''Fair Wind to Java'' is a 1953 American

adventure film The adventure film is a broad genre of film. Some early genre studies found it no different than the Western film or argued that adventure could encompass all Hollywood genres. Commonality was found among historians Brian Taves and Ian Cameron in ...

in Trucolor from

Republic Pictures Republic Pictures is currently an acquisition-only label owned by Paramount Pictures. Its history dates back to Republic Pictures Corporation, an American film studio that originally operated from 1935 to 1967, based in Los Angeles, California ...

, produced and directed by

Joseph Kane Jasper Joseph Inman Kane (March 19, 1894, San Diego – August 25, 1975, Santa Monica, California) was an American film director, film producer, film editor and screenwriter. He is best known for his extensive directorship and focus on Western ...

, that stars

Fred MacMurray Frederick Martin MacMurray (August 30, 1908 – November 5, 1991) was an American actor. He appeared in more than one hundred films and a successful television series in a career that spanned nearly a half-century. His career as a major film le ...

and Vera Ralston. With special effects by the Lydecker brothers, the film was based on the 1948 novel of the same name by Garland Roark. The film tells the story of an American

sea captain A sea captain, ship's captain, captain, master, or shipmaster, is a high-grade licensed mariner who holds ultimate command and responsibility of a merchant vessel. The captain is responsible for the safe and efficient operation of the ship, inc ...

who voyages in search of diamonds on a

volcanic island Geologically, a volcanic island is an island of volcanic origin. The term high island can be used to distinguish such islands from low islands, which are formed from sedimentation or the uplifting of coral reefs (which have often formed ...

and must contend with various mysteries, pirates, and finally an exploding volcano (based on the 1883 eruption of the island of

Krakatoa Krakatoa (), also transcribed (), is a caldera in the Sunda Strait between the islands of Java and Sumatra in the Indonesian province of Lampung. The caldera is part of a volcanic island group (Krakatoa archipelago) comprising four islands. Tw ...

Plot

In 1883, the

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

company that owns the merchant sailing ship ''Gerrymander'' gives her

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

, Captain Boll, six months to show a profit in the

Netherlands East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies (; ), was a Dutch Empire, Dutch colony with territory mostly comprising the modern state of Indonesia, which Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, declared independence on 17 Au ...

. Facing both pirates and a Dutch trade exclusion policy preventing foreigners from carrying goods between ports, Boll looks to make a profit another way. On

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

, an Indonesian, whose life Boll once saved, tells Boll that native divers salvaged a fortune in

diamond Diamond is a Allotropes of carbon, solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Diamond is tasteless, odourless, strong, brittle solid, colourless in pure form, a poor conductor of e ...

s from the sunken ship ''Pieterzoon''. He sends Boll to a Chinese junk captain with a captive, the woman Kim Kim, a dancer at the

sultan Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be use ...

's palace before the Chinese enslaved her; she knows the diamonds' location. Boll violates Dutch anti-slavery laws by buying Kim Kim and smuggling her aboard ''Gerrymander''. Flint, the ship's

first mate A chief mate (C/M) or chief officer, usually also synonymous with the first mate or first officer, is a licensed mariner and head of the deck department of a merchant ship. The chief mate is customarily a watchstander and is in charge of the shi ...

, finds out why Boll purchased her and threatens to turn the captain over to the Dutch if not given half the diamonds. Pulo Besar, a notorious pirate posing as the naturalized Dutch citizen "Saint" Ebenezer, becomes aware that Kim Kim is aboard ''Gerrymander''. He informs the Dutch authorities, and they search the ship but do not find her (she is hiding on deck inside a half-filled water cask). The ship's crew find her there, and Boll insists that they treat her as a passenger. Later, he must fight one of the crew to protect her honor. Boll constantly questions Kim Kim about the diamonds. This angers her until he confides that he hopes one day to own his own ship; she tells him that the diamonds are on the island of the fire god, Vishnu. Meanwhile, Flint incites the ''Gerrymander''s crew against Boll, claiming that Kim Kims presence aboard has made their captain unbalanced. When the mutinous crew confronts Boll, he offers them Flint's half of the fortune, if they leave him in command. They agree, the mutiny ends, and Flint is imprisoned. ''Gerrymander'' immediately sets sail in search of Vishnu's island. Boll and Kim Kim become romantically involved during the voyage, but she harbors a fear that Vishnu will become angry if Boll attempts to take the diamonds. The pirates attack and seize ''Gerrymander'', taking the ship and her crew to Besar's island, where he maintains a palace, servants, and a small army. To get Kim Kim to reveal the diamonds' location, he has her lashed, while also showing her that her mother is his longtime prisoner for the same reason; she has been permanently broken and driven insane. Loyal to Boll, Kim Kim refuses to say anything. Besar instead threatens to kill the captain, and she agrees to cooperate to save Boll's life. Flint, Wilson, and another sailor from ''Gerrymander'' offer to cooperate. Besar, his pirates, Kim Kim, Flint, and Wilson set sail for Vishnu's island. Meanwhile, ''Gerrymander''s crew escape and set Boll free. They take back control of their ship and set out in pursuit. To keep from losing Besar's ship during a moonless night, Boll and two of his men row ahead in a black sail-equipped

