Hell Ship Mutiny

Hell Ship Mutiny is a 1957 American South Seas adventure film directed by Lee Sholem and Elmo Williams starring Jon Hall who also produced and narrated the film. It is a compilation of a 1955 unsold television pilot Knight of the South Seas.[1][2] Hall's father Felix Locher plays the role of a native chief.[3]

Hell Ship Mutiny
Original film poster
Directed byLee Sholem
Elmo Williams
Produced byGeorge Bilson
Jon Hall
Written byDeVallon Scott and
Wells Root
StarringJon Hall
John Carradine
Peter Lorre
Roberta Haynes
Mike Mazurki
Narrated byJon Hall
Music byPaul Sawtell
Bert Shefter
CinematographySam Leavitt
Edited byElmo Williams
Production
company
Lovina Productions
Distributed byRepublic Pictures
Release date
  • 6 December 1957 (1957-12-06) (United States)
Running time
66 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

This film is now in the public domain.

Plot

Captain Jim Knight, and his crew Roxy, Tula, and a chimp named Salty sail the South Seas in search of adventure. They discover a criminal gang has taken over a small island, forcing the native pearl divers to dive beyond safe limits.

After capturing the three-man gang, Knight takes them to Tahiti for trial where the men escape and force Knight to sail them to New Zealand. Knight subdues them again but this time a minor French magistrate is sent to the island to try them there. The magistrate joins the criminals when a native boy locates the wreck of a lost ship containing a Burmese king's treasure.

Cast
  • Jon Hall as Capt. Jim Knight
  • John Carradine as Malone
  • Peter Lorre as Commissioner Lamoret
  • Roberta Haynes as Princess Mareva
  • Mike Mazurki as Ross, chief henchman
  • Charles Mauu as Tula, sailor
  • Stanley Adams as Roxy, first mate
  • Danny Richards Jr. as Tatoa, native boy
  • Felix Locher as King Parea
  • Peter Coe as Prince Terahi
  • Michael Barrett as Pinky, Malone Henchman
  • Salvador Baguez as Kuala
  • Salty the Chimp as Salty

Production

In October 1955 Jon Hall, who had just finished starring in Ramar of the Jungle, announced he would play a sea captain in a new TV series Knight of the South Seas. It would be made by his own production company, Lovina.[4] In December Hedda Hopper reported that Hall had already shot footage in the south seas and signed his first co-star, John Carradine.[5]

Filming started 15 December 1955 at Fox Western Avenue studios.[6] Two episodes were filmed.

In May 1956 Hall announced the series would premiere in Tahiti, where Hall grew up.[7]

The pilot was not picked up so Hall combined the episodes for a feature film.[8]

Reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin said "apart from the fights and good underwater shots this juvenile adventure film sadly lacks vitality."[9]

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gollark: Well, you could probably make a really small ZIP file and potentially convince ZIP unarchiver things to read from the image data itself.
gollark: And the concatenation onto images thing is a mere side effect.
gollark: Presumably python thought it would be a convenient way to distribute packages.
gollark: `unzip` accepts it but complains a little.

See also

References
  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 22 February 2010. Retrieved 25 October 2012.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. p. 396 Youngkin, Stephen D. The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre University Press of Kentucky, 30 September 2005
  3. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0516646/bio
  4. Matinee Series Calls for Top Names; Jon Hall to Play Sea Captain Ames, Walter. Los Angeles Times 24 October 1955: 32.
  5. Looking at Hollywood: Once Hungry in Hollywood, Silvers Now Sought for Film Hopper, Hedda. Chicago Daily Tribune 12 December 1955: c8.
  6. 'Miracle on 34th St.' First Christmas Fare; Perry Gets Top Singer Ames, Walter. Los Angeles Times 14 December 1955: 34.
  7. Louella Parsons: Dorothy Dandridge Won't Lack Money The Washington Post and Times Herald 18 May 1956: 73.
  8. Terrace, Vincent (9 October 2018). Encyclopedia of Unaired Television Pilots, 1945-2018. McFarland. p. 126.
  9. HELL SHIP MUTINY Monthly Film Bulletin; London Vol. 26, Iss. 300, (1 Jan 1959): 19.
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