Nells Reviews and Observations: cannes film festival

High Tide at Noon (1957)

The film begins with Joanna MacKenzie (Betta St. John) arriving by boat on a seemingly deserted island in Nova Scotia. She wanders around the empty buildings, frightened by a clock chiming in a house. She runs outside and begins to think about the past.

(CUE FLASHBACK…)

We now see a supposedly younger, happier Joanna landing on the island yet again, but it now is teeming with activity from the lobster fishing trade. Her family owns most of the island, and she has returned from school to again live in the family’s house with her mother, father, and brothers.
The Breck family is introduced to the audience as scheming “trash”, always looking for trouble. Despite this, Joanna gives Simon Breck (Patrick McGoohan) some flirty attention, but regrets it when he asks her to meet her that night at an abandoned house (“the old Graham place”). He proceeds to kiss her, then tries to go further and Joanna manages to escape to the safety of her brothers and Nils (Michael Craig), who are playing pool. Nils walks her home and is the only one who knows about what happened.

At a local dance, Simon again makes advances, and an all out fistfight begins. Joanna escapes and stands at the docks alone, thinking. She accidentally overhears her brother Charles talking to his girlfriend, Matille, realizing the girl is pregnant. She later has a heart-to-heart with her brother, who ends up marrying Matille while he is on the mainland selling the family lobster-catch. Their parents are not pleased.

Nils tells Joanna that he’s wanted to propose marriage to her for a long time, but she tells him she isn’t in love with him, and Nils is crushed.

One rainy day a handsome stranger arrives on the island. His name is Alec (William Sylvester), grandson of Sandy Graham, and he intends on taking over her old house. As time goes by, Joanna and Alec fall for each other, and get married. They fix up the house and make it a home, but married life becomes less than happy due to a lack of lobsters in Alec’s traps, and his gambling habit.

One reason the MacKenzie family is also not catching lobsters is someone is cutting the ropes which connect the wooden traps to each lobsterman’s buoys. The Breck family is given a stern talking to by the elder MacKenzie.

After one particular poker game with the same Brecks, Alec comes home and swears to Joanna he will no longer gamble, and will work as hard as he can to earn money and be a good husband. In time, their bills start to get paid, and things begin looking brighter.

Things start to change yet again one night when Alec drowns in a boating accident. Then, one by one, friends and family members move to the mainland where fishing is better.

One rainy night, Simon goes to Joanna’s house, and in so many words tells her now that she isn’t married anymore, he intends on calling in Alec’s I.O.U.’s, which add up to $600. Since she has no money, the house may end up his. He then begins telling Joanne she really wants him, and next thing the audience sees is her running into the family house, crying. Nils goes after Simon, who gets into a boat and speeds off into the sea. Nils can’t catch up, and yells to him he’ll kill Simon if he ever sets foot on the island again.

The lobster business continues to be threatened for locals, and Nils tries one more time to get Joanna to say “yes” to marriage. She again refuses him, and leaves the island. She then realizes she may have made a huge mistake.

Finally, even Joanna and her parents have to leave the island.

We then return to the beginning again, with Joanna on the deserted island. But someone is on the beach… Nils…

Oh, and he says the lobsters are back.

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This film was entered into the 1957 Cannes Film Festival, and a look around the ‘net will turn up a few photos of Rank actors Betta St. John, June Laverick, Anne Heywood, and Patrick McGoohan at the event. There is also a very brief film clip from a Pathe newsreel. No doubt more images exist in collections.

I’m a female who doesn’t like love stories, so I had to force myself to watch this one (yes, once again, because Mr. McGoohan was in it). But I figured the fact it was entered at Cannes would mean it was an excellent film regardless.

Wellp… I wasn’t impressed. In fact, I thought it was downright boring.

Most of the acting was ok, though I have to confess McGoohan’s treatment of Simon would have been more believable had he not tried to sound (North) American. I already knew ahead of time his character was a louse, so I was prepared for his very un-John Drake-like behavior. Still… I had to chuckle and raise an eyebrow (or two) when he had Betta St.John in a clinch!

There were lots of actual outdoor scenes, with only a few obvious-fakey outdoor ones. I was surprised to find behind the scenes photos online showing the sets used. Perhaps those scenes would have been more obvious to me had I watched an actual DVD on a TV and not a web-sourced copy on an old tablet. But all in all the film has an OK look to it, though there were no beautiful seas or sunsets, or rolling fields, etc to help elevate it to a higher caliber.

Plot wise, again, I don’t like love stories. So I’ll try not to be too harsh.

Firstly, Simon seems to have already had a go at trying to kiss Joanne in the past. He’s still intent on getting her all for himself. When she arrives on the island after school is over, and he talks to her for the first time, the fact he specifically asks how old she is should have been a wee-bit of a hint that she should RUN. But NO, instead she basically flirts with him, and stupidly goes ahead and meets him at the abandoned Graham house! Then she lets him kiss her! DUH! Like he isn’t going to try to go further? The girl comes across as stupid, not innocent.

The fact she spurns Nils is also a stupid move. Then she marries Alec, not already knowing he likes to gamble? I guess a longer courtship was called for. Though things do work out and they seem to be in love.

The idea of her brother getting a woman pregnant was a bit racy for the era. When she goes into labor, we never do find out much about the result, other than Charles and their father make up.

Too many vague points here and there ruin the believe-ability of the plot.

We never get much explanation as to just what happened to cause the boating accident that killed Alec, other than at least one of the MacKenzie brothers blames himself, and alcohol may have been involved.

Did Simon actually rape Joanna? If so, all that happens is Nils yelling at him as he escapes via boat? A family full of brothers and we hear nothing else about retribution?

And what about that official who seems to be part of the reason the lobstering on the island is going to die? Why can they catch more off the mainland? Are there regulations or something?

And WHY is Nils on the beach at the very end? Is THAT why Joanna came back in the first place? And if the lobsters are back... is he happier about THAT or seeing Joanna???

I guess I would not tell someone to stay away from the film, just don’t expect a lot of action or ground-breaking dialogue or camera work.

If you'd prefer not to watch this film as a lowish quality online copy, it was available as a Region 2 (non-US) DVD (EAN: 5060105724800)