I Watch Films: The Light At The End Of The World

 

The Light At The End Of The World

It’s 1865 and a lighthouse has been built on an island off Cape Horn. Will Denton (Kirk Douglas) is one of the three who man it; he’s an American fleeing sorrows and knows little about ships and keeping logs to the annoyance of the lighthouse keeper. One day a ship comes; when the other two go aboard they’re killed. They’re pirates led by Jonathan Kongre (Yul Brynner).

The pirates extinguish the light and wreck ships; meanwhile Denton hides in caves, striking back as and when he can. He’s captured, taunted, hung from the lighthouse, escapes. He rescues a castaway from one of the ships that is wrecked. Together they cause trouble for the pirates.

Kongre makes one exception; he keeps Arabella, an Englishwoman alive, treating her with respect. Denton, reminded of his own lost love (she married his friend, who he later killed), tries to rescue her. She refuses to be rescued and the castaway is captured. Kongre prepares to flay the castaway alive, but Denton shoot him.

Eventually Denton manages to turn the cannon they've mounted to protect the anchorage on their own ship, leaving Kongre and Kongre’s henchman for a final fight. The extreme cruelty and violence of the pirates manages to reduce the excitement of the film for me, also leaving me numb to Denton, Kongre and Arabella’s backstories.

Watch This: Historical pirate adventure loosely based on a not-well-known Jules Verne novel
Don’t Watch This: Grim, brutal, overlong fights and torture