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The Singer Not the Song is a 1961 British drama film based on the 1953 novel of the same title by Audrey Erskine Lindop that was directed by Roy Ward Baker and filmed in Spain. It stars Dirk Bogarde, John Mills, and Mylène Demongeot.

The Singer Not the Song
Directed by	Roy Ward Baker
Screenplay by	Nigel Balchin
Based on	The Singer Not the Song by Audrey Erskine Lindop
Produced by	Roy Ward Baker
Starring	Dirk Bogarde John Mills Mylène Demongeot
Cinematography	Otto Heller
Edited by	Roger Cherrill
Music by	Philip Green
Production company	Rank Organisation
Distributed by	Rank Film Distributors
Release dates	5 January 1961 (1961-01-05) (UK) 13 October 1961 (1961-10-13) (AUS) 2 May 1962 (1962-05-02) (US)
Running time	132 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

Plot

A priest, Father Michael Keogh (John Mills), is sent by Rome to Quantana, a remote Mexican town which is under the control of a ruthless bandit, Anacleto Komachi (Dirk Bogarde). Anacleto is educated and intelligent, and is "down" on the Church, but he finds in Keogh a man he strangely admires and with whom he can have intelligent conversation. However, he does not allow this to distract him from his goal: to expunge the priest from his fiefdom at any cost.

Main cast

• Dirk Bogarde as Anacleto Comachi
• John Mills as Father Michael Keogh
• Mylène Demongeot as Locha de Cortinez
• Laurence Naismith as Old Uncle
• John Bentley as Police Captain
• Leslie French as Father Gomez
• Eric Pohlmann as Presidente
• Nyall Florenz as Vito
• Roger Delgado as Pedro de Cortinez
• Philip Gilbert as Phil Brown
• Selma Vaz Dias as Chela
• Laurence Payne as Pablo
• Eileen Way as cigar-smoking woman
• Lee Montague as taxi-driver

Production

Leo Genn bought the rights to the novel in 1954 to allow him to play the bandit.[1]

Roy Ward Baker was required to direct the film under his contract with Rank. He tried to get out of it by suggesting Luis Buñuel as director but was unsuccessful.[2]

Richard Burton was going to star in the film at one stage.[3]

When the Rank Organisation insisted that John Mills play the priest, Dirk Bogarde became so incensed that he told director Roy Ward Baker, "I promise you, if Johnny plays the priest I will make life unbearable for everyone concerned". The film failed at the box office, but has since developed a cult following due to its camp homosexual context and over-the-top performance by Bogarde in black leather trousers.[4]

Even though the story takes place in Mexico, the film was actually made in Alhaurín de la Torre, in Andalusia, Spain.

Mylène Demongeot declared in a 2016 filmed interview in Paris:[5]

"I was then shooting Upstairs and Downstairs at Shepperton Studios, the producers came by to offer me the part. I accepted immediately. I was later told that Charlton Heston had agreed upon doing it, his name was even in my contract. But when we arrived back in London to shoot, we've been told "Mr Heston no longer wants to do the film because the film shocks him", it might have been for other reasons... I was told Montgomery Clift would eventually do it, then that Marlon Brando was in talks to do it, I was therefore excited. But I saw coming up a charming little man, probably 1.60 m high man, kind, in his fifties with lovely blue eyes. But I said, is he really the man my character is supposed to be crazy about? The man whom Dirk Bogarde should be crazy [French: folle pour, tongue-in-cheek term to imply 'go gay for'] about? Uh sorry ... [Laughs]. I was about to quit but my agent told me "you'll do it anyways", so I grumbled the whole time. I struggled to project in emotional scenes with him the fact that I adored him. It proves that I am a good actress [Laughs]. He was a very good actor but I understand me, I was 23 at the time and he was an old man to me. The film remains as one of the first homosexual stories seen on screen."

Notes

External links

• The Singer Not the Song at IMDb
• The Singer Not the Song at BFI Screenonline
• The Singer Not the Song at the TCM Movie Database

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