User reviews

The very first version of "The Blue Lagoon" was a silent film back in 1923. This is a lovely sound version...one significantly better than the sleazy 1980 version which emphasized sex...something rather disturbing considering how young these folks are supposed to be. Here, we have a more wholesome and better version..one actually worth your time.

The story begins with a ship sinking. Two small children and an old man manage to get aboard a dingy and they paddle away until they eventually find a habitable island. Sadly, the old man soon dies and the pair are left to care for themselves. The film then jumps ahead ten years and most of the film consists of their adventures and their ultimate fates.

This is a modestly enjoable film with one big problem...the ending is incredibly downbeat and not especially enjoyable. Still, it is well made, the characters are NOT highly sexualizes like the later film and it is mostly enjoyable.

By the way, it's really not that important, but IMDB's summary says this occurs during the Victorian era. Well, it actually occurs just AFTER Victoria's death...provbably about 1905 or thereabouts. Victoria and the Victorian era ended in 1901.

One of my favorite ballads is of British origin and it's If You Were The Only Girl In The World. It became popular in the Twenties right around the time that the silent British cinema came out with the first version of The Blue Lagoon. I didn't even know there was one until researching it only today. The song certainly could have served as a theme for all the versions.

I can only compare this version to the one done by Brooke Shields and Christopher Atkins that came out in 1980. That one of course had the full frontal nudity and the accompanying scandal, something that the high minded J. Arthur Rank would never have put into one of his films. Still Jean Simmons and Donald Houston are something to look at.

This is another of those universal stories that everyone knows, a boy and girl shipwrecked at sea at the ages of 10 and 9 and stay for ten years on a desert island. At first one of the sailors from the boat they were on, Noel Purcell is shipwrecked with them. He apparently teaches them enough to survive because he dies and the kids have to fend for themselves.

And as these are Edwardian era English kids they aren't exactly schooled in the facts of life. Never mind with her the only girl and him the only boy they figure it out.

Besides the sensationalism the main difference between this and the Atkins/Shields version is that Simmons and Houston are thoroughly British and Chris and Brooke cannot be mistaken for anything, but Americans. Still the sexual tension is there as we know the first time we see them as adults. We know, but they have to figure it out.

This version is dated in time because when they do get their first visitors in a pair of cutthroats played by James Hayter and Cyril Cusack they are identified as coming in the summer of 1914. Life does play funny tricks because soon enough there would be any number of British boys and girls who would love to be playing house in the south seas as opposed to being in the trenches in France and hearing bad news about a loved one there.

And in researching The Blue Lagoon I learned there is yet another version coming out soon. Maybe that might give impetus to some film preservers to go to work on this one. It's a good film, but the color is pretty washed out and it needs a visit to the film labs.

I rated this film 5/10 as just average.On the face of it this should have been an erotic experience with a healthy man and woman shipwrecked on a desert island.However the producer managed to take any sex out of the film.It was risible how Jean Simmons managed to produce a baby all on her own yet you never saw her pregnant or have help from Donald Houston with the delivery.It was almost as if she found it under one of the palm trees (substitute for gooseberry bush!).I know "the Code" was in force but even in 1949 the producer could have been a bit more explicit with the sex thing, all you saw was a rather chaste kiss from the stranded castaways - it was all rather "twee".I found Donald Houston very average with no sex appeal but there again, Jean Simmons had no choice of men!Other parts, such as they were, were just very average and rather two dimensional.Normally I like JS films but this one was not one of them.

After seeing the movie twice in two days in 1949, I asked the opinion of a junior high school classmate who had also seen the movie. He said it was "boring". I shouted "are you kidding?!! This was a movie with the beauty of Jean Simmons, Fiji Island sunsets, the London Symphony Orchestra matching the sound of every pounding wave, a man versus octopus fight to the death, two criminals on the lam who savaged the island paradise and kidnapped the lovely Miss Simmons...and you call it BORING?!!"

I, too, am a little bit miffed that this movie has not been re-released to theaters, video or cable tv. We can only hope that someday the sea mist will lift to show the original Blue Lagoon sparkling in the sun, and to be remembered that way, always.

