The Cast of the Angler
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This was a UCLA student film project produced, written, and directed by Thomas Farr and Jeff Klein in 1984. It was filmed on a $10,000 budget. The film stars Gordon Goodman as Arthur Curry/ Aquaman, Linda Phillips as Dr. Katey King, and Steve Dewinter as the Angler. It is sometimes referred to as a TV pilot, although this is erroneous. It has never been released commercially and is only available through file sharing networks and bootleg copies at comic book conventions. It was the first live action depiction of Aquaman. The film begins with animation for the first few minutes and then blends into live action.
[edit] Plot
The film begins with a picture of the Earth, and the impersonated voices of Jacques Cousteau and Rod Serling narrate. They relate the origin of Aquaman. A car driven by Aquamans parents, the Currys. Mrs. Curry is pregnant. They are traveling down the Pacific Coast Highway in 1961 and swerve off the road to avoid a truck carrying fish. The car plunges into the ocean, and a newborn baby is rescued and raised by dolphins. Mrs. Curry apparently gave birth to Aquaman during the crash. Aquaman's powers are then described. He can stay underwater for lengthy period of time and can communicate with dolphins and other marine creatures. He grows up and is sighted by Jacque Cousteau while Cousteau is filming a documentary called "The Reapers of the Sea". Suddenly, whale poachers arrive to slaughter a pack of whales, and Cousteau watches amazed as Aquaman saves them. Arthur Curry uses the wealth of the sea floor to become a scientist at a marine lab. He is visiting a room of fish tanks and communicating with the fish inside them. He submerges his face into one of the tanks to better speak to a lobster about a football game on TV when he is interrupted by Katey King. She is curious as to what he is doing, and he explains he dropped a contact lens into the tank. She then reminds him that he doesn't wear contacts. They are then interrupted by the television as the Angler breaks in with a live message. He claims he will use a toxin which will kill sea life unless a ransom is paid. Arthur reflects on the time the Angler treatened to kill the Mormon Tabernacle Choir by feeding them to sharks planted in the Great Salt Lake. The Angler then begins to have trouble speaking and must eat a banana. Arthur tell Katey that the Angler has a potassium defenciency and must eat a banana every half-hour or the Angler will die. The Angler then challenges Aquaman to stop him. Arthur runs from the lab in a hurry and dives into the ocean. He changes into his Aquaman suit and searches for this dolphin parents. He asks them how to get to the Angler's hideout. He rides on their backs to the hideout. The Angler's henchmen catch an image of Aquaman on a surveillance monitor, and the Angler decides to capture Katey, whom he calls "Aquaman's girlfriend". The henchmen then prepare for Aquaman's visit to their hideout. Aquaman fights the henchmen with the aid of a starfish. The Angler fights Aquaman himself and captures him with a fishing line. The film ends with a cliffhanger ending, asking the viewers if Aquaman will escape from "The Cast of the Angler".
[1] http://www.dc-on-film.com/aquaman/tv_01.php Website containing information about film adaptions of DC characters.
[2] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0179647/ IMDb profile.
[3] http://aqua.gjovaag.com/media/pilot.html Fan site with complete transcript of film.
[4] http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1811250478092111015 Full show on Google video
