''The Secret of The Purple Reef'' is a 1960 20th Century Fox CinemaScope DeLuxe Color film based on a short story by Dorothy Cottrell entitled "The Silent Reefs". It starred soon-to-be-famous actors Richard Chamberlain and Peter Falk. It is a Caribbean-based mystery involving the disappearance of a ship called the ''Cloud''. Although considered a "B" film, ''The Secret of The Purple Reef'' is notable in that it introduces Richard Chamberlain and Peter Falk to moviegoers as part of their early film career. It was Richard Chamberlain's film debut, made before finding fame as Dr Kildare. In 1986 Chamberlain called it "easily the worst movie ever made, or at least the most boring".

Plot

Brothers Mark (Jeff Richards (baseball player/actor), Jeff Richards) and Dean Christopher (Richard Chamberlain) and show up in a mid-'50s four door Citroën Traction Avant in early era San Juan, Puerto Rico. They arrive to solve the mystery of the circumstances of their father's drowning death in the Caribbean. They run up against a gang of unruly pirates who seem to know more than they reveal. One of the film's highlights is several scenes of an E.G. Van de Stadt designed 35 foot sailing yacht, the ''Starwright''. The vessel adds to the Caribbean charm and plays an integral part of moving the pirates to other parts of the island.

Cast

* Jeff Richards (baseball player/actor), Jeff Richards as Mark Christopher * Margia Dean as Rue Amboy * Peter Falk as Tom Weber * Richard Chamberlain as Dean Christopher * Terence De Marney as Ashby * Robert Earl Jones as Tobias * Gina Petrushka as Grandmere * Larry Markow as Kilt * Philip Rosen as Twine * Frank Ricco as Henri * Jerry Mitchell as Jerry

Production

The story was published in 1953. Robert L. Lippert brought Peter Falk to Hollywood to appear in ''Murder, Inc. (1960 film), Murder Inc''. Lippert liked him so much he used him on this film, which was shot in Puerto Rico. Filming took place in July 1960. Margia Dean enjoyed working with direction Witney and later hired him when she produced ''The Long Rope (1961 film), The Long Rope'' (1961).

References

* Cottrell, Dorothy. (1952) ''The Silent Reefs''. Curtiss Publishing Company. New York. * Halliwell, Leslie. (1977) ''The Filmgoers Companion'' 6th Ed. Avon Books. New York. pp. 135, 249. * Katz, Ephraim. ''The Film Encyclopedia'' (1979) HarperCollins Publishing. New York. pp. 222,400. * ''The Films of 20th Century Fox'' 1st Edition. (1979) Citadel Press. New Jersey. pp. 322.

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Secret of the Purple Reef, The 1960 films American drama films 1960 drama films Films directed by William Witney Films based on short fiction 20th Century Fox films CinemaScope films Films produced by Gene Corman Films set in the Caribbean Films set in Puerto Rico Seafaring films 1960s English-language films 1960s American films

Plot

Cast

Production

See also

References

External links