Though still infinitely better than the syrupy 1980 remake, this is still a film that time has been pretty brutal too. The premiss is amongst the most natural we can imagine: a young girl and boy are shipwrecked on a tropical island and as they mature, so does their relationship. Partly out of necessity and partly out of choice, the two - "Emmeline" (Jean Simmons) and "Michael" (Donald Houston) effectively become a couple. Aside from Stewart Granger (and maybe Kirk Douglas), I never really saw a man who could match Simmons on screen. She seemed to be able turn her hand to anything, creating a characterisation effortlessly with those piercing eyes and that almost silent movie star demeanour. Here she portrays the epitome of curiosity and naivety, with a soupçon of vulnerability really quite well. Houston, on the other hand, has a charm-free wooden-ness about him that probably made even he realise that he only got the girl because, well, there was nobody else! Their story evolves along fairly predictable lines, with some fun interjections from the always reliable Noel Purcell ("Paddy"), James Hayter ("Murdoch") and Cyril Cusack ("Carter"), with some beautiful Fijian cinematography, and Frank Launder does manage to combine a certain sense of the idyllic and the dangerous well enough too. Sadly, though, a better leading man was needed to balance this narrative and the older it gets the less attractive it becomes to watch.

Did you know the 1980 version of Blue Lagoon was a remake? I didn't, either. As it turns out, none other than the usually prudish Jean Simmons played in the original! Obviously, this version was a lot less filthy than the remake, and there wasn't any nudity, but for 1949, it was incredibly daring. Jean and her costar Donald Houston were practically clad in loincloths the entire movie, and the actor and actress who played them as children were actually topless during their island scenes.

In case you don't know the story, two children and a deckhand survive a shipwreck in a tiny lifeboat. They find an uninhabited island, and while they don't give up hope of being rescued, they settle in and make a home. As the years pass and the children's hormones kick in, nature takes over and they start to notice each other.

It's the proverbial fantasy, stranded on a desert island with the love of your life, but The Blue Lagoon is actually a pretty sad story. They were children when they were stranded, and it wasn't by choice. They miss their families and long for contact with the outside world. They have no idea where they are, and have very little hope of being found and rescued.

Although it was very nasty for its time, and although it shows a completely different performance from Jean Simmons, I don't really recommend this one. The remake is just as sad, if not more so, but with a lot more nudity and sex, so I can't really recommend that one, either.

DLM warning: If you suffer from vertigo or dizzy spells, there are some scenes in this movie that won't be your friend. The camera bobs about during the boat and canoe scenes, and it might make you sick. In other words, "Don't Look, Mom!"

This may not be regarded as a review on any film, but just a comment on a film I saw when I was a youngster. I remember coming home of an evening all full of wonder at what I had seen. I tried to retell my parents part of the story but they listened without understanding well what was so strange about two kids stranded on an island who fall in love and grow together and have a son. As you must have guessed by now I'm referring to The Blue Lagoon (1949) which has kept me bewitched and bewildered through the years (almost 50) and now wonder full of anxiety and disgust who or what has prevented the film from being available in cassette or DVD or whatever. I've spent a lifetime chasing the opportunity to get hold of it one day and nobody knows anything about it. What a waste indeed! Sorry if my English is not at all technical or scientific, but my mother tongue is Spanish. I'm doing my best to make myself understood. Thank you, My name is Juan and I'm writing from Uruguay in S.America.

I was able to obtain an 87 min. bootleg from a tv showing. the sound was awful. and there was a section missing which I believe Jean simmons goes topless. She creates a bikini out of what? since they had very little cloth. It appeared to be lame. maybe the 1923 version is better. it cant be worse.

I first saw this film on the late, late, late show in 1978 when I was seventeen. I actually videotaped it on our new '78 RCA VCR and showed it to everyone. Everybody enjoyed it. I, myself, thought it was a very good movie and when I heard of it's remake a couple of years later I thought, "Oh, no! They're going to ruin it!" which they did. The original with Jean Simmons was so innocent and left to the imagination. In the Brooke Shields/Christopher Akins version, I didn't exactly want to see them "do it." That took away the innocence of the story of two kids shipwrecked on an island.

The film was shown again on late night television in 1980, but that was the last time it was ever broadcast in the Los Angeles area. I later taped over my original taping not realizing that it would never air again. All these years later it still hasn't been released on video, nor have the cable channels picked it up. I hope others will continue to post their thoughts and comments on this film.

When i saw the movie, it was the "B" movie, i.e. it had second billing of a two-movie presentation. But I loved the story, and the children, and I've always loved the name "Michael" because of this movie. I still love to hear the neighborhood children calling for their friend, "Michael"

The best part was when they discovered each other on the beach after he rescued her---when she (or he) says, "You're trembling."

