Ava Gardner starred opposite James Mason in the 1951 film Pandora and the Flying Dutchman.
The romantic fantasy film was directed by Albert Lewin. Gardner plays Pandora Reynolds, an American woman living on the Spanish Costa Brava who becomes involved with Hendrik van der Zee, a mysterious racing driver played by Mason. The character is connected to the legend of the Flying Dutchman.
The film combines modern romance with supernatural mythology. Its story is not an adaptation of Hesiod’s account of Pandora opening a container; the shared name is an allusion to the mythological figure and to themes of desire, fate, and punishment.
Gardner was one of Hollywood’s leading stars in the early 1950s. The production also included elaborate visual design and location filming in Spain, giving it a distinctive atmosphere that differs from conventional studio romances of the period.