Forbidden Island

Forbidden Island is a 1959 American adventure crime film directed by Charles B. Griffith starring Jon Hall. It was his debut as director, although he had directed second unit on Attack of the Crab Monsters. A young Don Preston from the Mothers of Invention appeared in this film.

For the board game, see Forbidden Island (game).
Forbidden Island
Directed byCharles B. Griffith
Produced byCharles B. Griffith
Story byCharles B. Griffith
Jonathan Haze
StarringJon Hall
Music byAlexander Laszlo
CinematographyGilbert Warrenton
Edited byJerome Thoms
Color processColumbiaColor
Production
company
Columbia Pictures
Distributed byColumbia Pictures
Release date
  • February 10, 1959 (1959-02-10) (United States)
Running time
66 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$90,000[1]

Plot

A freelance frogman (Jon Hall) is hired by a psychotic treasure hunter to recover an emerald that went down in a shipwreck.

Cast
  • Jon Hall as Dave Courtney
  • Nan Adams as Joanne Godfrey
  • John Farrow as Edward Stuart Godfrey
  • Jonathan Haze as Jack Mautner
  • Greigh Phillips as Dean Pike
  • Dave "Howdy" Peters as Fermin Fry
  • Tookie Evans as Raul Estoril
  • Martin Denny as Marty
  • Bob La Varre as Cal Priest
  • Bill Anderson as Mike
  • Abraham Kaluna as Abe

Production

Griffith had signed with Columbia under a five-film writer-producer-director contract; he ended up only making two of them, the other being Ghost of the China Sea, which he did not direct.

"They were really terrible," he recalled later. "It stopped me for twenty years from ever directing again. They were really rank. You see, I got chicken and started to write very safely within a formula to please the major studios, and of course, you can't do that."[2]

The film was shot mostly on location in Hawaii.[3] Filming started November 4, 1957.[4] Photos have been found in the archives of Silver Springs State Park, Florida, indicating that some scenes were filmed there. Rebecca Welles was originally cast in the lead role but had to pull out and was replaced by Nan Adams.[5]

"I had an early chance to direct but was too dumb to know that I had to work with the editor," Griffith said later. "They told me I had an Oscar-winning editor; I told them we needed an Oscar-winning firestarter."[1]

The two films were meant to cost $150,000. Forbidden Island was meant to be filmed in ten days but Griffith went over schedule. According to Variety "Columbia noted that Griffith seemed to be having continuing production difficulties" and sent out one of its contract directors, Fred Sears, to direct the second movie.[6]

References
  1. Aaron W. Graham, 'Little Shop of Genres: An interview with Charles B. Griffith', Senses of Cinema, 15 April 2005 retrieved 22 June 2012
  2. Dennis Fischer, 'Charles B. Griffith: Not of this Earth', McGilligan, Patrick. Ed Backstory 3: Interviews with Screenwriters of the 60s Berkeley: University of California Press, c1997 1997 retrieved 22 June 2012
  3. Pierre Perrone, 'Obituary - Charles B. Griffith Screenwriter of the cult classic 'The Little Shop of Horrors' ', The Independent 8 October 2007 accessed 26 June 2012
  4. "Hollywood Production Pulse". Variety. 6 November 1957. p. 14.
  5. 'MOVIELAND EVENTS: NAN ADAMS WILL DO LEAD WITH JON HALL', Los Angeles Times 24 Sep 1957: 23.
  6. "Put in Relief Director". Variety. 13 November 1957. p. 17.
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