The British adventure-drama film Lord of the Flies (1963) was based on the acclaimed 1954 novel of the same name by Nobel Prize-winning author William Golding (see Lord of the Flies). The movie closely follows the book, which describes a group of boys who are stranded on an island. Although they initially cooperate with each other, the society they build eventually breaks down into an uncivilized state.
Set at the beginning of an unnamed war, the film opens as a plane carrying mostly British schoolboys crashes onto an uninhabited tropical island. Those left alive must use their wits to survive. Ralph, the elected leader of the group, symbolizes order and civilization. He must contend with Jack, the chief hunter of the group, whose descent into barbarism challenges Ralph’s civilizing influence. Paranoia ensues among the younger boys, who become obsessed with an imaginary monstrous beast. Because of the paranoia, one of the boys is killed during a frenzied attack in the dark. The boys split into competing factions that then turn on each other, resulting in the murder of another boy. As one group sets the island’s forest on fire in order to flush out the other group, the boys are suddenly discovered by a party of naval officers.
The cast of the 1963 movie was largely composed of amateur actors, and much of the acting was improvised, bringing an authenticity to the performances. A color film version of the story was released in 1990.