Smile Orange

Smile Orange
Directed by	Trevor D. Rhone
Written by	Trevor D. Rhone (play) David Ogden
Produced by	Edward Knight
Starring	Carl Bradshaw Glenn Morrison Stanley Irons Vaughn Crosskill
Cinematography	David McDonald
Edited by	Mike Gilligan Joe Staton
Music by	Melba Liston
Production company	Knuts
Release date	19 May 1976 (1976-05-19) (New York)
Running time	86 minutes
Country	Jamaica
Language	English

Smile Orange is a 1976 satirical film set in Jamaica. It follows the day-to-day life of Ringo, played by Carl Bradshaw, a smooth-talking waiter and con-man. The film explores the tourism industry in the Caribbean and seems to suggest there are similarities to slavery in that industry.

The film was directed by Trevor D. Rhone, who also wrote the play on which it is based, and was produced by Edward Knight. The movie stars Bradshaw, Glenn Morrison, and Stanley Irons.

Critical acclaim

Trevor Rhone's 1976 Smile Orange has received praise and criticism across the globe. The day after the film's debut in the United States, the New York Times writer Richard Eder remarked on the film's "wittiness and pungency" but criticized its technical cinematographic elements as "terribly awkward."

Time Out London hailed Smile Orange a "genuinely hilarious politicized farce…a satire on tourism that centers on hotel waiter Ringo Smith's efforts to exploit the exploiters."

However, perhaps the film's greatest praise comes from The Gleaner, a Jamaican newspaper. On 6 November 2010, writer Andrew Robinson published the newspaper's top five Jamaican films. Smile Orange was placed at number three, and called "comedic, cinematic gold."

Praise for Smile Orange has carried on through the internet until present day. IMDb calls it "a humorous and somewhat acidic view of the tourism business."

Ras Zuke, author of Rastaman Vibration has also commented on Smile Orange. He explains that the film allows people to experience the exploited resort culture of Jamaica with a clearer understanding of the relationships between skin color and positions of power, the urban and rural lifestyle conflicts, and the interaction between women and men of Jamaica.