The Little Hut (1957)

Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

Two men and a woman are stranded on a desert island. If they are English, there is no problem: They haven't been introduced. If they are Spanish, there is no problem: One of the men will kill the other. If they are Italian, there is no problem: The woman will kill one of the men. If they are American, there is no problem: They will be too busy talking about business. If they are French, there is no problem. Alas for this story, the two men are English, and the woman is American, and they already knew one another well -- perhaps too well. The story, from a French play more risqué, or even downright explicit, is reasonably plausible, by Hollywood standards, rather well acted, but so badly edited it is a crime. There are way too many scenes that do not match: For example, from one angle, a character has his arms crossed, then the next shot shows him with his arms at his side. "The Little Hut" is full of such bad continuity or bad editing or bad directing ... or combination thereof. Still Ava Gardner, an enchanting and under-rated actress, in her various abbreviated costumes almost makes this worthwhile all by herself. Almost.

André Roussin was a specialist of what the French call "Theatre de Boulevard" : plays where you find the eternal triangle:man/wife/(male or female)lover .Many of his plays gave Elvire Popesco some of her best parts on stage....and the great actress was the main reason to watch them,for Roussin is not Sacha Guitry ,by a long shot.The French audience remembers "Au Theatre Ce Soir' .Still with me? Roussin's plays were not made to be filmed.And this one is pretty mediocre material ,even if the screenwriters call Lewis Carroll to their rescue .I like Stewart Granger and David Niven ,and Ava Gardner is eye candy .But this might be their worst film ,being crude, predictable -even the native's (Bola -Bola )intervention is ludicrous- a knockabout farce around a Menage à Trois on a desert island where Granger would be some kind of Robinson,Niven ,his Friday and Gardner his girl Friday.

The script of "The little hut" was written by the French writer André Roussin (1911-1987), based on his play "La petite hutte"(1947). Both play and script are, in fact, a plagiarism of another play in Catalan, written by the novelist and play writer Carles Soldevila (1892-1967), "Civilitzats tanmateix" ("Nevertheless civilized")(1921). This play was known in France much before the robbery of Roussin, through a translation by Adolphe de Faigairolle and Francesc Presas, published in 1927 in the magazine "Candide". Recently "Civilitzats tanmateix" has become a musical by Albert Guinovart, with the title of "Paradís" (Paradise).

i saw this film"way back when" in '57 and my date & i were helpless laughing at it. i know it was panned even back then, both as a b'way show and later as a flick. stewart granger plays a totally naive tennis nut with a beautiful wife, ava gardner. he is totally oblivious to his pal, david niven's overt courting of gardner. one scene has niven & gardner playing a game and, at the game's end, they engage in a passionate kiss. the naive granger passes it off as "good, clean fun". he just can't see pal niven for what he's up to. another scene has the three at a table on the island they were stranded on, with granger again in total oblivion to gardner & niven playing tangle toes and trading double entendres at each other. granger finally wakes up and tries to win wife's attentions back. this picture is really worth seeing, in my book.