''Tuna Clipper'' is a 1949 American

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

William Beaudine William Washington Beaudine (January 15, 1892 – March 18, 1970) was an American film director. He was one of Hollywood's most prolific directors, turning out a remarkable 179 feature-length films in a wide variety of genres. He is best know ...

and starring

Roddy McDowall Roderick Andrew Anthony Jude McDowall (17 September 1928 – 3 October 1998) was a British-American actor whose career spanned over 270 screen and stage roles across over 60 years. Born in London, he began his acting career as a child in his n ...

, Elena Verdugo and Roland Winters. It was one of a series of films McDowall made for Monogram.

Plot

A young man goes to work on a

tuna A tuna (: tunas or tuna) is a saltwater fish that belongs to the tribe Thunnini, a subgrouping of the Scombridae ( mackerel) family. The Thunnini comprise 15 species across five genera, the sizes of which vary greatly, ranging from the bul ...

boat to earn money to pay off debts. When his friend Frankie Pereira fails to place the wager of a ruffian named Ransom at the racetrack and the 10-to-1 longshot wins, Alec MacLennan is left holding the bag after Frankie flees. Forced to pay off the debt, Alec takes a job on the Pereira family's tuna fishing boat. Frankie's tough brother Silvestre objects to Alec's presence and bullies him. After a while, their sister Bianca notices that the hard-working Alec never has any of his salary. She finds out how he is being extorted by Ransom, who is doing likewise to her brother after finding Frankie working as a stable boy at the track. Ransom's chicanery discovered, Alec is forgiven by all.

Cast

as Alec MacLennan * Elena Verdugo as Bianca Pereira * Roland Winters as E.J. Ransom * Peter Mamakos as Capt. Manuel Pereira * Rick Vallin as Silvestre Pereira * Michael Vallon as Papa Pereira * Russell Simpson as Capt. Fergus MacLennan * Doris Kemper as Anne MacLennan * Dickie Moore as Frankie Pereira * Richard Avonde as Pete, a Pereira crewman *

Victor Sen Yung Victor Sen Yung (born Victor Cheung Young or Sen Yew Cheung; ; October 18, 1915 – body discovered November 9, 1980) was an American character actor, best known for playing Jimmy Chan in the Charlie Chan films and Hop Sing in the western seri ...

as Oriental Dock Worker

Reception

The film was reviewed by

François Truffaut François Roland Truffaut ( , ; ; 6 February 1932 – 21 October 1984) was a French filmmaker, actor, and critic. He is widely regarded as one of the founders of the French New Wave. He came under the tutelage of film critic Andre Bazin as a ...

who described it as "A scenario whose charm lies in its modesty and honesty".Dixon p.4

References

Bibliography

* Dixon, Wheeler Winston. ''Early Film Criticism of François Truffaut''. Indiana University Press, 1993. * Marshall, Wendy L. ''William Beaudine: From Silents to Television''. Scarecrow Press, 2005.

External links

* 1949 films American drama films American black-and-white films 1949 drama films Films directed by William Beaudine Monogram Pictures films Seafaring films Films produced by Lindsley Parsons 1940s English-language films 1940s American films {{1940s-US-drama-film-stub