After financial improprieties are discovered at the Eastern trading company where he works, Peter Willems flees the resulting disgrace and criminal charges. He persuades the man who gave him his start in life, the merchant ship captain Lingard, to bring him to a trading post on a remote Indonesian island where he can hide out.
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
 Trevor HowardPeter Willems | Peter Willems |
 Ralph RichardsonCaptain Tom Lingard | Captain Tom Lingard |
 Robert MorleyElmer Almayer | Elmer Almayer |
 Wendy HillerMrs. Almayer | Mrs. Almayer |
 KerimaAissa | Aissa |
 Wilfrid Hyde-WhiteVinck | Vinck |
 George CoulourisBabalatchi | Babalatchi |
| AAnnabel MorleyNina Almayer | Nina Almayer |
 Peter IllingAlagappan | Alagappan |
 Betty Ann DaviesMrs. Williams | Mrs. Williams |
 Frederick ValkHudig | Hudig |
| AA.V. BrambleBadavi | Badavi |
 Marne MaitlandShips Mate | Ships Mate |
 James KenneyRamsey | Ramsey |