| King of the Coral Sea | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Lee Robinson |
| Produced by | Lee Robinson Chips Rafferty |
| Written by | Lee Robinson Chips Rafferty |
| Starring | Chips Rafferty Charles Tingwell Rod Taylor |
| Cinematography | Ross Wood Noel Monkman (underwater photography) |
| Editing by | Alex Ezard |
| Studio | Southern International |
| Release date(s) | 1954 |
| Country | Australia |
| Language | English |
| Budget | ₤23,862[1] |
| Box office | ₤34,000 (England) ₤26,000 (Australia)[2] |
King of the Coral Sea is a 1954 film starring Chips Rafferty and Charles Tingwell, directed by Lee Robinson and shot on location in Thursday Island.
Contents |
Rafferty plays Ted King, a pearler who investigates a murder, uncovering a people smuggling ring in the process. He is helped by Peter Merriman (Charles Tingwell), the playboy owner of King's company who romances King's daughter Rusty (Ilma Adey). The leader of the people smugglers, Yussep (Lloyd Berrell) kidnaps Rusty but Merriman and King rescue her.
Lee Robinson had previously made a documentary on the pearling industry, The Pearlers (1949).
The supporting cast included Rod Taylor in his feature film debut. Taylor plays an American who elected to stay on in Australia after World War II, a character Lee Robinson created with the aim of making the film more appealing to the international market. [3] Taylor, Robinson, Rafferty, Charles Tingwell and Lloyd Berrell all knew each other from working in Sydney radio.
Also featuring in the cast was Ilma Adey, a model without any previous acting experience, and Frances Chin Soon, a local nurse from Thursday Island.[4]
The film was shot almost entirely on location on Thursday Island, except for the underwater footage, which was filmed off Green Island. Noel Monkman was primarily responsible for this.[5]
The filming was unique as the cameraman and the actors dived with a rare scuba known as the Lawson Lung. It was a patent violation of the Cousteau-Gagnan patented Aqua Lung. It had a unique appearance, which came from the tank being worn on the diver's back, with the regulator worn on the divers chest. The Lawson Lung was made in Sydney in small numbers, because getting scuba gear in Australia was very difficult at the time. "Chips" dived in an open British made Heinke helmet as well as using the Lawson Lung towards the end of the film.
Thursday Island was known for its pearl shells, which were collected for jewelry and buttons. The film was noted for the documentation of pearl shell divers and the luggers they sailed in. [6]
The movie was originally entitled King of the Arafura but was retitled King of the Coral Sea as it felt the Coral Sea was a better known sea than the Arafura.
The world premiere was held on Thursday Island on 17 July 1954, with a simultaneous screening in Melbourne.[7][8]
A "Queen of the Coral Sea" competition was held to promote the movie.[9]
In October 1954, a labourer, Robert Brown, was arrested for attempted to murder of a policeman. The police had been investigating a stolen car charge against him - Brown claimed he bought a Holden with £1000 he had received from Chips Rafferty for filming King of the Coral Sea. There was a resulting car chase and shoot out before Brown was apprehended.[10]