Adapted from a novelette by Prosper Merimée, Tamango ran into censorship problems in the U.S. for several reasons, not least of which was the fact that its director, John Berry, had been blacklisted during the Communist witch hunt. Set during the early 19th century, the story concerns a slave revolt engineered by newly captured African warrior Tamango (Alex Cressan). Though the revolt is violently put down, the legend of Tamango lives on in the hearts and minds of black slaves everywhere. One of the most controversial aspects of Tamango was its depiction of a romance between white ship's captain Curd Jurgens and slave woman Dorothy Dandridge. This alone was enough to deny the film bookings in certain Southern regions of the U.S. Since that time, Tamango (which was filmed simultaneously in an English- and French-language version) has gained a cult reputation among film buffs, and as such is a movie that deserves to be better known.
~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide