The Dove (1974 film)

Robin Lee Graham (born 1949) set out to sail around the world alone as a teenager in the summer of 1965. National Geographic Magazine carried the story in three issues from 1966 to 1970, and he co-wrote a book detailing his journey called Dove. Graham was just 16 when he set out from Southern California and headed west in his 24-foot Lapworth sailboat. He became married along the way, and after almost five years, sailed back into his home port. After he and his wife Patti - who he had met in Fiji – attended Stanford University, they moved to Montana and settled down. He collaborated with a writer on a book of the journey which became a best seller.[4]

Gregory Peck moved into film producing in the early 70s, following his dissatisfaction with some of his late 60s films such as Marooned and Mackenna's Gold, and the recutting of I Walk the Line. He decided to take time out from acting and work as a producer. His first effort, an adaptation of the play, The Trial of the Catonsville Nine, had not been a success so he spent six months reading material to find his next project.[5]

Peck was told about the series of articles on Graham that were in National Geographic and that a book was being written about him. Peck read the book while it was still in galleys. "I was attracted really because of the character of the boy", said Peck. "He was a very odd fella, an eccentric who sailed around the world at 16. Loners make interesting heroes."[1] He also liked that it was "a strong adventure story."[5]

Peck optioned the screen rights for $10,000 of his own money. He knew Nat Cohen and Bernard Delfont of EMI Films from being on the board of Capitol Records. They gave him $150,000 to purchase the screen rights outright and to write a script.[5]

EMI wanted a US partner and Paramount agreed to come on board.[5]

Filming began under the title of Here There Be Dragons. However, there was concern this would confuse audiences into thinking it was a martial arts film. Upon a Painted Ocean was considered as a title before selecting The Dove.[1]

Director Charles Jarrott said the film will "make a positive statement about a youth who set out to do something and succeeded. It's not a Disney story, there is some abrasion to it."[1]

"You can read one or two things into it, the father-son relationship being what it is in the picture", said Peck. "The movie will make you wonder why a kid would want to drop out, why he wasn't offered the kind of future he was interested in."[6]

Peck says at one time they discussed casting "one or two rock stars" in the lead roles "but they're kind of practiced and slick and a little too sophisticated. We looked for naturalness, sympathetic personalities and original personalities. We looked for kids who weren't hindered by too much self confidence, people that had chemistry."[6]

Joseph Bottoms was cast in the lead role.[1] "The whole picture depends on the kid", said Jarrott. "If you're stuck on the other side of the world and he doesn't work out, you can't recast the part."[1]

Deborah Raffin was cast has his girlfriend.[6]

The film is a travelogue of sorts and the producers filmed on location throughout the world over a four-month period with a 32-person crew. Filming locations include: Suva, Fiji; Darwin, Northern Territory, Fremantle, Western Australia; Cape Town, South Africa; Lourenço Marques, Mozambique; Panama Canal, Panama; Ecuador; and Los Angeles.[1]

Instead of sailing a boat around the world, Peck bought nine identical boats and shipped them to nine different locations.[5]

"It was a terrific gamble", said Peck. "It was exhilarating. I feel I play a role in every scene, even if I don't direct it or act in it. I helped to shape it. I made the thing happen in the first place. Whatever has happened, over the past two years I've certainly known I've been alive."[5]

The film performed poorly at the box office in the USA but did better in Europe.[7]

Critic Nora Sayre, film critic for The New York Times, thought the film was too wholesome, so much so that Sayre wanted harm to come to the characters. Yet she appreciated Sven Nykvist's cinematography and wrote, "The Dove ... is probably far too wholesome for most of the families I know, although there may be a radiant audience lurking just outside the realms of my acquaintance ... Joseph Bottoms, as the young sailor, smiles too much in the first half of the movie; after that, he cries too much. His initial overwhelming sunniness turns the viewer into a sadist: You're glad when his cat gets killed or grateful when a shark appears in the ocean. Deborah Raffin, as his winsome girlfriend, is rarely allowed to stop laughing and wagging her head; the two grin and glow at each other until you yearn for a catastrophe."[8]

Others liked the film. Film critics Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, who reviewed the film much later after the film's release on their website Spirituality and Practice, appreciated the film and its message, and wrote, "Producer Gregory Peck was perceptive when he decided to make a film based on the true life on the youngest person to circumnavigate the world alone ... Graham's exploits and his accompanying struggle to sort out his feelings about himself and his loyalties to family and girlfriend are fascinating and provocative."[9]

The staff at Variety magazine said, "... an odyssey which provides nautical chills and thrills (as well as breathtaking scenics) aplenty ... Pic really takes off when he meets the girl (played with gauche hesitation at first, but then with beauty and considerable charm by Deborah Raffin) ... Their yes-no yes-no-yes affair is nicely handled."[10]

Peck gave up producing following the death of his son in 1975 and returned to acting.[11]

Wins

• Golden Globe Award: Golden Globe; Most Promising Male Newcomer, Joseph Bottoms; 1975.

Nominations

• Golden Globes: Golden Globe; Best Original Song, John Barry (composer) and Don Black (lyricist); for the song "Sail the Summer Winds"; 1975.