Adapted from Ernest Hemingway's posthumously published novel, this is an unusual adventure yarn set in the West Indies in 1940. George C Scott does his gruff and craggy act as a much-divorced artist who lives in the Bahamas and spends his time sculpting, drinking, fishing and telling tall tales, together with a local prostitute, his sailor friend Eddy (David Hemmings) and his servant. Then World War Two catches up with him and brings his life into perspective. A director of Franklin Schaffner's talent could be expected to make something quite fine of this, but the dialogue is artifical and seems to knock Scott out of his stride. A key scene between Scott and Claire Bloom (as his ex), who is not the inadequate actress she is made to appear here, is particularly badly handled. Hemmings offers some compensation with his engaging performance as Scott's rum-sodden sidekick.

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