Which 1951 film directed by Albert Lewin features Pandora as a central character?

Pandora and the Flying Dutchman is the 1951 film directed by Albert Lewin that features Pandora as a central character.

The film is a romantic fantasy starring Ava Gardner as Pandora Reynolds and James Mason as Hendrik van der Zee, the Flying Dutchman. Its story combines the legend of the cursed sailor with an invented modern setting on the Spanish coast. The title connects Pandora’s name with the broader tradition of myth-inspired tragedy.

This is not an adaptation of Hesiod’s account of Pandora opening a jar. Instead, it reworks the Flying Dutchman legend and uses Pandora as the name of its heroine. The film’s visual style, color cinematography, and art references contributed to its reputation as an unusual postwar fantasy.

Albert Lewin wrote and directed the film. His earlier work included The Picture of Dorian Gray, released in 1945. The 1951 Pandora film is therefore best distinguished from the 1929 German silent film, which was directed by G. W. Pabst and starred Louise Brooks.