''Fair Wind to Java'' is a 1953 American

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, an ...

Trucolor Trucolor was a Color motion picture film, color motion picture process used and owned by the Consolidated Film Industries division of Republic Pictures. It was introduced as a replacement for Consolidated's own Magnacolor process. Republic used T ...

from

Republic Pictures Republic Pictures Corporation (currently held under Melange Pictures, LLC) was an American motion picture production-distribution corporation in operation from 1935 to 1967, that was based in Los Angeles. It had studio facilities in Studio City an ...

, produced and directed by Joseph Kane, that stars

Fred MacMurray Frederick Martin MacMurray (August 30, 1908 – November 5, 1991) was an American actor. He appeared in more than one hundred films and a successful television series, in a career that spanned nearly a half-century. His career as a major film le ...

and

Vera Ralston Vera Ralston (born Věra Helena Hrubá; July 12, 1919 or 1920 or 1921 or 1923 February 9, 2003) was a Czech figure skater and actress. She later became a naturalized American citizen. She worked as an actress during the 1940s and 1950s. Earl ...

. With special effects by the Lydecker brothers, the film was based on the 1948 novel of the same name by

Garland Roark Garland Roark was an American writer (July 26, 1904 – February 9, 1985) known best for his nautical/adventure fiction. His first novel ''Wake of the Red Witch'', published 1946, was a Literary Guild selection and adapted later by Republic Pictu ...

. The film tells the story of an American

sea captain A sea captain, ship's captain, captain, master, or shipmaster, is a high-grade licensed mariner who holds ultimate command and responsibility of a merchant vessel.Aragon and Messner, 2001, p.3. The captain is responsible for the safe and efficie ...

who voyages in search of diamonds on a

volcanic island Geologically, a high island or volcanic island is an island of volcanic origin. The term can be used to distinguish such islands from low islands, which are formed from sedimentation or the uplifting of coral reefs (which have often formed ...

and must contend with various mysteries, pirates, and finally an exploding volcano (based on the 1883 eruption of the island of Krakatoa).

Plot

In 1883, the

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

company that owns the merchant sailing ship ''Gerrymander'' gives her

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

, Captain Boll, six months to show a profit in the

Netherlands East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...

. Facing both

pirates Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

and a Dutch trade exclusion policy preventing foreigners from carrying goods between ports, Boll looks to make a profit another way. On

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List ...

, a

Indonesian Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to: * Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia ** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago ** Indonesian ...

, whose life Boll once saved, tells Boll that native

divers Diver or divers may refer to: *Diving (sport), the sport of performing acrobatics while jumping or falling into water *Practitioner of underwater diving, including: **scuba diving, **freediving, **surface-supplied diving, **saturation diving, a ...

salvaged a fortune in

diamond Diamond is a Allotropes of carbon, solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the Chemical stability, chemically stable form of car ...

s from the sunken ship ''Pieterzoon''. He sends Boll to a Chinese junk captain with a captive, the woman Kim Kim, a dancer at the

sultan Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it ...

's palace before the Chinese enslaved her; she knows the diamonds' location. Boll violates Dutch anti-slavery laws by buying Kim Kim and smuggling her aboard ''Gerrymander''. Flint, the ship's first mate, finds out why Boll purchased her and threatens to turn the captain over to the Dutch if not given half the diamonds. Posing as the naturalized Dutch citizen "Saint" Ebenezer, the pirate Pulo Besar becomes aware that Kim Kim is aboard ''Gerrymander''. He informs the Dutch authorities, and they search the ship but do not find her (she is hiding on deck inside a half-filled water cask). The ship's crew find her there, and Boll insists that they treat her as a passenger. Later he must fight one of the crew to protect her honor. Boll constantly questions Kim Kim about the diamonds. This angers her until he confides that he hopes one day to own his own ship; she tells him that the diamonds are on the island of the fire god, Vishnu. Meanwhile, Flint incites the ''Gerrymander''s crew against Boll, claiming that Kim Kims presence aboard has made their captain unbalanced. When the mutinous crew confronts Boll, he offers them Flint's half of the fortune, if they leave him in command. They agree, the mutiny ends, and Flint is imprisoned. ''Gerrymander'' immediately sets sail in search of Vishnu's island. Boll and Kim Kim become romantically involved during the voyage, but she harbors a fear that Vishnu will become angry if Boll attempts to take the diamonds. The pirates attack and seize ''Gerrymander'', taking the ship and her crew to Besar's island, where he maintains a palace, servants, and a small army. To get Kim Kim to reveal the diamonds' location, he has her lashed, while also showing her that her mother is his longtime prisoner for the same reason; she has been permanently broken and driven insane. Loyal to Boll, Kim Kim refuses to say anything. Besar instead threatens to kill the captain, and she agrees to cooperate to save Boll's life. Flint, Wilson, and another sailor from ''Gerrymander'' offer to cooperate. Besar, his pirates, Kim Kim, Flint, and Wilson set sail for Vishnu's island. Meanwhile, ''Gerrymander''s crew escape and set Boll free. They take back control of their ship and set out in pursuit. To keep from losing Besar's ship during a moonless night, Boll and two of his men row ahead in a black sail-equipped longboat, sending back shrouded signals to ''Gerrymander''. Wilson jumps overboard and swims to Boll's longboat after overhearing where the pirates are heading. His information allows Boll and his crew to identify Vishnus island as Krakatoa. Besars ship and ''Gerrymander'' approach Krakatoa, finding its volcano in the early stages of erupting. ''Gerrymander''s men and Besars pirates head ashore to be the first to reach the diamonds in Vishnu's temple near the smoking volcano's rim. Boll spots Kim Kim on the shore below, and the eruption becomes more destructive, followed by heavy

