Main Cast: Armand Assante, Catherine Stewart, Mariette Hartley, Kevin McCarthy, Rod Steiger, Michael Sarrazin
Release Year: 1989
Country: US
Run Time: 185 minutes
Plot
The four-hour TV movie Passion and Paradise traces the rise and fall of real-life British playboy Alfred de Marigny (Armand Assante). Little better than a gigolo, de Marigny finds himself in the Bahamas during World War II, where he romances the daughter (Catherine Mary Stewart) of fabulously wealthy Sir Harry Oakes (Rod Steiger). None of the "right people" can stomach de Marigny, but they're stuck with him once he marries Oakes' daughter. During the next few years, de Marigny manages to antagonize the Duke of Windsor (Andrew Ray), who is governor of the Bahamas; he also alienates local businessmen and infuriates a group of mobsters who want to set up a gambling casino in Nassau. As Part One of Passion and Paradise draws to a close, Sir Harry Oakes is murdered--and Alfred de Marigny is the most convenient (though not most likely) suspect. Part Two opens with the murder of Oakes in 1943. The higher-ups of the Bahama Islands sincerely hope that de Marigny is the killer, if only to get rid of the dreadful man. So anxious are certain parties to hang de Marigny that an official conspiracy to cover up vital evidence takes shape. De Marigny's only hope for salvation is an American private eye (Wayne Rogers). Filmed in Jamaica, Passion and Paradise painted so damning a portrait of Bahaman high society that several scenes (including most of those featuring the Duke of Windsor) had to be rewritten and reshot before the film's British television release. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Andrew Ray - Duke of Windsor; Wayne Rogers - Raymond Schindler; Colin Fox - Axel Wenner-Gren; Linda Griffiths - Duchess of Windsor; Sam Malkin - Meyer Lansky; Sean McCann - Capt. Ed Melchen; Johnny Sekka - Alfred Adderly; Gwynyth Walsh - Lee Kingsley; Tim Woodward - Godfrey Higgs; Shaun Scott - Dennis Bullingham
Credit
Joel Fields - Co-producer, Harvey Hart - Director, Daniel Cahn - Editor, Leonard Hill - Executive Producer, W. Paterson Ferns - Executive Producer, Peter Jeffries - Executive Producer, Bert Dunk - Cinematographer, Ian McDougall - Producer, Peter Graham Scott - Producer, Michael Custance - Producer, Andrew Laskos - Screenwriter