longboat A longboat is a type of ship's boat that was in use from ''circa'' 1500 or before. Though the Royal Navy replaced longboats with launches from 1780, examples can be found in merchant ships after that date. The longboat was usually the largest bo ...

, sending back shrouded signals to ''Gerrymander''. Wilson jumps overboard and swims to Boll's longboat after overhearing where the pirates are heading. His information allows Boll and his crew to identify Vishnus island as

. Besars ship and ''Gerrymander'' approach Krakatoa, finding its volcano in the early stages of erupting. ''Gerrymander''s men and Besars pirates head ashore to be the first to reach the diamonds in Vishnu's temple near the smoking volcano's rim. Boll spots Kim Kim on the shore below, and the eruption becomes more destructive, followed by heavy

lava Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a Natural satellite, moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a Fissure vent, fractu ...

flows. He and his crew decide it is too dangerous to continue; they instead rescue Kim Kim and hurriedly up anchor and head out to sea. Besar and some of his pirates reach the temple but are killed by the worsening eruption; below, the remaining pirate crew quickly set sail. Boll knows the island's destruction will generate huge

tsunami A tsunami ( ; from , ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and underwater explosions (including detonations, ...

waves, so he orders his crew to set a

sea anchor A sea anchor (also known as a parachute anchor, drift anchor, drift sock, para-anchor or boat brake) is a device that is streamed from a boat in heavy weather. Its purpose is to stabilize the vessel and to limit progress through the water. Rathe ...

after they turn ''Gerrymander'' toward the now exploding Krakatoa. The ship successfully rides out a series of very large waves, while the pirates try to outrun them, which capsizes their ship and drowns them all. While the eruption destroyed Krakatoa, ending any hope of recovering the diamonds, Boll tells his crew that there is a 100,000-

guilder Guilder is the English translation of the Dutch and German ''gulden'', originally shortened from Middle High German ''guldin pfenninc'' (" gold penny"). This was the term that became current in the southern and western parts of the Holy Rom ...

bounty on Besar, which they will earn by handing over Besar's island to the Dutch. In his capacity as captain of the ship, Boll marries himself to Kim Kim on ''Gerrymander''s

quarterdeck The quarterdeck is a raised deck behind the main mast of a sailing ship. Traditionally it was where the captain commanded his vessel and where the ship's colours were kept. This led to its use as the main ceremonial and reception area on bo ...

while his crew looks on.

Cast

as Capt. Boll * Vera Ralston as Kim Kim * Robert Douglas as Saint Ebenezer / Pulo Besar *

Victor McLaglen Victor Andrew de Bier Everleigh McLaglen (10 December 1886 – 7 November 1959) was a British-American actor and boxer.Obituary '' Variety'', 11 November 1959, page 79. His film career spanned from the early 1920s through the 1950s, initially ...

as O'Brien * John Russell as Flint *

Buddy Baer Jacob Henry "Buddy" Baer (June 11, 1915 – July 18, 1986) was an American boxer and later an actor with parts in seventeen films, as well as roles on multiple television series in the 1950s and 1960s. In 1941, he came extremely close to b ...

as King * Claude Jarman Jr. as Chess * Grant Withers as Jason Blue * Howard Petrie as Reeber *

Paul Fix Peter Paul Fix (March 13, 1901 – October 14, 1983) was an American film and television character actor who was best known for his work in Westerns. Fix appeared in more than 100 movies and dozens of television shows over a 56-year career be ...

as Wilson * William Murphy as Ahab * Sujata Rubener as Dancer (as Sujata) *

Philip Ahn Philip Ahn (; March 29, 1905 – February 28, 1978) was an American actor and activist of Korean descent. With over 180 film and television credits between 1935 and 1978, he was one of the most recognizable and prolific Asian-American char ...

as Gusti * Stephen Bekassy as Lieutenant * Keye Luke as Pidada * Virginia Brissac as Bintang * Richard Reeves as Hoppo Two

Production

''Fair Wind to Java'' was filmed on Point Dume in Malibu,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, and on the

backlot A backlot is an area behind or adjoining a movie studio containing permanent exterior buildings for outdoor scenes in filmmaking or television productions, or space for temporary set construction. Uses Some movie studios build a wide variety of ...

in the Studio City district of

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, California. Vera Ralston claimed that shots of

inserted in the film were made by

John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), better known as John Ford, was an American film director and producer. He is regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers during the Golden Age of Hollywood, and w ...

