''Twilight for the Gods'' is a 1958 American

Eastmancolor Eastmancolor is a trade name used by Eastman Kodak for a number of related film and processing technologies associated with color motion picture production and referring to George Eastman, founder of Kodak. Eastmancolor, introduced in 1950, was on ...

adventure film directed by Joseph Pevney and starring

Rock Hudson Rock Hudson (born Roy Harold Scherer Jr.; November 17, 1925 – October 2, 1985) was an American actor. One of the most popular movie stars of his time, he had a screen career spanning more than three decades. A prominent heartthrob in the Golde ...

and

Cyd Charisse Cyd Charisse (born Tula Ellice Finklea; March 8, 1922 – June 17, 2008) was an American actress and dancer. After recovering from polio as a child and studying ballet, Charisse entered films in the 1940s. Her roles usually featured her abilit ...

. The story is based on the novel ''Twilight for the Gods'' by Ernest K. Gann (though the opening credits read "Written by Ernest K. Gann," implying it is an original screenplay rather than an adaptation). An underlying current in the book is about sailing ships with their long histories being replaced by modern steamers, which is what the title refers to—the end of an era for the square-sailed ships.

Plot

After being court-martialed and discharged from the Navy, Captain Bell (

) turns to drink. Reduced to skippering a rundown brigantine in the South Seas, he takes on board a disparate group of passengers and crew, including a prostitute, a show-biz entrepreneur, a missionary, a washed up opera singer, a couple of refugees, and a load of

copra Copra (from ) is the dried, white flesh of the coconut from which coconut oil is extracted. Traditionally, the coconuts are sun-dried, especially for export, before the oil, also known as copra oil, is pressed out. The oil extracted from co ...

bound for

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. The ship springs a leak during a storm, and the true characters of all on board are revealed as the ship tries to make port in

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

before it sinks.

Cast

as Capt. David Bell *

as Mrs. Charlotte King aka Inez Leidstrom * Arthur Kennedy as First Mate Ramsay * Leif Erickson as Harry Hutton, theatrical manager *

Charles McGraw Charles McGraw (born Charles Crisp Butters; May 10, 1914 – July 29, 1980) was an American stage, film and television actor whose career spanned more than three decades. Early life McGraw was born to Beatrice (née Crisp) and Francis P. B ...

as Yancy *

Ernest Truex Ernest Truex (September 19, 1889 – June 26, 1973) was an American actor of stage, film, and television. Career Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Truex learned acting at an early age after his father, a doctor, treated actor Edwin Melvin, who ...

as Reverend Butterfield, missionary *

Richard Haydn Richard Haydn (born George Richard Haydon, 10 March 1905 – 25 April 1985) was a British-American comedy actor. Some of his better known performances include his roles as Professor Oddley in '' Ball of Fire'' (1941), Roger in '' No Time for Lo ...

as Oliver Wiggins, British playboy *

Judith Evelyn Judith Evelyn (born Evelyn Morris, March 20, 1909 – May 7, 1967) was an American-Canadian stage and film actress who appeared in around 50 films and television series. Early years Evelyn was born Evelyn MorrisWallace Ford Wallace Ford (born Samuel Grundy Jones; 12 February 1898 – 11 June 1966) was an English-born naturalized American vaudevillian, stage performer and screen actor. Usually playing wise-cracking characters, he combined a tough but friendly-fac ...

as Old Brown, shipmate *

Vladimir Sokoloff Vladimir Aleksandrovich Sokoloff (russian: Влади́мир Алекса́ндрович Соколо́в; December 26, 1889 – February 15, 1962) was a Russian-American character actor of stage and screen. After studying theatre in Moscow, ...

as Feodor Morris, emigrant *

Celia Lovsky Celia Lovsky (born Cäcilia Josefina Lvovsky, February 21, 1897 – October 12, 1979) was an Austrian-American actress. She was born in Vienna,Robert Hoy Robert Francis Hoy (April 3, 1927 – February 8, 2010), was an American actor, stuntman and director. Life and career Hoy was born and raised in New York. He joined the Marines and served in World War II. Bobby Hoy's career spanned 55 years as ...

as Keim *Charles Horvath as Lott *

Maurice Marsac Maurice Marsac (23 March 1915 – 6 May 2007) was a French actor who had a long career, with over 150 appearances in American films and television. He was also a nationally ranked croquet player. Born in La Croix-Valmer, France, he was a mem ...

as Shipping clerk *

Virginia Gregg Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...

as Myra Pringle

References

External links

* 1958 films 1958 drama films American drama films Films based on American novels Films directed by Joseph Pevney Films scored by David Raksin Seafaring films Universal Pictures films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films {{1950s-drama-film-stub