JOAN COLLINS - THE SEA WIFE

 

Ruchir sent me a forward today of a documentary on Joan Collins, the actress popular with all of us for her role in the TV serial, "Dynasty", which we used to watch regularly without fail starting with our Singapore days in the '80s. It brought back some very pleasant memories.

It's great to learn that Joan Collins is still going strong at 88. An accomplished actress, author and philanthropist, she has many awards to her credit including Golden Globe, Primetime Emmy, induction in Hollywood Hall of Fame, and Dame of the British Empire. Last year, she completed 70 years in the entertainment industry. My interest in her goes back to 65 years when I saw the bewitching actress for the first time in a movie, "Sea Wife", which was also my first of the great Richard Burton. The movie had an unusual and touching ending which I still remember.

In the movie, Richard as a British military officer and Joan as a nun, board a ship to escape the Japanese invasion of Singapore. The ship is torpedoed by a Japanese submarine and the two of them along with two others manage to survive on a raft and land up on a deserted island. They do not reveal their true identities and Richard introduces himself as 'Biscuit' and calls Joan, 'Sea Wife'. They are attracted to each other though Sea Wife resists Biscuit's advances. 

In time, they are picked up by a ship but Biscuit is badly injured during the rescue and is unconscious when they reach England. Sea Wife leaves and resumes her nun's vocation.

On recovery, Biscuit mounts a frantic search for Sea Wife and places ads in newspapers. Another man who was on the raft and is sick in a hospital sends for Biscuit and tells him that Sea Wife had drowned. Utterly dejected, Biscuit walks out of the hospital and chances on two nuns, one of whom is an elderly lady and the other, the attractive Sea Wife. Biscuit's and Sea Wife's eyes hold each others' for a longish moment but soon Biscuit disengages and walks past. The elderly nun, in whom Sea Wife has confided, asks, "He didn't recognise you?" Sea Wife replies, "Who ever notices the face of a nun.”