| Lovers and Luggers | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Ken G. Hall |
| Produced by | Ken G. Hall |
| Written by | Frank Harvey Edmund Barclay |
| Based on | novel by Gurney Slade |
| Starring | Lloyd Hughes Shirley Ann Richards |
| Cinematography | Frank Hurley |
| Studio | Cinesound Productions |
| Release date(s) | 31 December 1937 (Australia) 1940 (USA) |
| Country | Australia |
| Language | English |
| Budget | ₤24,000[1] |
Lovers and Luggers is a 1937 adventure melodrama about a pianist (Lloyd Hughes) who goes to Thursday Island to retrieve a valuable pearl. It was retitled Vengeance of the Deep in the USA and United Kingdom.
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In London, concert pianist Daubenny Carshott (Lloyd Hughes) desires the beautiful Stella Raff (Elaine Hamill), who agrees to marry him if he brings back a large pearl. Daubenny travels to Thursday Island where he buys a lugger and a house from the villainous Mendoza (Ronald Whelan), and befriends the beautiful Lorna Quidley (Shirley Ann Richards), whose father teaches him to dive. Daubenny finds a pearl but loses it when Mendoza attacks him. He discovers a fellow diver, Bill Craig (James Raglan), is also on a mission from Stella. When Stella arrives on the island, Daubenny rejects her and marries Lorna instead.
The script was based on a novel by Gurney Slade which was set in Broome but Cinesound screenwriter Frank Harvey relocate the story to Thursday Island because it was easier to access.[2] Hall was enthusiastic about the project because of his love for the tropics, although budget considerations meant most of the film had to be shot in the studio, with only the second unit going to Thursday Island under Frank Hurley. Hurley also shot some footage at Port Stephens and Broken Bay[3]with underwater sequences filmed at the North Sydney Olympic Pool in Milsons Point where the water was clouded.[4]
Hall gave the lead role to American actor Lloyd Hughes, who had been a star in the silent era and since then mostly worked on stage.[5] This was one of two films Hughes made for Hall the other being The Broken Melody.
The movie was a slight disappointment at the box office, and Ken G. Hall thought this helped make Greater Union's then-managing director Norman Rydge disillusioned with feature production.[6]. However Hall said in 1972 that "I think I like it best of all the pictures that I've made. Because of the backgrounds. I'd go tomorrow to make a film about the Tropics."[7]
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