Nate and Hayes

Nate and Hayes, also known as Savage Islands (UK title), is a 1983 swashbuckling adventure film set in the South Pacific in the late 19th century. Directed by Ferdinand Fairfax and filmed on location in Fiji and New Zealand, it starred Tommy Lee Jones, Michael O'Keefe and Jenny Seagrove, It was one of many early 1980s films designed to capitalize on the popularity of Lucas and Spielberg's hero, Indiana Jones, but Nate and Hayes was a flop at the box office. This contributed to the long held belief in Hollywood that pirate swashbucklers were box office poison, a belief not laid to rest until the 2003 release of Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.

Plot

The film tells the story of missionary Nathaniel "Nate" Williamsen (O'Keefe), taken to an island mission with his fiancee Sophie (Seagrove). Their ship, the Rona, is captained by the roguish Bully Hayes (Jones), who also takes a liking to Sophie. When Sophie is kidnapped by slave trader Ben Pease (Max Phipps) "Nate" teams with Hayes in order to find her. The plot is essentially a set-up for a rousing series of Indiana Jones style action set pieces, including a sequence on a suspension bridge which greatly resembles the climax of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, though Nate and Hayes was released a year earlier.

Releases

The film has a small but very loyal fanbase which seems to have encouraged the release of the film on Region 1 and Region 2 DVD, in June and November 2006 respectively.

Taglines

1984 VHS Tagline: He's a scoundrel... A hero... A lover of danger and the last of the adventurers... This is the story of Bully Hayes!

2006 DVD Tagline: Partners in Piracy. Rivals in Romance. Allies in Adventure.

Bully Hayes

• Tommy Lee Jones' character was based on a real-life pirate. Bully Hayes was active in the South Pacific during the mid 19th century, until his murder in 1877.

External links

• Nate and Hayes at the Internet Movie Database
• Review at DVD Savant