lava Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or un ...

flows. He and his crew decide it is too dangerous to continue; they instead rescue Kim Kim and hurriedly up anchor and head out to sea. Besar and some of his pirates reach the temple but are killed by the worsening eruption; below, the remaining pirate crew quickly set sail. Boll knows the island's destruction will generate huge

tsunami A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater explo ...

waves, so he orders his crew to set a sea anchor after they turn ''Gerrymander'' toward the now exploding Krakatoa. The ship successfully rides out a series of very large waves, while the pirates try to outrun them, which capsizes their ship and drowns them all. While the eruption destroyed Krakatoa, ending any hope of recovering the diamonds, Boll tells his crew that there is a 100,000- guilder

bounty Bounty or bounties commonly refers to: * Bounty (reward), an amount of money or other reward offered by an organization for a specific task done with a person or thing Bounty or bounties may also refer to: Geography * Bounty, Saskatchewan, a gh ...

on Besar, which they will earn by handing over Besar's island to the Dutch. In his capacity as captain of the ship, Boll marries himself to Kim Kim on ''Gerrymander''s

quarter deck The quarterdeck is a raised deck behind the main mast of a sailing ship. Traditionally it was where the captain commanded his vessel and where the ship's colours were kept. This led to its use as the main ceremonial and reception area on bo ...

, as his crew looks on.

Cast

as Capt. Boll *

as Kim Kim * Robert Douglas as Saint Ebenezer / Pulo Besar * Victor McLaglen as O'Brien * John Russell as Flint *

Buddy Baer Jacob Henry "Buddy" Baer (June 11, 1915 – July 18, 1986) was an American boxer and later an actor with important parts in seventeen films, as well as roles on various television series in the 1950s and 1960s. In 1941, he came extremely cl ...

as King *

Claude Jarman Jr. Claude Jarman Jr. (born September 27, 1934) is an American former child actor, entrepreneur, former executive director of the San Francisco International Film Festival and former director of Cultural Affairs for the City of San Francisco. ...

as Chess * Grant Withers as Jason Blue *

Howard Petrie Howard Alexander Petrie (November 22, 1906 – March 24, 1968) was an American radio, television, and film actor. Early life Howard Petrie was born in Beverly, Massachusetts on November 22, 1906. When Howard was three years old his family ...

as Reeber *

Paul Fix Peter Paul Fix (March 13, 1901 – October 14, 1983) was an American film and television character actor who was best known for his work in Westerns. Fix appeared in more than 100 movies and dozens of television shows over a 56-year career be ...

as Wilson * William Murphy as Ahab *

Sujata Rubener ''Sujata and Asoka'' were a pair of dancers specialising in performing Indian, Tibetan and various Oriental dances to Western audiences. They were Sujata, (3 February 1918 in Bombay, British Raj – 2 January 1993 in Coconino County, Arizona) ...

as Dancer (as Sujata) * Philip Ahn as Gusti *

Stephen Bekassy Stephen Bekassy (born István Békássy; February 10, 1907 – October 30, 1995) was a Hungarian-born American film actor. Career Bekassy's American stage debut came in ''Errand for Berenice'' in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1944. His American ...