, though other sources claim location shots were done in

Hilo Hilo () is the largest settlement in and the county seat of Hawaii County, Hawaiʻi, United States, which encompasses the Island of Hawaiʻi, and is a census-designated place (CDP). The population was 44,186 according to the 2020 census. I ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

, by Bud Thackery. Howard and Theodore Lydecker filmed the ship and volcano sequences on

Mono Lake Mono Lake ( ) is a Salt lake, saline soda lake in Mono County, California, formed at least 760,000 years ago as a terminal lake in an endorheic basin. The lack of an outlet causes Hypersaline lake, high levels of salts to accumulate in the lake ...

in Mono County, California, using large miniatures constructed for a realistic scale appearance. A 26-foot (8-meter) model of ''Gerrymander'' was built, as was a model of Besar's lateen-rigged pirate ship; a miniature volcano, constructed on one of the rocky outcrops along the lakes shoreline, served as Krakatoa. Miniature

palm tree The Arecaceae () is a family of perennial, flowering plants in the monocot order Arecales. Their growth form can be climbers, shrubs, tree-like and stemless plants, all commonly known as palms. Those having a tree-like form are colloquially c ...

s and huts were placed along the lake shore to simulate the Indonesian coast. For the final eruption, bags of cement were used to simulate Krakatoas volcanic plume. The remains of the model volcano built at Lake Mono still existed as of 2014; it had been adapted for use as a field base for bird researchers. The tsunami scenes depicting ''Gerrymander'' riding out multiple waves, and the swamping and sinking of Besars pirate ship, were created by filming both large models in the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

surf of a California beach. The 1969 disaster film '' Krakatoa, East of Java'' tells the story of an attempt to salvage a fortune in

pearl A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle (mollusc), mantle) of a living Exoskeleton, shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pear ...

s from a submerged shipwreck lying very near Krakatoa during its 1883 eruption; it bears many similarities to the plot of ''Fair Wind to Java'' (the volcano is actually located west of Java).

Theatrical release and box office

''Fair Wind to Java'' was released theatrically in the United States on April 28, 1953; in France on August 20, 1954; in Spain on July 11, 1955; and in Denmark on September 13, 1954. Republic's box office receipts totaled $1,300,000.

Restoration

After the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

Film and Television Archive restored ''Fair Wind to Java'' with funding from The Film Foundation.

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November17, 1942) is an American filmmaker. One of the major figures of the New Hollywood era, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Martin Scorsese, many accolades, including an Academ ...

presented a showing of the film in 2006, calling it "the epitome of a Saturday afternoon matinee picture".

Home media

''Fair Wind to Java'' was released on video by Hollywood Scrapheap on a region-free, limited-availability

BD-R Blu-ray Disc Recordable (BD-R) and Blu-ray Disc Recordable Erasable (BD-RE) refer to two direct-to-disk recording, direct to disc optical disc recording technologies that can be recorded on to a Blu-ray-based optical disc with an optical disc ...

in a standard movie poster DVD snapcase. As of December 2021, it was still available on disc via several different online outlets. It was also available for streaming rental via Prime Video.

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, 0045743
Photo gallery of filming of miniature ships and volcano for ''Fair Wind to Java'' at Model Ships in the Cinema''Fair Wind to Java'' opening credits and narration on YouTube''Fair Wind to Java'' scene (Captain Boll buys Kim Kim and smuggles her aboard the ''Gerrymander'') on YouTube''Fair Wind to Java'' scene (the whipping of Kim Kim) in German on YouTube
1953 films Pirate films 1950s historical adventure films Films directed by Joseph Kane Republic Pictures films Films scored by Victor Young Films based on American novels American disaster films American historical adventure films Films set in Indonesia Krakatoa Seafaring films Films about volcanoes Films set in 1883 Trucolor films 1883 eruption of Krakatoa 1950s English-language films 1950s American films English-language historical adventure films