Green Mansions (1959)

MGM
Directed by Mel Ferrer
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(DVD, Warner Archive)

Anthony Perkins, on the run from a revolution in the capital city of Caracas, ends up in the jungles of Venezuela. He quickly loses his possessions and ends up captured by a local primitive tribe. His life is spared by their ruler and he is befriended by the king's son. However, when warned not to venture into a nearby forest he can't resist, and finds Audrey Hepburn as a sort of forest nymph living with her elderly father Lee J. Cobb. Cut off from civilization and other people her entire life, she is mystified by the mutual attraction between her and Perkins. Their potential love affair is cut short when Perkins returns to the tribe. He discovers the truth about the king's son, Hepburn and her father, but is captured before he can warn them about an impending attack. They burn out their house and send Audrey up her favorite tree and burn it as well. Presumed dead, Perkins returns only to find her in another part of the forest. Strange, lyrical film with just about everyone miscast but especially Perkins. Still, the curiosity value alone makes it watchable, as well as a magnificent score by Bronislau Kaper and Heitor Villa-Lobos.