Bahama Passage (1941)

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

Good start, but then it gets ruined

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

BAHAMA PASSAGE is one of the most beautiful examples of 1940s era color photography, bathing the island scenery in the warm glow of magnificent Technicolor. Unfortunately, it's more memorable for its visual beauty than for any other reason--and this includes the pairing of Madeleine Carroll and Sterling Hayden as co-stars, both at their physical peak and photographed to advantage. Carroll's blonde beauty is emphasized in every close-up and Hayden's physique gets close inspection since he's shirtless most of the time.Unfortunately, the storyline isn't so memorable. In fact, I have a hard time recalling what it was all about except for reading some of these other comments. I haven't seen the film in years, but the impression lingers that it was a nice bit of "escapist" entertainment, well photographed with scenic beauty but without any lasting story values.At any rate, it ought to be given full restoration so that fans of Carroll and Hayden can see them in a film that exhibits their chemistry shortly before they were wed.

A tortured, angst-ridden story set on a salt farm situated on a remote island in the Bahamas. Madeleine Carroll and Stirling Hayden are visually resplendent but the lackluster story negates whatever potential there is for a passionate island romance. In fact, they manage to wade through the entire film without once kissing, a record for two stars who allegedly were engaged to be married at the time.Leo G. Carroll and Flora Robson play a paranoiac pair who are convinced that the majority native population is bent on murdering them. The real star of the film is the cinematographer, who succeeds in offsetting a generally dull screenplay.I'm yet to see a Madeleine Carroll film that was unwatchable, and Bahama Passage is no exception. It would have been nice if the story matched her inimitable beauty and charm, but you can't always get your wish.

As I understand it, both of these films are among the Paramount films purchased by Universal. They are both fabulously beautiful films with wonderful casts and it is a shame that UNIVERSAL does not issue them as one of their DOUBLE FEATURE dvds. It is a shame that two films of this quality and historic interest are not available. Both of these films are exceptional. They have color photography and location filming unusual for the time (1941). Both have big name supporting players of interest, especially Dorothy Dandridge. Mr Hayden was encumbered with the irksome title 'the most beautiful man in the movies' at this time. Fortunately for his employers, he is a good enough actor that his annoyance does not show.

As a homeowner on Salt Cay, Turks and Caicos, this movie is very special. Bahama Passage was filmed on Salt Cay and Grand Turk. It shows, for those of us who missed those days, what our island looked like. The White House..home of Adrian, is still standing. The office, where Moreno gets slapped around by Leo G. Carroll just fell down in Hurricane Frances. Some of the rooms in the movie still exist in the White House, and frankly, haven't changed a bit. I am very much interested in doing a history article on the filming of Bahama Passage--one of my sources for the story was only about 8 years old at the time, so her history is a little thin in spots..but she lived in the White House and remembers many things quite well. The content of the story, as in the book Dildo Cay, is somewhat thin. But I can look at Sterling Hayden and Madeline Carrol all day. You can obtain a VHS print of the movie on Ebay if you keep searching under Bahama Passage..that is how I got mine. I would appreciate any information anyone might have on the filming of this movie so my history is correct.