In Pandora and the Flying Dutchman, Ava Gardner plays Pandora Reynolds.
Pandora and the Flying Dutchman is a 1951 romantic fantasy film written and directed by Albert Lewin. Gardner portrays Pandora Reynolds, an American woman living on the Spanish coast who becomes involved with Hendrik van der Zee, the mysterious figure connected to the Flying Dutchman legend. James Mason plays van der Zee.
The film combines romance, myth, fatalism, and modern psychological drama. Despite its title, it is not a direct adaptation of Hesiod’s story about Pandora’s jar. The name Pandora is used for the film’s heroine, while the central supernatural material comes from the maritime legend of the Flying Dutchman.
Gardner’s performance is especially associated with the film’s striking visual style and its surreal atmosphere. The production also became known for an extended bullfighting sequence and for its use of Spanish locations. Confusing Gardner’s role with the title character in the Greek myth is a common error: here, Pandora is a twentieth-century fictional woman.