I'm sorry to hear the movie is no longer available. I was wondering why there were no longer any re-runs.

For the record, the 1949 version of "The Blue Lagoon" is not the original film, as many have stated.

This story was filmed in Great Britain, in 1923, just after the novel was written. As much as I'd love to see the 1949 version, I'd thoroughly enjoy an opportunity at seeing the true original release of this story on film.

Granted, the 1980 film with Christopher Atkins, Brooke Shields, and the two youngsters was filmed with beautiful cinematography. The acting didn't seem all that great when I first viewed this film, but after having viewed this a few times.... it becomes obvious that two children growing up on an island without adult guidance, would indeed have a simplistic way of approaching life.... whether it be in their language, appearance, or daily activities.

Although some have been fortunate enough to view the 1949 "Blue Lagoon", I cannot help but wonder if there is anyone living who can remember the 1923 release of this story to film.

I saw this film as a kid about 30 years ago, and I haven't forgotten it to this day. I couldn't say whether it's a good picture. But in those days I instantly fell in love with Jean Simmons. The memories concentrate on the very erotic feel of the movie, but I still remember the plot. Simmons was very young then, and there is another film that gave me the same feeling: David Lean's GREAT EXPECTATIONS. And again it was the young Jean Simmons. It's a pity that BLUE LAGOON is not available on video; I'd like to correct my memories...

One of my lifetime favourite movies. Saw it circa 1950 as a 10 year-old and it fired my imagination. Apart from causing me to fall in love with Jean Simmons, it's believability and innocence was mesmerizing. Of all of the movies I have ever seen, I think I remember this one the best.

Is there anywhere to purchase a copy of it on tape. Am not a movie collector, but would love to have this one.

Jean Simmons was truly one of the most beautiful and talented movie actresses of all time.

I too remember seeing this film as a youngster at a local small theater that presented foreign films each week. It was the daring adventure of it all that stayed in my memory ever since.

Especially impressionable was the scene with Noel Purcell as the old seaman, Paddy, who drank too much, saw or heard apparitions and died of fright in a cave. I always kept track of Noel's career even decades later due to my seeing him then. There's also a youngish Cyril Cusack as the leering boatman, James, with designs on the lovely Jean Simmons, shown as Emmeline grown up.

Would very much like to own a video of this haunting film and refresh my memory of it. Where do I send my request?

This movie appears to have been overlooked by everyone. Someone should bring it out on VHS and DVD. It is an excellent film and far superior to the one with Brooke Shields, which was terrible.

Jean Simmons deserves more credit than she is getting now days. It would be nice if all her films were offered on VHS or DVD. Jean Simmons was, and still is, a very good actress. She certainly was a beauty. In fact, she is still a beauty. She also has done extremely well on T.V. She is so much better than many of the actors today.

I saw this movie years ago (on a snowy b/w portable before cable).

The remake is true to this original with the exception of the ending. The fate of the trio was left in the air, unlike the promise of a "happy ending" of the remake. Nudity was not as blatant in this version. It was natural and more innocent than the remake.

I loved it. A true classic original that I would love to see again! I was disappointed when I wrote to England to find out that this movie is indefinitely withdrawal from future viewing.

I saw this movie when I was about 6 or 7 which would be around 1961 at the Royal Navy Club in Port Louis, Mauritius, back in the days when Mauritius was a British Colony. Life was rich in pomp and ceremony. The movie was played on a blank wall at the end of a swimming pool. The pool was covered by planks of wood to allow people to sit in a theatre style. I think it would have been the first movie of my life. It was definitely B&W and my parents had brought me along as a treat. It was the most memorable night I can remember. Living on Mauritius gave a it a particularly strange sense of reality which lives on in me today. I keep have these moments when I think about this movie and the effect it had on me. So today I just googled it to see all these reviews and thoughts I would add mine. It is a great childhood memory and one I will take to my grave happily. I would love to see it again! If anyone can tell me where I can get a copy that would be perfect.

I saw this movie as a child and i am longing to see it again. has it survived? I discount the 1980 version entirely as being fluff. I am sure that there are many that don't feel it is necessary to preserve these films. It is so unfortunate to discover a lost gem after it is gone. Young people today don't realize the hallucinatory quality and the impact on one's life a film seen in early youth can have in later life. This film, "the blue lagoon" had that effect on me. How many of us have wished to find ourselves in a place removed of the fears and chaos of the modern world. This was an idyllic story of a boy and girl castaway on a tropical island. there are troubles to be sure but in the end they fall in love and the have a baby. Life should be so simple and beautiful.