as Lieutenant * Keye Luke as Pidada * Virginia Brissac as Bintang * Richard Reeves as Hoppo Two

Production

''Fair Wind to Java'' was filmed on

Point Dume Point Dume is a promontory on the coast of Malibu, California that juts out into the Pacific Ocean. The point, a long bluff, forms the northern end of the Santa Monica Bay. Point Dume Natural Area affords a vista of the Palos Verdes Peninsula a ...

in Malibu,

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, and on the

backlot in the Studio City district of Los Angeles, California. Vera Ralston claimed that shots of

inserted in the film were made by John Ford, though other sources claim location shots were done in

Hilo Hilo () is a census-designated place (CDP) and the largest settlement in Hawaii County, Hawaii, Hawaii County, Hawaii, United States, which encompasses the Hawaii (island), Island of Hawaii. The population was 44,186 according to the 2020 United ...

, Hawaii, by Bud Thackery. Howard and Theodore Lydecker filmed the ship and volcano sequences on Mono Lake in Mono County, California, using large miniatures constructed for a realistic scale appearance. A 26-foot (8-meter) model of ''Gerrymander'' was built, as was a model of Besar's

lateen-rigged A lateen (from French ''latine'', meaning "Latin") or latin-rig is a triangular sail set on a long yard mounted at an angle on the mast, and running in a fore-and-aft direction. The settee can be considered to be an associated type of the same o ...

pirate ship; a miniature volcano, constructed on one of the rocky outcrops along the lakes shoreline, served as Krakatoa. Miniature palm trees and huts were placed along the lake shore to simulate the Indonesian coast. For the final eruption, bags of cement were used to simulate Krakatoas volcanic plume. The remains of the model volcano built at Lake Mono still existed as of 2014; it had been adapted for use as a field base for bird researchers. The tsunami scenes depicting ''Gerrymander'' riding out multiple waves, and the swamping and sinking of Besars pirate ship, were created by filming both large models in the Pacific Ocean surf of a California beach. The 1969 disaster film ''

Krakatoa, East of Java ''Krakatoa, East of Java'' is a 1968 American disaster film starring Maximilian Schell and Brian Keith. During the 1970s, the film was re-released under the title ''Volcano''. The story is loosely based on events surrounding the 1883 eruption ...

'' tells the story of an attempt to salvage a fortune in pearls from a submerged shipwreck lying very near Krakatoa during its 1883 eruption; it bears many similarities to the plot of ''Fair Wind to Java'' (the volcano is actually located west of Java).

Theatrical release and box office

''Fair Wind to Java'' was released theatrically in the United States on April 28, 1953; in France on August 20, 1954; in Spain on July 11, 1955; and in Denmark on September 13, 1954. Republic's box office receipts totaled $1,300,000.

Restoration

After the University of California, Los Angeles Film and Television Archive restored ''Fair Wind to Java'' with funding from The Film Foundation. Martin Scorsese presented a showing of the film in 2006, calling it "the epitome of a Saturday afternoon matinee picture".

Home media

''Fair Wind to Java'' was released on video by Hollywood Scrapheap on a region-free, limited-availability

BD-R Blu-ray Disc Recordable (BD-R) refers to two direct to disc optical disc recording technologies that can be recorded on to a Blu-ray-based optical disc with an optical disc recorder. BD-R discs can be written to once, whereas Blu-ray Disc Recorda ...

in a standard movie poster DVD snapcase. As of December 2021, it was still available on disc via several different online outlets. It was also available for streaming rental via Prime Video.

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, 0045743
Photo gallery of filming of miniature ships and volcano for ''Fair Wind to Java'' at Model Ships in the Cinema''Fair Wind to Java'' opening credits and narration on YouTube''Fair Wind to Java'' scene (Captain Boll buys Kim Kim and smuggles her aboard the ''Gerrymander'') on YouTube''Fair Wind to Java'' scene (the whipping of Kim Kim) in German on YouTube
1953 films Pirate films 1950s historical adventure films Films directed by Joseph Kane Republic Pictures films Films scored by Victor Young Films based on American novels American disaster films American historical adventure films Films set in Indonesia Krakatoa Seafaring films Films about volcanoes Films set in 1883 Trucolor films 1883 eruption of Krakatoa 1950s English-language films 1950s American films