Based on a short story written by Prosper Mérimée[1] that was first published in 1829,[2] the film concerns a slave ship on its crossing from Africa to Cuba, the various people that it carries and the slaves' rebellion while on board.
Plot
Captain Reiker, a Dutch sea captain, embarks on what he intends to be his last slave-ship voyage. After capturing slaves with the complicity of an African chief, Reiker starts his voyage for Cuba. Along with the slaves below deck, the passengers include his mistress, the slave Aiché, and the ship's doctor, Corot. Tamango, one of the captured men, plans a revolt and tries to persuade Aiché to join him and the other slaves. When the captured slaves rebel, Tamango holds Aiché hostage. A deadlock between the two sides develops and Captain Reiker states that he will fire a cannon into the ship's hold and kill all the slaves unless they surrender. Aiché is given a chance to leave by Tamango, but after looking up the ladder that leads out of the hold, she chooses to stay with her fellow slaves. The captain fulfills his threat and shoots the cannon into the hold.[3][4]
Controversy
The film was controversial in different parts of the world. Although the project was filmed in the French city of Nice,[5] France banned Tamango in its West African colonies "for fear it would cause dissent among the natives."[6] The film was released in 1959 in New York City[7] but did not receive nationwide distribution until 1962, as it ran afoul of the Hays Code restriction on scenes depicting miscegenation.[8]
