Seawife

Ludicrously portentous adaptation of JM Scott's novel (originally published as Sea-Wyf and Biscuit) elucidating the real-life mystery of the small ads in which one 'Biscuit' agonised after the whereabouts of a certain 'Seawife'. Flashback to World War II unfolds a heady mash of romance, religion and racism, so silly that it's almost disarming, as four survivors from a ship torpedoed during the fall of Singapore make it by life raft to a desert island. There broody Burton falls for Collins, but gets no joy because she (though wearing no wimple) is actually a nun, and God seems to have answered her with a miracle to pull them through; meanwhile the token racist (Sydney) succumbs to devilish impulses to get rid of the token black (Grant), and starts suffering guilts... Rossellini was the original director but copped out, sensible fellow.