James Mason played Hendrik van der Zee opposite Ava Gardner in Pandora and the Flying Dutchman.
Released in 1951, the film follows Pandora Reynolds, played by Gardner, and van der Zee, a mysterious sailor associated with the Flying Dutchman legend. Mason’s character is central to the film’s supernatural romance and its exploration of love, sacrifice, and an apparently endless curse.
Albert Lewin directed the movie, which was filmed in Technicolor and set largely around the Spanish coast. Although its title invokes Pandora, the film is not a direct retelling of Hesiod’s Greek myth. It combines the Pandora name with the separate maritime legend of the Flying Dutchman.