Review of The Sins of Rachel Cade

"Sins" starts a tad slow, but gets better as it goes along. It has all the elements of the usual exotic, African adventure film. Nurse Rachel Cade (Angie Dickinson) is off on her mission in the Belgian Congo (probably the back lot of Warner Brothers), and the very day she arrives, her strength and independence are tested, as she will be over and over again. Dickinson will go on to be Police Woman ten years later; she won two golden globes, and was nominated for emmies several times. Nurse Rachel DOES have an ally, Colonel Derode, who seems to be the colonial district governor (Peter Finch, who will win an Oscar for "Network"). They butt heads with the village chief over the issue of religion, and while several of the natives seem to accept Rachel's god, or to at least discuss the issue, most of the village follows the orders of the village shaman. Deus ex machina, in pops Roger Moore as Paul Wilton, another doctor, who had been shot down over the village. Moore will play "The Saint" the year after this film, and of course, will be playing James Bond, in another ten years or so. There's the love triangle setup, if there wasn't enough drama. Dickinson's make-up, hair, and clothing are flawless throughout, even when she cries. It's not surprising that they both notice her deep, dark eyes. Some heavy topics discussed in here... surgical mutilation of women, circumcision, religious differences. Pretty major stuff for 1961. We get readings from the bible here and there, but the real issues are following your beliefs, faith, and handling adversity. Mary Wickes is the Colonel's housekeeper; she has a minor role here, with a couple lines and a more serious demeanor than we have seen in her other roles.

Directed by Gordon Douglas, who started out as an actor, then directed a long, prolific list of films. Original novel by Charles Mercer; didn't find much on him... there IS a helpful obituary in the archives of the nytimes.com; it lists several of his other novels.