Typhoon Treasure

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Typhoon Treasure is a 1938 Australian adventure film directed by Noel Monkman and starring Campbell Copelin, Gwen Munro and Joe Valli. Although the story is set in New Guinea, it was filmed mainly on the Great Barrier Reef and the Queensland coast. It was Monkman’s first dramatic feature after years making documentaries.

Plot: Alan Richards is the sole survivor of a pearling lugger wrecked during a typhoon on Pakema Reef. He treks through jungle and fights headhunters to recover missing pearls.

Production: In the mid-1930s Monkman, with F. W. Thring, planned projects and finally chose Typhoon Treasure. Filming began June 1937, with most work on location in North Queensland and some studio scenes in Sydney. Gwen Munro joined in October; Torres Strait Islander Utan had a key role. The underwater shoot proved dangerous: diver James Bell died, and photographer Bruce Cummings also died; an inquest found no negligence.

Reception and legacy: Reviews praised the direction and settings but called the story formulaic and pacing uneven. The film was released in Australia and later in Britain; versions varied and it continued to be shown in the US into the 1950s. In the 1950s it was shortened to about 40 minutes and reissued as The Perils of Pakema Reef.

Technical: Running time 89 minutes; language English; country Australia. Production company Commonwealth Film Laboratories; distributor United Artists (Australia). Release dates: September 1938 (Australia), 1943 (UK).