''The Spiral Road'' is a 1962 American adventure-drama film directed by

Robert Mulligan Robert Patrick Mulligan (August 23, 1925 – December 20, 2008) was an American director and producer. He is best known for his humanist dramas, including ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' (1962), '' Summer of '42'' (1971), ''The Other'' (1972), '' Same ...

and starring

Rock Hudson Rock Hudson (born Roy Harold Scherer Jr.; November 17, 1925 – October 2, 1985) was an American actor. One of the most popular movie stars of his time, he had a screen career spanning more than three decades. A prominent heartthrob in the Golde ...

Burl Ives Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives (June 14, 1909 – April 14, 1995) was an American musician, actor, and author with a career that spanned more than six decades. Ives began his career as an itinerant singer and guitarist, eventually launching his own rad ...

Gena Rowlands Virginia Cathryn "Gena" Rowlands (born June 19, 1930) is an American retired actress, whose career in film, stage, and television has spanned seven decades. A four-time Emmy and two-time Golden Globe winner, she is known for her collaborations w ...

, and

Geoffrey Keen Geoffrey Keen (21 August 1916 – 3 November 2005) was an English actor who appeared in supporting roles in many films. He is well known for playing British Defence Minister Sir Frederick Gray in the ''James Bond'' films. Biography Early lif ...

. The film was released by

Universal-International Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...

in the United States in 1962, the same year that Mulligan's other movie ''

To Kill a Mockingbird ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' is a novel by the American author Harper Lee. It was published in 1960 and was instantly successful. In the United States, it is widely read in high schools and middle schools. ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' has become ...

'' became a critical and commercial success. The movie was filmed in Suriname and was shot in

Eastmancolor Eastmancolor is a trade name used by Eastman Kodak for a number of related film and processing technologies associated with color motion picture production and referring to George Eastman, founder of Kodak. Eastmancolor, introduced in 1950, was on ...

Plot

Dr. Anton Drager travels to Java to study the effects of leprosy under an expert on the subject, Dr. Brits Jansen. The two physicians have many of the same views scientifically, but are philosophically a mismatch because of Drager's atheism and Jansen's Christianity. After being married to his sweetheart Els, Drager must trek into the jungle to track down Frolick, a drunken river master who is lost. Frolick has been driven mad by a shaman called Burubi. Drager eventually comes across Frolick, but ends up killing him in self-defense. After rescuing another doctor, in the same region, Anton becomes lost in the wild. He nearly dies and has lapsed into a coma by the time he is rescued. Drager's ordeal comes to change his perceptions, turning him into a Christian.

Cast

as Dr. Anton Drager *

as Dr. Brits Jansen *

as Els Van Duin *

as Willem Wattereus *

Neva Patterson Neva Louise Patterson (February 10, 1920 – December 14, 2010) was an American actress. Early years Born on a farm near Nevada, Iowa, Patterson was the daughter of mailman George Patterson and seamstress Marjorie Byers Patterson. After gradu ...

as Louise Kramer *

Will Kuluva Will Kuluva (May 2, 1917 – November 6, 1990) was an American actor. He appeared in the films '' Abandoned'', ''Viva Zapata!'', '' Operation Manhunt'', '' The Shrike'', ''Crime in the Streets'', ''Odds Against Tomorrow'', ''Go Naked in the World ...

as Dr. Sordjano *

Philip Abbott Philip Abbott (March 20, 1924 – February 23, 1998) was an American character actor. He appeared in several films and numerous television series, including a lead role as Arthur Ward in the crime series ''The F.B.I.'' Abbott was also the founde ...

as Harry Frolick * Larry Gates as Dr. Kramer *

Karl Swenson Karl Swenson (July 23, 1908 – October 8, 1978) was an American theatre, radio, film, and television actor. Early in his career, he was credited as Peter Wayne.

as Inspector Bevers * Edgar Stehli as The Sultan *

Judy Dan Judy Dan (; born September 9, 1930) is a Chinese-American actress. Biography Judy Dan was born in Shanghai on September 9, 1930, the daughter of film director Dan Duyu and actress Yin Mingzhu, and was raised in Hong Kong. She worked for Cathay P ...

as Laja *

Robert F. Simon Robert Frank Simon (December 2, 1908 – November 29, 1992) was an American character actor. Earlier years Simon began acting with Mansfield's Community Players organization when he worked as a clerk in a meat market. Following that experience ...

as Dr. Martens * Ibrahim Pendek as Stegomyia (as Ibrahim Bin Hassan) *

Reggie Nalder Reggie Nalder (born Alfred Reginald Natzler; 4 September 1907 – 19 November 1991) was a prolific Austrian film and television character actor from the late 1940s to the early 1990s. His distinctive features—partially the result of disfigur ...

as Burubi * Leon Lontoc as Dr. Hatta * David Lewis as Maj. Vlormans *

Parley Baer Parley Edward Baer (August 5, 1914 – November 22, 2002) was an American actor in radio and later in television and film. Despite dozens of appearances in television series and theatrical films, he remains best known as the original "Cheste ...

as Mr. Boosmans *

Fredd Wayne Fredd Wayne (born Fredd Wiener; October 17, 1924 – August 27, 2018) was an American actor with a career spanning seven decades on Broadway, radio, television, movies, and recorded works. He appeared on television as a guest star, and portraye ...

as Van Bloor *

Leslie Bradley Leslie Ernest Bradley (1 September 1907 – 20 July 1974) was an English actor. He died in Desert Hot Springs, California. Filmography * ''The Way of Youth'' (1934) as Lieut. Burton (film debut) * ''Play Up the Band'' (1935) as Jack Heckd ...

as Krasser * Barbara Morrison as Mrs. Boosmans * Martin Brandt as Dr. Sander

Reception

While many critics and audiences were impressed with the setting and scenery of the film, there was general consensus that the script was lacking and that Mulligan's other films, particularly ''

'', were better. Michael E. Grost of Classic Film and Television wrote: "Weird but wildly inventive tale of doctors in the jungle, with good visuals."

Home media

Universal released this film on DVD in 2006 as part of the 'Rock Hudson Screen Legend Collection'', a three-disc set featuring four other films ('' Has Anybody Seen My Gal?'', ''

A Very Special Favor ''A Very Special Favor'' is a 1965 romantic comedy film directed by Michael Gordon and starring Rock Hudson and Leslie Caron. Plot Paul Chadwick (Hudson) is a wealthy American oilman who is in a Parisian court, where he is up against the oppo ...

'', ''

The Golden Blade ''The Golden Blade'' is a 1953 American adventure film directed by Nathan Juran and starring Rock Hudson as Harun Al-Rashid and Piper Laurie as Princess Khairuzan. It is set in ancient Bagdad and borrows from the Arabic fairy tales of ''One Thousa ...

'', and '' The Last Sunset''). Universal then re-released this film in 2015 as a stand-alone DVD as part of its ''Universal Vault Series''. There is also a Region 2 DVD release of this film.

References

External links