botynotes: ISLAND IN THE SUN

Looking for some tropical music to warm this dark day I found the nice Harry Belafonte clip.

Pud says I should "turn up the fucking thermostat."

It brings back memories from my BOTY (boy of the year) phase when I was eight and nine years old and my family lived in North Hollywood.

Almost every weekend my brother and I were dumped at the El Portal for a double-bill matinee. Admission was 25 cents each, and we each received 25 cents for candy. So for $1.00 my folks got an afternoon alone. My brother and I thought it was a great deal. We loved the movies.

Some of the pictures were kid-oriented, but some weren’t.

I especially remember seeing Island in the Sun and thinking it was probably for grownups. There was still the concept of “miscegenation” in those days. Here’s the plot summary from IMDb.

Island in the Sun (1957)
Set on a fictitious island in the Caribbean during colonial British rule. It focuses on the life of a young charismatic and handsome black male with political aspirations. He finds himself confused on returning home when his romantic liaison with a white female tends to conflict with his political views. As rumor has it an interracial screen kiss caused quite a commotion in the U.S. when the film was released. The plot is further strengthened by a look at the lives of a white ex-pat family also living on the island. The family has to deal with problems of infidelity, racism and murder.
Summary written by Warren D. Mottley {trident@toj.com}

Even scarier, the cast included Joan Collins.


Still, it's a nice song.

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