The Secret of the Purple Reef | |
---|---|
Directed by | William Witney |
Written by | Harold "Yabo" Yablonsky |
Based on | "The Silent Reefs", 1952–53 short story, The Saturday Evening Post by Dorothy Cottrell |
Produced by | Gene Corman |
Starring | Richard Chamberlain Peter Falk Robert Earl Jones Jeff Richards |
Cinematography | Kay Norton |
Edited by | Peter C. Johnson |
Music by | Buddy Bregman |
Production company | |
Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
Release date |
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Running time | 81 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $86,000 |
The Secret of The Purple Reef is a 1960 20th Century Fox CinemaScope DeLuxe Color film based on a short story by Dorothy Cottrell entitled "The Silent Reefs". It starred soon-to-be-famous actors Richard Chamberlain 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". [1]
Brothers Mark (Jeff Richards) and Dean Christopher (Richard Chamberlain) and show up in a mid-'50s four door Citroën Traction Avant in early era San Juan, Puerto Rico. 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.
The story was published in 1953. [2]
Robert L. Lippert brought Peter Falk to Hollywood to appear in Murder Inc . Lippert liked him so much he used him on this film, which was shot in Puerto Rico. [3] Filming took place in July 1960. [4] [5]
Margia Dean enjoyed working with direction Witney and later hired him when she produced The Long Rope (1961). [6]
Murder, Inc. is a 1960 American gangster film starring Stuart Whitman, May Britt, Henry Morgan and Peter Falk. Filmed in Cinemascope and directed by Burt Balaban and Stuart Rosenberg, the film was based on the true story of Murder, Inc., a Brooklyn gang that operated in the 1930s.
Jeff Richards was an American minor league baseball player with the Portland Beavers, who later became an actor. He was sometimes credited as Dick Taylor and Richard Taylor.
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Robert Lenard Lippert was an American film producer and cinema chain owner. He was president and chief operating officer of Lippert Theatres, Affiliated Theatres and Transcontinental Theatres, all based in San Francisco, and at his height, he owned a chain of 139 movie theaters.
Desire in the Dust is a 1960 American neo noir crime film released by the Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation, directed by William F. Claxton, produced by Robert L. Lippert and starring Raymond Burr, Martha Hyer and Joan Bennett. The screenplay was written by Charles Lang based on a novel by Harry Whittington.
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The Bandit Queen is a 1950 American Western film directed by William Berke. and starring Barbara Britton and Phillip Reed as the leaders of two Robin Hood types of bands.
Ida Dorothy Ottley Cottrell was an Australian writer. Born in Picton, she contracted infantile paralysis as a child and spent the rest of her life in a wheelchair. Cottrell married Walter Mackenzie Cottrell on 23 May 1922. Her first novel, The Singing Gold, was published in 1928. She wrote a story Wilderness Orphan (1936) which was the basis for the feature film Orphan of the Wilderness (1936). She lived for a time in the US and also worked as an artist and cartoonist.
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Stagecoach to Fury is a 1956 American western film directed by William F. Claxton and starring Forrest Tucker and Mari Blanchard. It was the first film from Robert L. Lippert's Regal films; the B picture unit of 20th Century Fox set up to provide second features shot in CinemaScope.
Loan Shark is a 1952 American crime film noir directed by Seymour Friedman and starring George Raft, Dorothy Hart and Paul Stewart.
The Big Show is a 1961 DeLuxe Color and CinemaScope drama film directed by James B. Clark, starring Esther Williams and Cliff Robertson. The cast also includes Robert Vaughn, Margia Dean, Nehemiah Persoff and David Nelson, who was best known to audiences of the time for The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet television show.
The Women of Pitcairn Island is a 1956 American adventure drama film directed by Jean Yarbrough and starring Lynn Bari, John Smith and Sue England. It was produced by Robert L. Lippert Regal Films for distribution by 20th Century Fox. The film's sets were designed by the art director Dave Milton.
The Return of Jesse James is a 1950 American western film directed by Arthur Hilton and starring John Ireland, Ann Dvorak and Henry Hull. It was produced and distributed by the independent Lippert Pictures. The film's art direction was by Frank Paul Sylos and Vin Taylor.
The Oregon Trail is a 1959 American CinemaScope and DeLuxe Color Western film directed by Gene Fowler Jr. and starring Fred MacMurray, William Bishop and Nina Shipman.
The Long Rope is a 1961 American Associated Producers Inc Western film directed by William Witney and written by Robert Hamner. The film stars Hugh Marlowe, Alan Hale, Jr., Robert J. Wilke, Chris Robinson, William Kerwin and Jeff Morris. The film was released in February 1961, by 20th Century Fox.
Texas Manhunt, also known as Red Desert, is a 1949 American Western film directed by Ford Beebe and starring Don "Red" Barry and Tom Neal.
Mask of the Dragon is a 1951 American mystery thriller film directed by Sam Newfield and starring Richard Travis, Sheila Ryan and Michael Whalen. It was released by the independent company Lippert Pictures. The film's sets were designed by the art director Harry Reif. Part of it was set in a television studio, which was considered novel at the time.
Tales of Robin Hood is a 1951 American film directed by James Tinling.