''Manfish'' is a 1956

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 ...

, released by

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the stu ...

in 1956 and originally filmed in

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 "sele ...

. Filmed in

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispa ...

, it was released in Great Britain as ''Calypso''. It was based on the 1843 stories "

The Gold-Bug "The Gold-Bug" is a short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe published in 1843. The plot follows William Legrand, who was bitten by a gold-colored bug. His servant Jupiter fears that Legrand is going insane and goes to Legrand's friend, an ...

" and "

The Tell-Tale Heart "The Tell-Tale Heart" is a short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1843. It is related by an unnamed narrator who endeavors to convince the reader of the narrator's sanity while simultaneously describing a murder the n ...

" by

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wid ...

. Actor

John Bromfield John Bromfield (born Farron Bromfield; June 11, 1922 – September 19, 2005) was an American actor and commercial fisherman. Early years Farron Bromfield was born in South Bend, Indiana. He played football and was a boxing champion at Saint Mar ...

starred as Captain Brannigan and Lon Chaney Jr. played the role of Swede. The leading female star was

Tessa Prendergast Marie Therese "Tessa" Prendergast (17 October 1928 – 9 July 2001), also known as Tessa Welborn, was a Jamaican actress, fashion designer, businesswoman, and socialite. A renowned beauty and movie starlet in the 1950s, she is best-remembered to ...

, who played Alita. Tessa later became a fashion designer and designed the

white bikini of Ursula Andress The white bikini worn by Ursula Andress as Honey Ryder in the 1962 James Bond film, '' Dr. No''., is cited as the most famous bikini of all time and an iconic moment in cinematic and fashion history. Andress's white bikini is regarded as monu ...

for '' Dr. No''. The film also featured the motion picture debut of

Barbara Nichols Barbara Marie Nickerauer (December 10, 1928 – October 5, 1976), known professionally as Barbara Nichols, was an American actress who often played brassy or comic roles in films in the 1950s and 1960s. Early life and career Nichols was b ...

Plot

Inspector Warren of

Scotland Yard Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London's 32 boroughs, but not the City of London, the square mile that forms London's ...

flies into Jamaica and is taken to the headquarters of the

Jamaica Constabulary Force The Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) is the official police force of Jamaica. Role The force is the arm of the Ministry which is responsible for the maintenance of law and order, the prevention and detection of crime, the investigation of all ...

. Exchanging credentials with a Jamaican Inspector, Warren reveals he has come to seek the extradition of a wanted criminal known as "The Professor". Surprised when the Inspector refuses to

extradite Extradition is an action wherein one jurisdiction delivers a person accused or convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, over to the other's law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforcement procedure between the two jurisdic ...

the Professor, the Jamaican Inspector recounts a story told in flashback. Devil-may-care

adventurer An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme ...

Brannigan has won the ship ''Manfish'' and its

first mate A chief mate (C/M) or chief officer, usually also synonymous with the first mate or first officer, is a licensed mariner and head of the deck department of a merchant ship. The chief mate is customarily a watchstander and is in charge of the shi ...

Swede in a poker game but keeps away from the ''Manfishs creditors. During a drunken evening out Brannigan is attracted to a woman sitting with an older man called "the Professor" with the two brawling over her. During the brief fracas Brannigan notices the Professor is wearing an unusual heavy ring of a skull and cross bones. The next day the ''Manfish'' is at sea engaging in a turtle hunt. Two divers from the ship find a skeleton underwater holding a bottle. Brannigan swims to the skeleton and grabs the bottle. He breaks it open on board finding a ripped piece of paper dated 1793 with nonsensical French written on it, but inside the bottle is the same ring that the Professor wears. Tracking down the Professor, Brannigan persuades him to tell what he knows revealing it is half of a document by the pirate

Jean Lafitte Jean Lafitte ( – ) was a French pirate and privateer who operated in the Gulf of Mexico in the early 19th century. He and his older brother Pierre spelled their last name Laffite, but English language documents of the time used "Lafitte". Th ...

with the professor holding the other half. Fearing for his life but clever and greedy, the Professor translates the map to reveal a treasure is on the island of

Hispaniola Hispaniola (, also ; es, La Española; Latin and french: Hispaniola; ht, Ispayola; tnq, Ayiti or Quisqueya) is an island in the Caribbean that is part of the Greater Antilles. Hispaniola is the most populous island in the West Indies, and th ...

but the Professor insures his safety by destroying the map and memorising the contents. Once on the island a treasure worth £25,000 is recovered but the Professor promises it is a drop in the ocean compared to another treasure buried later by Lafitte that the Professor says he can locate.

Cast

... Brannigan * Lon Chaney Jr. ... 'Swede' * Victor Jory ... 'Professor' *

... Mimi *

... Alita * Eric Coverly ... Chavez * Vincent Chang ... Domingo * Theodore Purcell ... Big Boy * Vere Johns ... Bianco * Jack Lewis ... Inspector Warren * Arnold Shanks ... Aleppo * Clyde Hoyte ... Calypso

Soundtrack

''Big Fish'', ''Manfish'' and ''Goodbye'' written and performed by Clyde Hoyte
''Beware the Caribbean'' written by Richard Koerner and performed by Barbara Nichols

References

External links

* *
Scifilm Review
{{The Tell-Tale Heart 1956 films 1956 adventure films Films set in Jamaica Films shot in Jamaica Films based on The Tell-Tale Heart Films based on works by Edgar Allan Poe United Artists films Films about treasure hunting Films set in the Caribbean Underwater action films Seafaring films Films based on multiple works Films directed by W. Lee Wilder 1950s English-language films American adventure films 1950s American films

Plot

Cast

Soundtrack

See also

References

External links