Review of Pandora and the Flying Dutchman (1951) by Gordon B — 14 May 2010

Emerging from the same period that brought us such Hollywood follies as "Spellbound" and "The Fountainhead", Lewin's melodramatic fantasia casts its net wide - that Pandora is this distracted should come as no surprise, given the plot crams in bullfighting, Tarot cards, magic potions and an attempt on the land speed record - and not all of it hangs together: Mason, in an unusually dour assignment, looks vaguely uncomfortable, and your response to the whole may depend heavily on your response to the passing of his dog.

Surrender to it whole, though, and you'll discover a rare intensity of feeling, colour and mood; exactly what you might expect from having Gardner, at her loveliest, in front of the camera, and the ultra-literate Lewin (not to mention a technical genius of Jack Cardiff's standing) behind it.