| Walk Into Paradise | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Lee Robinson Marcello Pagliero |
| Produced by | Marcello Pagliero Chips Rafferty Lee Robinson |
| Written by | Lee Robinson Chips Rafferty Rex Rienits |
| Starring | Chips Rafferty Françoise Christophe |
| Music by | Georges Auric |
| Cinematography | Carl Kayser |
| Editing by | Alex Ezard |
| Distributed by | Embassy (USA) |
| Release date(s) | 28 July 1956 (France) 24 October 1956 (Australia) |
| Running time | 93 minutes |
| Country | Australia |
| Language | English French |
| Budget | ₤65,000[1] |
| Box office | ₤90,000 (England)[2] |
Walk Into Paradise (also known as Walk Into Hell) is a 1956 French-Australian adventure film directed by Lee Robinson and Marcello Pagliero shot on location in the highlands of Papua New Guinea.
Contents |
In New Guinea, an expedition led by Australian District Officer Steve McAllister (Chips Rafferty) heads up the Sepik River to a valley where the adventurer Sharkeye Kelly has discovered oil. One of their member, a United Nations doctor, Louise (Françoise Christophe), takes blood samples from small children and is attacked by a witchdoctor. The expedition risks being massacred but the children recover in time.
The movie was originally planned as an entirely Australian film by Southern International Productions but French producer Paul-Edmond Decharme proposed they go into business with the French company Discifilm. The script was rewritten to accommodate two French stars and every scene was shot twice - once in French, once in English: Pagliero would direct the French version, Robinson would do the English.[3]
Shooting took place over twelve weeks on location in New Guinea.
Robinson later claimed that 60% of the money invested in the film came from housewives.[4]
Director Lee Robinson was nominated for the Golden Palm Award at the 1956 Cannes Film Festival,[5] but was beaten by Jacques-Yves Cousteau and Louis Malle for Le Monde du silence.
American producer Joseph E. Levine purchased the film for distribution and added more jungle footage. When the film did poor business he retitled it Walk into Hell that increased its earnings dramatically.[6] Robinson claimed at one stage the film was one of the 100 top grossers in the US.[7]