The Sea God

Last updated

The Sea God
Sea God poster.jpg
Film poster
Directed by George Abbott
Screenplay byGeorge Abbott
Based onThe Lost God
by John Russell
Starring Richard Arlen
Fay Wray
Eugene Pallette
Ivan Simpson
Maurice Black
Bob Perry
Cinematography Archie Stout
Music by Karl Hajos
Stephan Pasternacki
Production
company
Distributed byParamount Pictures
Release date
  • September 13, 1930 (1930-09-13)
Running time
75 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The Sea God is a 1930 American pre-Code adventure film written and directed by George Abbott. The film stars Richard Arlen, Fay Wray, Eugene Pallette, Ivan Simpson, Maurice Black, and Bob Perry. The film was released on September 13, 1930, by Paramount Pictures. [1] [2]

Contents

Lobby card Sea God lobby card.jpg
Lobby card

Plot

Pink Barker (Arlen) loses his boat and his girl Daisy (Wray) to his bitter rival Schultz (Gleckler), but his fortunes change when an old, dying sailor he rescues at sea tells him about a fortune to be had in pearls. Unfortunately, the pearl beds lie off an island inhabited by cannibals. Barker sails in search of the island with his friend Square Deal (Pallette). Still in love with Pink, Daisy stows away but is soon discovered and forced by her unforgiving ex to work her passage. The cannibals attack Pink’s boat while he is underwater collecting the pearl oysters, forcing him to cut his air line and make for the shore. Unable to remove his cumbersome diving suit he later stumbles into the native village where Square Deal and Daisy are being held, and the islanders mistake him for a god. Schultz and his men, having followed Pink’s boat to the island, capture Pink, Square Deal and Daisy. Square Deal and Daisy are sent as prisoners to his boat, but just as Schultz is about to do away with Pink, his party are attacked by the natives. Pink escapes but Schultz and his men are all killed. Still trapped on the island, Pink puts on his god-like diving suit again and is able to subdue the natives long enough to swim out to the boat where he is reunited with his friends.

Cast

Production

The Sea God was one of at least six films Wray and Arlen made together while both under contract at Paramount Pictures. It was loosely based on a short story by John Russell, a well-known writer of pulp fiction. Russell had also penned The Pagan , another South Seas yarn which was made into a film in 1929. The Sea God was filmed on location at Catalina Island, California, with several scenes being shot at sea.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fay Wray</span> American actress (1907–2004)

Vina Fay Wray was a Canadian-American actress best known for starring as Ann Darrow in the 1933 film King Kong. Through an acting career that spanned nearly six decades, Wray attained international recognition as an actress in horror films. She has been dubbed one of the early "scream queens".

<i>Tabu: A Story of the South Seas</i> 1931 film

Tabu: A Story of the South Seas, sometimes simply called Tabu, is a 1931 American silent film directed by F. W. Murnau. A docufiction, it is split into two chapters: The first, called "Paradise", depicts the lives of two lovers on a South Seas island until they are forced to escape the island when the girl is chosen as a holy maid to the gods. The second chapter, "Paradise Lost", depicts the couple's life on a colonised island and how they adapt to and are exploited by Western civilisation. The title comes from the Polynesian concept of tapu, from which is derived the English word "taboo".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pearl hunting</span> Collecting pearls from wild molluscs

Pearl hunting, also known as pearling, is the activity of recovering pearls from wild molluscs, usually oysters or mussels, in the sea or freshwater. Pearl hunting was prevalent in the Persian Gulf region and Japan for thousands of years. On the northern and north-western coast of Western Australia pearl diving began in the 1850s, and started in the Torres Strait Islands in the 1860s, where the term also covers diving for nacre or mother of pearl found in what were known as pearl shells.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joyce Compton</span> American actress (1907–1997)

Olivia Joyce Compton was an American actress.

<i>The Most Dangerous Game</i> (1932 film) 1932 film

The Most Dangerous Game is a 1932 American pre-Code horror film, directed by Ernest B. Schoedsack and Irving Pichel, starring Joel McCrea, Fay Wray and Leslie Banks.

Pine-Thomas Productions was a prolific B-picture unit of Paramount Pictures from 1940–1957, producing 81 films. Co-producers William H. Pine and William C. Thomas were known as the "Dollar Bills" because none of their economically made films ever lost money.

<i>The Four Feathers</i> (1929 film) 1929 film

The Four Feathers is a 1929 American war film directed by Merian C. Cooper and starring William Powell, Richard Arlen, Clive Brook and Fay Wray. This was the third of numerous film versions of the 1902 novel The Four Feathers written by A. E. W. Mason. The 1929 version of The Four Feathers premiered at the Criterion Theatre in New York City on June 12, 1929.

<i>Paramount on Parade</i> 1930 pre-Code revue film

Paramount on Parade is a 1930 all-star American pre-Code revue released by Paramount Pictures, directed by several directors including Edmund Goulding, Dorothy Arzner, Ernst Lubitsch, Rowland V. Lee, A. Edward Sutherland, Lothar Mendes, Otto Brower, Edwin H. Knopf, Frank Tuttle, and Victor Schertzinger—all supervised by the production supervisor, singer, actress, and songwriter Elsie Janis.

