The Secret of the Purple Reef

The Secret of the Purple Reef
Directed by	William Witney
Produced by	Gene Corman
Written by	Harold "Yabo" Yablonsky
Based on	The Silent Reefs 1952-53 short story The Saturday Evening Post  by Dorothy Cottrell
Starring	Richard Chamberlain Peter Falk Robert Earl Jones Jeff Richards
Music by	Buddy Bregman
Cinematography	Kay Norton
Edited by	Peter C. Johnson
Production company	Associated Producers Incorporated
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release dates	December 11, 1960
Running time	81 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$86,000

The Secret of The Purple Reef is a 1960 - 20th Century Fox CinemaScope DeLuxe Color film based on a novel by Dorothy Cottrell entitled The Silent Reefs. It starred soon-to-be-famous actors, Richard Chamberlain and Peter Falk. A caribbean based mystery involving the disappearance of a ship called the "Cloud".

Plot

Two brothers Dean (Richard Chamberlain) and Mark Christopher (Jeff Richards) show up in a mid '50s four door Citroen Traction Avant in early era San Juan, Puerto Rico. They arrive to solve the mystery, the circumstances of their father's drowning death in the Caribbean. The action begins to perk up as the two brothers run up against a gang of unruly pirates who seem to know more than they reveal. One of the film's highlights are 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 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

Legacy

Although considered a "B" film, it is notable in that The Secret of The Purple Reef introduces Richard Chamberlain and Peter Falk to moviegoers and appears as part of their early film career.

See also

• List of American films of 1960

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

• The Secret of the Purple Reef at the Internet Movie Database
• The Secret of the Purple Reef at AllMovie
• The Secret of the Purple Reef at the TCM Movie Database
• The Secret of the Purple Reef at the American Film Institute Catalog