I remember it like it was last night because it was. Its

October 6th 2:00 in the morning ET I am flipping through channels (Basic Cable), and for some reason I stop on Channel 22 (TBS Superstation). There was a movie in progress. All I could see was two kids on a small row boat one of them was obviously female and not wearing a shirt. The other was a male with very curly hair. The commercial break came and they announced the name of the movie, The Blue Lagoon. I had never heard of this movie before. Knowing I had a 7 am meeting the next morning didn't stop me from staying up until 3:30 in the morning to watch the movie. Weather it was the interest to see nudity or the wanting to know what was going to happen to these two individuals, the story sparked my interest to watch it. The next day after work I went online to the Internet Movie Database and looked up the movie. Finding out more and more made me want to buy the movie. In reading the comments from other patrons I found out there was no movie available. Now I am on the verge of sending a letter to the Movie company and asking for the release of the original The Blue Lagoon of 1949. Whose with me??? P.S. Sorry I didn't tape the edited version on TV I didn't know how good the movie was

I saw this film in 1955.It was marvelous!I am 73 year old now and I still remember this Movie.Releas this film again pleas.Jean Simmons has to be remembered with this great nice film. A great fan!I think that when the war was over in Europe we needed a film like the blue Lagoon to dream away in dreams.Blue sea white sand green palm trees.Love and tenderness.We needed it all.To overcome hunger and sadness.There must be something strange not to release this film while so many fans are waiting.I don't know the producer of this great film.I think there are fans who can give this information.I can't remember the music but I know that it was a beautyfull melody.Sorry if my English is not correct. Thank you a great FAN.

This is a beautiful film about the realities of innocence, which isn't really so helpless as it seems, as it sees the world with different eyes and see through it in many ways more clearly than the most experienced ones. James Hayter and Cyril Cusack, on the other hand, are quite hopeless at the mercy of their own villainy, walking into their own traps like stupid fools, and yet they know about the world and are not even uneducated.

It's a fascinating and almost great story of the glory of innocence and a clear parallel to Robinson Crusoe, only here the second is not Friday but Jean Simmons, or rather, Donald Houston is sometimes her Friday.

The music adds to it, the scenery is fantastic, there is a lot of tenderness as well, and it is filmed with great sensitivity. I was never disappointed by a film from Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliat.

I'd really like to see this version. I must admit, I loved the 1980 film when I first saw it as a kid and in its edited version as well. I've seen it again recently, and it is pretty cheesy. But the fun kind of cheesy.

I was really curious about the original source for the movie, because I read that it was originally based on a book written at the turn of the 20th century. So I went to amazon and lo and behold, you can actually download the book for $2.99. (It's funny to read it on the computer because at one point the author talks about Emmeline holding a package about the same size as the book you are holding now.)

The characters of the book are much more subdued and introspective than the 80s characters. There was one lovely section of the book where Emmeline is wanting to go back to the other side of the island. She has been scared of it since they found Paddy dead, but she decides she wants to return because she's not afraid anymore. She had a child and now knows that death may be a void, but life comes out of that void as well.

I don't know how the 40s movie ends, but the 80s movie ends exactly how the book does. I don't think it is necessarily a happy ending. The sailor says "they're sleeping" but Paddy says those were the "never-wake-up berries" and you've got to wonder if this time he was right. Also, in the book the Uncle starts to have the some doubt about whether "rescuing" the children from paradise is something that is necessarily good for them.

Unlike most of the reviewers here, this version of The Blue Lagoon is one I just watched on YouTube for the first time ever. I knew it was on that site for years but I didn't decide to watch it until just now, having previously seen the Brooke Shields-Christopher Atkins from 1980 version some 37 years ago-when I was 13-when it was on a pay channel called Showcase. Nice to see an 18-year-old Jean Simmons here with her stunning beauty and nice figure complimenting her skimpy clothing she wore throughout. The addition of a couple of thieves before the end made this a little more exciting. The Shields version had some funny scenes concerning preferences in certain kinds of people one wants to socialize with but this one seems a little more serious about what to do when going back to civilization. So if I had to choose which version I'd prefer, I'd have to watch the other one again to make comparisons. Still, I rather enjoyed this version of The Blue Lagoon, so, yes, that's a recommendation.