Saturday, December 19, 2026 at 7:30 PM
Hammer Museum, Los Angeles
Dutch sea captain Reiker (Curd Jürgens) embarks on what he intends to be his last slave-ship voyage along with his enslaved mistress Aiché (Dorothy Dandridge). One captured man, Tamango (Alex Cressan), plans a revolt. He tries to persuade Aiché to join him and the other rebels. Dandridge had refused many roles portraying enslaved people, but was attracted to this story of a shipboard rebellion. This French co-production filmed on the Côte d’Azur with star Dandridge staying at the glamorous Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc for the majority of the shoot.—*guest programmer Miriam Bale* DCP. Director: John Berry. Screenwriters: John Berry, Lee Gold, Tamara Hovey, Georges Neveux. With: Dorothy Dandridge, Curd Jürgens, Jean Servais. Dorothy Dandridge is the clear highlight here as Queen Melmendi of the Ashuba. She is luminescent, chic and sensual, and began to become a popular sex symbol a few years before *Carmen Jones *(1954). The plot involves Tarzan (Lex Barker) thwarting the plan of escaped criminal Radijeck (George Macready) to run guns in Africa on behalf of an unnamed power. But like all Tarzan films, it is a glimpse at Hollywood’s ever-shifting fascination with Africa.—*guest programmer Miriam Bale* Director: Byron Haskin. Screenwriters: Samuel Newman, Francis Swann, John Cousins. With: Lex Barker, Virginia Huston, Dorothy Dandridge.