Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageEast of Sumatra (1953)
Director: Budd Boetticher
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
A striking opening sequence has Chandler, a ruthlessly efficient mining engineer, summarily shoot a member of his crew for turning up drunk and endangering lives on the site by playing silly games with dynamite. When the crew is packed off to prospect on a remote Pacific island, budget limitations begin to show in the terrible backdrop of rocks and jungle as their plane lands; and before too long, box-office considerations loom large in the curvaceous shape of a jungle princess disporting herself in a rock pool. The Hawksian theme nevertheless survives, sporadically taking fire in the mutually respectful relationship between Chandler and the island's king (Quinn), a man of honour and some civilisation, who has ceded the mineral rights against a promise of medical supplies for his people. When the penny-pinching head office decides to palm off some tacky trade goods instead, the jungle drums naturally begin to throb and poisoned darts to fly. It's a typical concoction, in other words, not without its moments thanks to Boetticher, with excellent performances from Chandler and Quinn.Author: TM
Cast & crew
Director: Budd Boetticher
Producer: Albert J Cohen
Cast: Jeff Chandler, Marilyn Maxwell, Anthony Quinn, Suzan Ball, Peter Graves, John Sutton full cast
Genre(s): Action/Adventure
Duration: 82 mins
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Time Out's 101 Films of the Decade
Ten years, thousands of movies and millions of dollars in international box office, and it all boils down to this
Martin Provost discusses 'Séraphine'
Trevor Johnston talks to the director of 'Séraphine' about bringing a little known French painter back to life
Our verdict on Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones
Peter Jackson ends a triumphant decade with a sentimental misfire with this lush Alice Sebold adaptation
On the set of Ken Loach's 'Route Irish'
Dave Calhoun meets Ken Loach on the set of his forthcoming Iraq war movie
Stephen Poliakoff discusses 'Glorious 39'
Stephen Poliakoff’s ‘Glorious 39’ is his first film for cinema since ‘Food of Love’ in 1997. Dave Calhoun met him
Is 'Paranormal Activity' the new 'Blair Witch'?
How does a film go from DIY experiment to box-office smash? 'Paranormal Activity' director Oren Peli explains
Steven Soderbergh on 'The Informant!' and 'The Girlfriend Experience'
We talk to Steven Soderbergh about his two forthcoming films: one featuring a porn star, the other a chubby Matt Damon
A gateway to all things 'New Moon'
In anticipation of 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon', Time Out is offering the chance to pick up a limited edition pack with three exclusive magazines and a free poster.
The films that deserve a TV spin-off
With Roland Emmerich suggesting he'd like to make a '2012' TV spin-off, we propose some more movie-to-TV serialisations
Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam
In celebration of the release of Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', read our rundown of fifty classic feature length animations
What do you think?
Post your review now