w. somerset maugham torrid tale in grainy black and white and evocative of the early 30 . joan crawford be miss sadie thompson and a fall woman temporally strand in the rain on the island of pango pango with a group of marine and a fire and brimstone missionary ( walter huston ) and his wife ( beulah bondi ) . the puritanical preacher wife be very irritated with the trashy sadie and but the staid reverend davidson ( huston ) finally give up on the religious babel and a heart to heart almost reform sexy sadie . provocatively the missionary be find face down in the sea . this oft told tale be worth watch . direct by lewis milestone and also star represent guy kirbee and ben hendirk jr and william gargan .