''Namu, the Killer Whale'' (re-issued as ''Namu, My Best Friend'') is a 1966 American film about a

killer whale The orca or killer whale (''Orcinus orca'') is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family, of which it is the largest member. It is the only extant species in the genus ''Orcinus'' and is recognizable by its black-and-white pa ...

(orca) being studied by a local marine biologist after the murder of his mate and initially feared by local townspeople.

Plot

Hank Donner is a

marine biologist Marine biology is the scientific study of the biology of marine life, organisms in the sea. Given that in biology many scientific classification, phyla, family (biology), families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others th ...

camping and studying the underwater fauna near a Northwest Pacific fishing town. One day, while Hank and his local assistant Deke study a pod of

gray whale The gray whale (''Eschrichtius robustus''), also known as the grey whale,Britannica Micro.: v. IV, p. 693. gray back whale, Pacific gray whale, Korean gray whale, or California gray whale, is a baleen whale that migrates between feeding and bree ...

s swimming past the cove where they have set up camp, they witness a pair of fishermen, Joe Clausen and Burt, shooting at a passing group of

s. A female is fatally wounded and drifts into the cove, where she beaches and dies. Her mate remains near the carcass, mourning; Clausen and Burt insist on killing him, but Hank manages to send them off. Hank seals off the cove with a net barrier strung across the entrance and then sets down to study the orca, who is dubbed "Namu" in the film's song. They are watched with distrust by the locals, except Kate Rand, the owner of the fishing gear store where Hank purchases his supplies, and her young daughter Lisa, who admires Hank's work. As Hank continues his observations, occasionally visited by the curious Lisa, Namu eventually overcomes his grief and begins playfully interacting with Hank. In time, Lisa leads some of the local children to the cove, and they throw food to Namu. One of the boys, Nick, viciously stuffs a hooked float into a piece of fish, making Namu go wild with pain when he swallows it. Following this incident, the townspeople march to the cove, fully armed, to kill Namu. Hank, however, soon discovers the cause for Namu's agony, and to prove that Namu is a peaceful creature, he dons swimming gear and enters the cove, followed by Kate when the fisherfolk still hesitate. The sight of the two swimming with Namu finally disperses their prejudice, but then Clausen, who has separated from the mob, opens fire from a boat beyond the net barrier. Hank has Deke open the net; Namu swims out and overturns Clausen's boat, but instead of killing him, he keeps Clausen afloat until Hank and Deke fish him out. Once out in the open water, Namu encounters another group of orcas and joins them in swimming out into the sea.

Cast

Robert Lansing Robert Lansing (; October 17, 1864 – October 30, 1928) was an American lawyer and diplomat who served as Counselor to the State Department at the outbreak of World War I, and then as United States Secretary of State under President Woodrow Wils ...

as Hank Donner *

John Anderson John Anderson may refer to: Business *John Anderson (Scottish businessman) (1747–1820), Scottish merchant and founder of Fermoy, Ireland * John Byers Anderson (1817–1897), American educator, military officer and railroad executive, mentor of ...

as Joe Clausen *

Robin Mattson Robin Mattson is an American actress. She is best known for her roles on the daytime soap operas ''General Hospital'', '' Santa Barbara'', and ''All My Children''. Career Daytime television Mattson made her daytime debut as troubled teen Hope B ...

as Lisa Rand *

Richard Erdman Richard Erdman ( John Richard Erdmann; June 1, 1925 – March 16, 2019) was an American character actor and occasional film and television director. He appeared in more than 160 films and television productions between 1944 and 2017, mostly in ...

as Deke *

Lee Meriwether Lee Ann Meriwether (born May 27, 1935) is an American actress, former model, and the winner of the Miss America 1955 pageant. She has appeared in many films and television shows, notably as Betty Jones, the title character's secretary and daughte ...

as Kate Rand * Joe Higgins as Burt * Michael Shea as Nick * Clara Tarte as Carrie * Edwin Rochelle as Charlie

Production

The fictional story was filmed on location in the

San Juan Islands The San Juan Islands are an archipelago in the Pacific Northwest of the United States between the U.S. state of Washington and Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. The San Juan Islands are part of Washington state, and form the core of ...

and at Rich Cove near

Port Orchard Port Orchard, part of Washington state's Puget Sound, is the strait that separates Bainbridge Island on the east from the Kitsap Peninsula on the west. It extends from Liberty Bay and Agate Pass in the north to Sinclair Inlet and Rich Passage in ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

."National Geographic Runs Feature on Whale, Namu" ''

Boxoffice ''Boxoffice Pro'' is a film industry magazine dedicated to the movie theatre business published by BoxOffice Media LP. History It started in 1920 as ''The Reel Journal'', taking the name ''Boxoffice'' in 1931 and still publishes today, with ...

'' 1966 March 21 page E-7 The film 'starred' the orca

Namu Namu or NAMU may refer to: *The North American Monetary Union *Namu, British Columbia, a town in Canada *Namu Atoll, an atoll in the Pacific Ocean *Namu doll, a type of Pullip doll *Yang Erche Namu, a Chinese singer and writer of Mosuo ethnicity ...

, one of the first orcas ever displayed in captivity.

Theme song

"The Ballad of Namu, the Killer Whale" written and performed by

Tom Glazer Thomas Zachariah Glazer (September 2, 1914 – February 21, 2003) was an American folk singer and songwriter known primarily as a composer of ballads, including: "Because All Men Are Brothers", recorded by The Weavers and Peter, Paul and M ...

References

External links