While shipwrecked on a deserted island, best friends Philip Ashlow and Henry Brittingham-Brett compete against each other for the affections of the only woman available, Philip Ashlow's negl... Read allWhile shipwrecked on a deserted island, best friends Philip Ashlow and Henry Brittingham-Brett compete against each other for the affections of the only woman available, Philip Ashlow's neglected wife, Susan.While shipwrecked on a deserted island, best friends Philip Ashlow and Henry Brittingham-Brett compete against each other for the affections of the only woman available, Philip Ashlow's neglected wife, Susan.
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAva Gardner says in her autobiography that she did not like the film. But she had to play in it because of her contract with MGM.
- Quotes
Mario: On this island, madame, man have primitive desires.
Lady Susan Ashlow: [laughs] They certainly do.
- Crazy creditsIn the opening credits for the film, a shot of the front side of a bedroom dressing screen is shown, on which a female's and then two males' clothes are thrown. The following written prologue appears in the onscreen credits: "'Tut, tut, child,' said the Duchess, 'Everything's got a moral if you only can find it.' Alice's Adventures in Wonderland - And our story, as you will see, is no exception."
- ConnectionsReferenced in The Mind Benders (1963)
Featured review
Civilized Even In Adultery
If The Little Hut had been done as originally written by Andre Roussin had been done this might have been a far better film. In the original version the Ava Gardner character actually does have sex with all concerned on the island she's stranded on. But Hollywood is still in 1957 a prisoner of the Code so that kind of infidelity could never be shown on the big screen. If there is a French language version of The Little Hut I'll bet it's far better.
The French characters are changed to British here and even stranded on a tropical island they all behave quite civilized even in adultery. Stewart Granger and Ava Gardner are married and are on a yachting tour with a party of friends including Granger's best friend David Niven. The ship goes down and the three of them are stranded on the island where they build two huts, a big one for the married couple and The Little Hut for Niven.
But with not a whole lot to do on the island they engage in a lot of frank dialog and Niven opens up that he's been Gardner's lover for about six years. Granger who does kind of take things for granted with Gardner is affronted, but as captain of the former ship decides that if his powers include marriage they also include divorce. He divorces Gardner and Granger and Niven exchange huts. Later on a really hunky looking native that Gardner looks lasciviously on enters the picture and things really get complicated.
That lascivious look was not acting on Ava's part because she was involved with Italian actor Walter Chiari at that time. If the script had called for them to do the deed she would have no doubt been even better.
The Little Hut with all the sex taken out plays like a combination of The Admirable Crichton, Three's Company, and Gilligan's Island. I'm sure Sherwood Schwartz who produced Gilligan's Island saw how the cast lived on that island, how they showed such ingenuity in creating some creature comforts, that he probably incorporated much of it in his show. It's the best part of The Little Hut.
The play on which this was based was a big hit on the West End of London, but when it came to Broadway in 1953 it flopped terribly with only 29 performances. Playing the Granger, Niven, and Gardner roles on Broadway were Roland Culver, Colin Gordon, and Anne Vernon.
If the film were done 20 years later as originally conceived by Andre Roussin the results would have been better. But the stars especially Niven are three of the most charming folks around and they put it over as best they could.
The French characters are changed to British here and even stranded on a tropical island they all behave quite civilized even in adultery. Stewart Granger and Ava Gardner are married and are on a yachting tour with a party of friends including Granger's best friend David Niven. The ship goes down and the three of them are stranded on the island where they build two huts, a big one for the married couple and The Little Hut for Niven.
But with not a whole lot to do on the island they engage in a lot of frank dialog and Niven opens up that he's been Gardner's lover for about six years. Granger who does kind of take things for granted with Gardner is affronted, but as captain of the former ship decides that if his powers include marriage they also include divorce. He divorces Gardner and Granger and Niven exchange huts. Later on a really hunky looking native that Gardner looks lasciviously on enters the picture and things really get complicated.
That lascivious look was not acting on Ava's part because she was involved with Italian actor Walter Chiari at that time. If the script had called for them to do the deed she would have no doubt been even better.
The Little Hut with all the sex taken out plays like a combination of The Admirable Crichton, Three's Company, and Gilligan's Island. I'm sure Sherwood Schwartz who produced Gilligan's Island saw how the cast lived on that island, how they showed such ingenuity in creating some creature comforts, that he probably incorporated much of it in his show. It's the best part of The Little Hut.
The play on which this was based was a big hit on the West End of London, but when it came to Broadway in 1953 it flopped terribly with only 29 performances. Playing the Granger, Niven, and Gardner roles on Broadway were Roland Culver, Colin Gordon, and Anne Vernon.
If the film were done 20 years later as originally conceived by Andre Roussin the results would have been better. But the stars especially Niven are three of the most charming folks around and they put it over as best they could.
- bkoganbing
- Nov 11, 2010
- Permalink
- How long is The Little Hut?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Die kleine Hütte
- Filming locations
- Jamaica(background shooting)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $1,662,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 18 minutes
- Aspect ratio
- 1.66 : 1
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content