<i>White Shadows in the South Seas</i> 1928 film

White Shadows in the South Seas is a 1928 American silent film adventure romance directed by W.S. Van Dyke and starring Monte Blue and Raquel Torres. It was produced by Cosmopolitan Productions in association with MGM and distributed by MGM. Loosely based on the travel book of the same name by Frederick O'Brien, it is known for being the first MGM film to be released with a pre-recorded soundtrack. Clyde De Vinna won an Academy Award for Best Cinematography.

<i>Minesweeper</i> (film) 1943 film by William A. Berke

Minesweeper is a 1943 American black-and-white World War II film, produced by William H. Pine and William C. Thomas, directed by William A. Berke, that stars Richard Arlen, Jean Parker, and Russell Hayden. The film was distributed by Paramount Pictures. A former navy deserter returns to duty after the attack on Pearl Harbor under an assumed name as a sailor aboard a minesweeper.

<i>Behind the Make-Up</i> 1930 film

Behind the Make-Up is a 1930 American pre-Code drama film directed by Robert Milton and Dorothy Arzner, and based on the short story "The Feeder" by Mildred Cram. The film stars Hal Skelly, William Powell, Kay Francis, and Fay Wray.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerry Bruckheimer Films</span> American film production company

Jerry Bruckheimer Films Inc. (JBF) is an American independent film production company of Jerry Bruckheimer, formed in 1995, after cutting his ties with film producer Don Simpson, before his subsequent death in 1996. It produced blockbuster films such as the Pirates of the Caribbean film series.

<i>Ebb Tide</i> (1922 film) 1922 film by George Melford

Ebb Tide is a 1922 American silent adventure film produced by Famous Players–Lasky and distributed by Paramount Pictures, directed by George Melford, and based on the 1894 novel The Ebb-Tide by Robert Louis Stevenson and his step-son Lloyd Osbourne. The story had been filmed before in 1915 by the Selig Polyscope Company.

<i>South of Pago Pago</i> 1940 American film

South of Pago Pago is a 1940 American South Seas adventure film directed by Alfred E. Green and starring Victor McLaglen, Jon Hall and Frances Farmer.

<i>The Texan</i> (1930 film) 1930 film

The Texan is a 1930 American Western film directed by John Cromwell and starring Gary Cooper and Fay Wray. Based on the short story "The Double-Dyed Deceiver" by O. Henry, the film is about a daring bandit called the Llano Kid who shoots a young gambler in self-defense and is forced to hide from the law. He is helped by a corrupt lawyer who involves the bandit in a scheme to swindle a Mexican aristocrat whose son turns out to be the young gambler killed by the Llano Kid. The screenplay was written by Daniel Nathan Rubin, and the story was adapted for the screen by Oliver H.P. Garrett and Victor Milner. Produced by Hector Turnbull for Paramount Pictures, The Texan was released in the United States on May 10, 1930. The film received positive reviews upon its theatrical release.

<i>Pearl of the South Pacific</i> 1955 film by Allan Dwan

Pearl of the South Pacific is a 1955 American adventure film directed by Allan Dwan and written by Jesse L. Lasky, Jr. and Talbot Jennings. The film stars Virginia Mayo, Dennis Morgan, David Farrar, Murvyn Vye, and Lance Fuller. The film was released on July 4, 1955, by RKO Radio Pictures. It was based on a story by Anna Hunger.

<i>Terror Island</i> 1920 film by James Cruze

Terror Island is a 1920 American silent adventure film produced by Jesse Lasky and directed by James Cruze. It is a starring vehicle for illusionist Harry Houdini here costarring with Lila Lee. This film listed as 7 reels by the AFI but two reels are lost/missing with only 5 reels remaining. The film had the working title of Salvage.

<i>The Man Unconquerable</i> 1922 film by Joseph Henabery

The Man Unconquerable is a 1922 American silent drama film directed by Joseph Henabery and written by Julien Josephson and Hamilton Smith. The film stars Jack Holt, Sylvia Breamer, Clarence Burton, Anne Schaefer, Jean De Briac, and Edwin Stevens. The film was released on July 2, 1922, by Paramount Pictures.

<i>The Finger Points</i> 1931 film

The Finger Points is a 1931 American Pre-Code drama film directed by John Francis Dillon and written by John Monk Saunders, W.R. Burnett and Robert Lord. The film stars Richard Barthelmess, Fay Wray, Regis Toomey, Robert Elliott, Clark Gable, Oscar Apfel and Robert Gleckler. The film was released by Warner Bros. on April 11, 1931.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Gleckler</span> American actor (1887–1939)

Robert Gleckler was an American film and stage actor who appeared in nearly 60 movies between 1927 until his death in 1939. He was cast for the role of Jonas Wilkerson, overseer of the slaves at Tara in Gone with the Wind, but died during the filming and was replaced with Victor Jory.

References

  1. "Movie Review - The Sea God - THE SCREEN; Fantastic Adventures. - NYTimes.com". The New York Times . July 25, 2015. Archived from the original on July 25, 2015. Retrieved September 28, 2022.
  2. "The Sea God (1930) - Turner Classic Movies". February 27, 2021. Archived from the original on February 27, 2021. Retrieved September 28, 2022.