''The Secret of The Purple Reef'' is a 1960 20th Century Fox
CinemaScope DeLuxe Color
DeLuxe Color or Deluxe color or Color by DeLuxe is Deluxe Laboratories brand of color process for motion pictures. DeLuxe Color is Eastmancolor-based, with certain adaptations for improved compositing for printing (similar to Technicolor's "sel ...
film based on a short story by
Dorothy Cottrell entitled "The Silent Reefs". It starred soon-to-be-famous actors
Richard Chamberlain
George Richard Chamberlain (born March 31, 1934) is an American actor and singer, who became a teen idol in the title role of the television show '' Dr. Kildare'' (1961–1966). He subsequently appeared in several TV mini-series, such as ''Shō ...
and
Peter Falk. It is a Caribbean-based mystery involving the disappearance of a ship called the ''Cloud''.
Although considered a "B" film, ''The Secret of The Purple Reef'' is notable in that it introduces Richard Chamberlain and Peter Falk to moviegoers as part of their early film career.
It was Richard Chamberlain's film debut, made before finding fame as
Dr Kildare. In 1986 Chamberlain called it "easily the worst movie ever made, or at least the most boring".
Plot
Brothers Mark (
Jeff Richards) and Dean Christopher (
Richard Chamberlain
George Richard Chamberlain (born March 31, 1934) is an American actor and singer, who became a teen idol in the title role of the television show '' Dr. Kildare'' (1961–1966). He subsequently appeared in several TV mini-series, such as ''Shō ...
) and show up in a mid-'50s four door
Citroën Traction Avant in early era
San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan (, , ; Spanish for "Saint John") is the capital city and most populous municipality in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2020 census, it is the 57th-largest city under the juri ...
. They arrive to solve the mystery of the circumstances of their father's drowning death in the Caribbean. They run up against a gang of unruly pirates who seem to know more than they reveal. One of the film's highlights is several scenes of an E.G. Van de Stadt designed 35 foot sailing yacht, the ''Starwright''. The vessel adds to the Caribbean charm and plays an integral part of moving the pirates to other parts of the island.
Cast
*
Jeff Richards as Mark Christopher
*
Margia Dean
Marguerite Louise Skliris-Alvarez ( Skliris; born April 7, 1922), known as Margia Dean, is an American former beauty queen and stage and screen actress of Greek descent, who had a successful career in Hollywood films during the 1940s until the e ...
as Rue Amboy
*
Peter Falk as Tom Weber
*
Richard Chamberlain
George Richard Chamberlain (born March 31, 1934) is an American actor and singer, who became a teen idol in the title role of the television show '' Dr. Kildare'' (1961–1966). He subsequently appeared in several TV mini-series, such as ''Shō ...
as Dean Christopher
*
Terence De Marney
Terence Arthur De Marney (1 March 190825 May 1971) was a British film, stage, radio and television actor, as well as theatre director and writer.
Career
Actor
The son of Violet Eileen Concanen and Arthur De Marney, and the grandson of n ...
as Ashby
*
Robert Earl Jones
Robert Earl Jones (February 3, 1910 – September 7, 2006), sometimes credited as Earl Jones, was an American actor and professional boxer. One of the first prominent Black film stars, Jones was a living link with the Harlem Renaissance of the ...
as Tobias
* Gina Petrushka as Grandmere
* Larry Markow as Kilt
* Philip Rosen as Twine
* Frank Ricco as Henri
* Jerry Mitchell as Jerry
Production
The story was published in 1953.
Robert L. Lippert brought
Peter Falk to Hollywood to appear in ''
Murder Inc
Murder, Inc. (Murder, Incorporated) was an organized crime group, active from 1929 to 1941, that acted as the enforcement arm of the National Crime Syndicatea closely connected criminal organization that included the Italian-American Mafia, the ...
''. Lippert liked him so much he used him on this film, which was shot in Puerto Rico. Filming took place in July 1960.
Margia Dean enjoyed working with direction Witney and later hired him when she produced ''
The Long Rope'' (1961).
See also
*
List of American films of 1960
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby unio ...
References
* Cottrell, Dorothy. (1952) ''The Silent Reefs''. Curtiss Publishing Company. New York.
* Halliwell, Leslie. (1977) ''The Filmgoers Companion'' 6th Ed. Avon Books. New York. pp. 135, 249.
* Katz, Ephraim. ''The Film Encyclopedia'' (1979) HarperCollins Publishing. New York. pp. 222,400.
* ''The Films of 20th Century Fox'' 1st Edition. (1979) Citadel Press. New Jersey. pp. 322.
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Secret of the Purple Reef, The
1960 films
American drama films
1960 drama films
Films directed by William Witney
Films based on short fiction
20th Century Fox films
CinemaScope films
Films produced by Gene Corman
Films set in the Caribbean
Films set in Puerto Rico
Seafaring films
1960s English-language films
1960s American films