| Music by | Hugo Friedhofer |
| Distributed by | 20th Century-Fox |
Release date |
|
Running time | 111 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $2.8 million[1] or $3.5 million[2] |
| Box office | $2.8 million (US and Canadianrentals)[3]$6 million(World-wide Rentals))[4] |
Boy on a Dolphin is a 1957 Americanromanticadventure film theatrically released by20th Century-Fox. It is set inGreece and shot inDeLuxe Color andCinemaScope. It was directed byJean Negulesco and produced bySamuel G. Engel from a screenplay byIvan Moffat andDwight Taylor, based on the 1955 novel of the same name byDavid Divine.
The film wasSophia Loren's English-language debut.[5] She starred oppositeAlan Ladd andClifton Webb, withAlexis Minotis andLaurence Naismith in support.Hugo Friedhofer's score was nominated for aBest MusicAcademy Award in 1958. Cinematography was byMilton Krasner. It was the first Hollywood film shot in Greece.
Phaedra (Sophia Loren) is a poor Greeksponge diver on the island ofHydra. She works from the boat of her boyfriend, Rhif (Jorge Mistral), an immigrant from Albania. She accidentally finds an ancient Greek statue of a boy riding a dolphin on the bottom of theAegean Sea. The statue brings pride to the city of Hydra and has been lost for around 2000 years. Her efforts to sell it to the highest bidder lead her to two competing individuals: Dr. James Calder (Alan Ladd), an honest archaeologist who will surrender it to Greek authorities, and Victor Parmalee (Clifton Webb), an aesthete and an unscrupulous dealer in historic artifacts.
Calder and Parmalee each try to win Phaedra's cooperation. She works in concert with Parmalee, while developing feelings for Calder. When she seems to waver, Rhif decides to make the deal with Parmalee work. The film reaches a happy conclusion, with virtue rewarded, the statue celebrated by the people of Hydra, and Phaedra and Calder in each other's arms. Parmalee, a man with no apparent national loyalties or heritage, sets course forMonte Carlo.
The film was loosely based on David Divine's novel by the same name which was published in 1955, which presents as rivals an English archeologist and an impoverished Greek student.[6]
20th Century-Fox bought the film rights prior to publication.[7]Sam Engel was assigned to produce andAlec Coppel to write.[8]
Clifton Webb andJoan Collins were announced as stars.[9] ThenLeon Uris was signed to work on the script andHenry Koster to direct.[10] Dwight Taylor wrote a version of the script.[11]
Koster was delayed onD-Day the Sixth of June and was replaced byJean Negulesco.[12][13]
The female lead eventually went toSophia Loren.[14] Alan Ladd signed on shortly before shooting commenced.[15]
Much of the film was shot on location on the GreekSaronic Islands, notably Hydra.Establishing shots ofAthens,Rhodes andDelos add to the vérité, whilematte shots and someinteriors were done atCinecittà inRome.[16] One scene uses theEastern Orthodoxmonastery complex atMetéora, which was later used as a location in theJames Bond filmFor Your Eyes Only.
Webb fell ill withpneumonia during the shoot.[17] Filming went relatively smoothly, despite the fact it was the first Hollywood movie shot in Greece.[18] Webb later sponsored two Greek children.[19]
The dissimilarity in heights between the 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) Loren and 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) Ladd led to complications in filming. Some of their scenes together required him to stand on a box, while another forced a trench to be dug for Loren when the pair walked along the beach.[20]
Paul Stader and Ray Austin were the stunt diving doubles.
Sophia Loren sings "What is this thing they call love" (Τι 'ναι αυτό που το λένε αγάπη) with an uncreditedTonis Maroudas [el]. The theme song sung byJulie London is heard over the underwater title sequence:
There's a tale that they tell of a dolphin
And a boy made of gold.
With the shells and the pearls in the deep,
He has lain many years fast asleep
What they tell of the boy on a dolphin,
Who can say if it's true?
Should he rise from the depths of the ocean,
Any wish that you wish may come true.
You say "he's only a statue, and what can a statue achieve?"
And yet, while I'm gazing at you,
My heart tells my head to believe.
If the boy whom the gods have enchanted
Should arise from the sea,
And the wish of my heart could be granted,
I would wish that you loved only me.
The film's world premiere on 10 April 1957 in New York was a benefit forQueen Frederika's Fund for Greek Orphans.[21]
