''East of Sumatra'' is a 1953 American south seas

adventure film An adventure film is a form of adventure fiction, and is a genre of film. Subgenres of adventure films include swashbuckler films, pirate films, and survival films. Adventure films may also be combined with other film genres such as action, ani ...

directed by

Budd Boetticher Oscar "Budd" Boetticher Jr. ( ; July 29, 1916 – November 29, 2001) was an American film director. He is best remembered for a series of low-budget Westerns he made in the late 1950s starring Randolph Scott. Early life Boetticher was born in C ...

and starring Jeff Chandler, Marilyn Maxwell,

Anthony Quinn Manuel Antonio Rodolfo Quinn Oaxaca (April 21, 1915 – June 3, 2001), known professionally as Anthony Quinn, was a Mexican-American actor. He was known for his portrayal of earthy, passionate characters "marked by a brutal and elemental v ...

and

Suzan Ball Suzan Ball (born Suzanne Ball; February 3, 1934 – August 5, 1955) was an American actress. She was a second cousin of fellow actress Lucille Ball. She was married to actor Richard Long. She had her leg amputated in January 1954, as a result of ...

Plot

Duke Mullane ( Jeff Chandler), manager of a Malayan tin mine, goes to a little-known island to open a new mine in the jungle. Initially, the natives are friendly, especially dancer Minyora ... who is soon to be married to local ruler King Kiang (

). A series of unfortunate incidents changes Kiang's attitude to hostility, and Duke is stranded with his crew, Minyora, and his old flame Lory ( Marilyn Maxwell), who is engaged to his boss.

Cast

* Jeff Chandler as Duke Mullane * Marilyn Maxwell as Lory Hale *

as Kiang *

as Minyora * John Sutton as Daniel Catlin * Jay C. Flippen as Mac *

Scatman Crothers Benjamin Sherman Crothers (May 23, 1910 – November 22, 1986), known professionally as Scatman Crothers, was an American actor and musician. He is known for playing Louie the Garbage Man on the TV show '' Chico and the Man'', and Dick Hal ...

as Baltimore * Aram Katcher as Atib *

Anthony Eustrel Anthony Eustrel (12 October 1902 – 2 July 1979) was an English actor. Eustrel made guest appearances on television programs such as '' Perry Mason'', ''Maverick'', ''Peter Gunn'', '' 77 Sunset Strip'', ''My Favorite Martian'', ''Hogan's Heroes ...

as Clyde *

Eugene Iglesias Eugene Luis Francisco Iglesias Carrillo (born 3 December 1926) is an American actor from Puerto Rico who was active mainly in 1950s and 1960s. In 1955 Iglesias appeared as Alfredo on the TV western ''Cheyenne'' in the episode "Border Showdown." ...

as Paulo (as Gene Iglesias) * Peter Graves as Cowboy * Earl Holliman as Cupid (as Henry Earl Holliman) * James Craven as Drake * John Warburton as Gregory Keith

Production

The film was based in part on a treatment by Jack Natteford and

Louis L'Amour Louis Dearborn L'Amour (; né LaMoore; March 22, 1908 – June 10, 1988) was an American novelist and short story writer. His books consisted primarily of Western novels (though he called his work "frontier stories"); however, he also wrote hi ...

; the latter, best known for his Westerns, had visited Sumatra while in the merchant marine. In his memoirs, L'Amour called it "my first motion picture":

The story was of tin mining, and made a bit of sense as written. A big company was rushing in to exploit an island, ruled by a Rajah ... He wanted a hospital, medicines, and doctor for his people. The Company wanted to get in and get the tin and get out with as little trouble as possible. The idea was good, the cast was capable – and instead of a meaningful picture, the producers or somebody turned it into a sex and jungle epic. In any jungle picture with a beautiful native girl, you can sure that before long you will find her swimming naked or nearly so in a pool, usually with a waterfall, and there the leading man comes upon her. He is often in the pool himself and it leads to what is expected to be a titillating scene. So it was in this case. The sincere young Rajah is largely forgotten; he doesn't get his medicines and his hopes and the picture go down the train.

Director

later described the movie as "just a fun film to make all my friends some money". Filming started in November 1952. Gloria Grahame was offered the female lead but turned it down. She was replaced by Marilyn Maxwell.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:East Of Sumatra 1953 films 1953 adventure films American adventure films Films directed by Budd Boetticher Universal Pictures films Films set in Indonesia Films set in Malaysia Films set on islands 1950s English-language films 1950s American films