Mystery Island (1937 film)

Mystery Island is a 1937 Australian film shot almost entirely on location near Lord Howe Island.[3] It is best remembered for the mysterious disappearance of two of its cast after filming completed.

Mystery Island
Directed byJ.A. Lipman
Produced byGeorge Malcolm
Written byHarry Lauder
Based onstory by Captain T. D. Bairnsfather
StarringBrian Abbot
Jean Laidley
Music byRex Shaw
CinematographyGeorge Malcolm
Edited byArthur Hansen
Production
company
Commonwealth Film Laboratories
Distributed byParamount Pictures[1]
Release date
6 March 1937[2]
Running time
56 minutes (Australia)
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish

Plot

Two women and eight men are shipwrecked on a South Pacific island. There is a murderer amongst them. Only the murderer and the ship's captain knows his identity but the captain has lost his memory.

Cast
  • Brian Abbot as Morris Carthew
  • Jean Laidley as Audrey Challoner
  • W. Lane-Bayliff as Captain Druce
  • William Carroll as Chief Officer Vowels
  • George Doran as Reverend Abel
  • Edward Druitt as Seabright
  • Desmond Hay (Leslie Hay-Simpson) as Packer
  • Mollie Kerwin as Miss Fortescue
  • Moncrieff Macallum as Green
  • Douglas Mackinnon as Cook

Production

The movie was mostly funded by Jack Bruce, who was the managing director of Commonwealth Film Laboratories.

It was shot almost entirely on one of the Admiralty Inlets near Lord Howe Island. A production unit of 20 sailed from Sydney in September 1936, taking £10,000 worth of equipment.[4] Shooting went for a month and was marked by a number of difficulties, including constant rain, poor sound, the loss of 2,000 feet of exposed film which had to be reshot.[5][6]

The female lead, Jean Laidley (real name Jean Mort), had experience in amateur theatre. She was great-granddaughter of Thomas Sutcliffe Mort.[7][8]

The unit returned to Sydney on 6 October. The shipwreck scene was completed in the studio of Commonwealth FIlm Laboratories in Sydney, being staged with models.[9]

Early newspaper reports that the film was based on a story by Bruce Bairnsfather were scotched by his less famous brother, Captain T. D. Bairnsfather (died 18 April 1949), an employee of Sydney radio station 2KY, who claimed the credit (or took the blame).[10] The screenplay was written by Harry Lauder, a nephew of Harry Lauder, the great Scottish comedian.

Disappearance

Actors Brian Abbot and Leslie Hay-Simpson elected to stay on the island for a few weeks after filming, intending to sail back to the mainland together in a 16-foot open boat, called the Mystery Star, which Abbot brought over with him.[11]

They left for Sydney on 6 October 1936 expecting to take 10–14 days.[12] By 14 October a search had been launched.[13] They were never heard of again.[9][14][15]

Reception

The film was released as a supporting feature.[2] Reviews praised the scenery but were less fulsome about its dramatic qualities.[16][17]

Brian Abbot's (real name George Rikard Bell) widow later sued his life assurance company for £1000, the amount payable on his death but refused by the company. The insurers' defence, led by Clive Evatt, KC, pointed out that the trip was a risky endeavor not disclosed to the insurers. The case was settled out of court.[18]

gollark: Because OBVIOUSLY a broom is the natural thing to put flight enchantments on?
gollark: And games get shorter as broom technology improves.
gollark: It's seen as scary or something. They did actually put a magical taboo on it at some point.
gollark: 150, but yes.
gollark: Allegedly. This is mostly just marketing.

References
  1. ""Mystery Island"". The Sydney Morning Herald. National Library of Australia. 11 February 1937. p. 4. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
  2. "Prince Edward". The Sydney Morning Herald. National Library of Australia. 6 March 1937. p. 11. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
  3. "ALL-AUSTRALIAN ISLAND FILM." The Courier-Mail (Brisbane) 14 Jul 1936: 16 accessed 15 December 2011
  4. ""MYSTERY ISLAND."". Townsville Daily Bulletin. Qld.: National Library of Australia. 15 July 1936. p. 13. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
  5. "EXCITING WORK". The Sydney Morning Herald. National Library of Australia. 7 October 1936. p. 7. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
  6. ""MYSTERY ISLAND."". The Sydney Morning Herald. National Library of Australia. 7 October 1936. p. 14. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
  7. "Miss Jean Mort". The Sydney Morning Herald. National Library of Australia. 14 July 1936. p. 5. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
  8. "ALL-Australian Island Film". The Courier-Mail. Brisbane: National Library of Australia. 14 July 1936. p. 16. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
  9. Andrew Pike and Ross Cooper, Australian Film 1900–1977: A Guide to Feature Film Production, Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1998.
  10. "Thse Men Make News". The Daily Telegraph (Sydney). I (99). New South Wales, Australia. 15 July 1936. p. 6. Retrieved 23 February 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  11. "ACTORS PLAN RISKY LAUNCH TRIP". The Daily News. Perth: National Library of Australia. 6 October 1936. p. 8 Edition: FINAL. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
  12. "OCEAN VOYAGE IN SKIFF". The Sydney Morning Herald. National Library of Australia. 8 October 1936. p. 8. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
  13. "NOT SIGHTED". The Sydney Morning Herald. National Library of Australia. 14 October 1936. p. 15. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
  14. "OCEAN VENTURE IN MOTOR SKIFF". The Sydney Morning Herald. National Library of Australia. 13 October 1936. p. 11. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
  15. "OVERDUE SKIFF". The Sydney Morning Herald. National Library of Australia. 19 October 1936. p. 9. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
  16. "Film Reviews". The Sydney Morning Herald. National Library of Australia. 8 March 1937. p. 4. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
  17. "Private Views". The Australian Women's Weekly. National Library of Australia. 13 March 1937. p. 54 Supplement: The Movie World. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
  18. "Causes in No. 4 Court". The Sydney Morning Herald. National Library of Australia. 18 September 1937. p. 12. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
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