Historic 1930's Pitcairn Island Longboat video & Errol Flynn clip

[Clyderigged]

Came across this video of a 1933 movie titled "In the Wake of the Bounty". Some great longboat scenes!!!

http://australianscreen.com.au/titles/wake-bounty/clip3/

From the website:


Curator’s clip description

The movie shifts abruptly from dramatised recreation of the mutiny to a travelogue about the Pitcairn Islands, where Charles and Elsa Chauvel explore the legacy of the mutineers. The boat-building skills, Chauvel’s narration tells us, come directly from the mutineers.Curator’s notes

Tasman Higgins’ camerawork is remarkably good here, in what must have been difficult circumstances – on and off boats, climbing peaks for the best angles, or setting up on a promontory to shoot the landing in rough seas. The scenes from Pitcairn were extremely rare, and remain the most important in the film, in historical terms.There are 3 clips from the film, including one of Errol Flynn in his debut as Fletcher Christian...certainly a long way from Captain Blood ;), but he had to start somewhere. The web site is called australianscreen and is a look at the Australian film and television industry, from its earliest days to the present. The are over 2000 film clips.

[Michael Beckman]

I love longboats. Interesting to see them in actual use.

[The Bigfella]

What a fascinating clip - thanks Jamie.

You would think that a bit of railway line would have helped retrieve the boats - and that a bit of gelignite might have made things easier around the beach. Some of those oars took a fair pasting on the rocks.

What a pity that the island descended into a pit of pedophilia eh?

[rbgarr]

I wonder what the rise and fall of tide is on Pitcairn, if any.

[Clyderigged]

Yeah Bigfella it is too bad about the problems that are plaguing Pitcairn. Still, the film displays some incredible boatmanship and sea sense. I came across the clip while looking for a way to purchase a DVD of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's production "Captain James Cook". I was involved with the filming as I was 2nd Mate on the HMAV Bounty that was being used to portray the Endeavor, Discovery, and Resolution. Boy, we never really could remember which ship we were unless you looked at the call sheets or the name board of the ships boats (which the set dressers were always changing).

http://www.abc.net.au/corp/history/gal80s3.htm (http://www.abc.net.au/corp/history/gal80s3.htm) I am the one sitting on the capstan in the background splicing - What a way to spend 5 months
in Tahiti.

http://www.thesquarerigger.com/images/Cap21.jpeg

[Lew Barrett]

Great clip. Interesting thread. Thanks.

[Hughman]

What a way to spend 5 months
in Tahiti.


(How do I get this machine to do a proper razzberry...)

Thanks for the link, Jamie, I got lost in there fro an hour!

[Tom Galyen]

Liked the film.

Could you tell me why the crew in the background of the photo, you of course included, are in shirts and the two officers in the foreground are bundled up in watch capes and mufflers?

I think someone on the staff made a boo-boo.

Tom G.

coxswain of the ships jolly boat "3 Sisters"

[J. Dillon]

Thanks for the site very interesting. I wonder if that movie is still available ? The Clark Gable, Charles laughton production was pretty good too. I saw one version where the native women were topless. Just some hair in the right places or wrong depending on how one views such things. ;)

Jamie,just when is the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's production "Captain James Cook". going to release and do you know if it will reach America ?

JD

[The Bigfella]

The topless version was on cable here recently - several runs.

The ABC series just screened here - I only caught the last episode. Very good.

Here it is.

http://shop.abc.net.au/browse/product.asp?productid=740460

Make sure you get the world standard DVD

[Clyderigged]

First off, thanks so very much Bigfella for the link to the ABC site. I now know what I want for Christmas. I really had a great time with the Aussie crew during the filming. In fact it is where I was first introduced to the Oil -Midnight Oil that is.
Any way, in answer to Tom's question, I do have on a heavy wool vest and heavy cotton shirt. It just doesn't really appear that well in the small photo. Here are a couple of photos of me wearing the kit for the scene where Sgt. Gibson (Steven Grives) and I are trying to catch fish for the very ill Captain Cook while in the Arctic. It was pretty bad being all rugged up in wool blankets and such when we were filming just off the coast of Tetiaroa, just north of Moorea.


http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2198/2066474987_b1e3c0f528_o.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2231/2066474989_590c1a155d_o.jpg

As you can see the original working title was "The Wind and the Stars". A title I really liked vs just "Captain James Cook". Here are 2 more . One during a break in filming as the "sailmaker"
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2284/2066474991_39a9312419_o.jpg
And one with a pipe that might give Joe CSOH a run for his money.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2058/2066474983_ebd5803e83_o.jpg

I have been told that the ABC mini series has been broadcast on Turners channel. It is fairly historically accurate. I even have a brief nude scene, that my Mother in law's comment was to my wife - "he does have a great tush". Holly Gronicles :D

[webfoot]

http://i7.tinypic.com/6tlaezo.jpg
http://i5.tinypic.com/73nn33a.jpg

We stopped there in '85 after Easter Island. We couldn't anchor so we took turns going ashore. The islanders make an event of coming out and the ride in is pretty intense. The longboat waits for the perfect wave and then surfs in, landing on the boat ramp. Wanna talk about seamanship!!!
The islanders (there were about 43 at the time) were mostly desendents of the mutineers and are Seventh Day Adventists requiring no alcohol.

I couldn't open the video, but here is a little history I compiled at the time;

When the mutineers arrived, they had brought with them 6 Tahitian men and twelve women. They were all treated like slaves which eventually led to revolt, in which most were killed. Fletcher Christian died in 1793 and by 1794 only 4 of the mutineers were left with 10 women and their chidren. The next 4 years were peaceful except for occasional outbreaks by the women. One of the mutineers, William McCoy, made a distillery, and in 1799 two of them killed the third in self-defense, and McCoy drowned himself. The two remaining two remaining were Edward Young and John Adams. In 1800, Young died of Asthma leaving Adams. He was now the leader of a community of 10 women and 23 children. He turned out to be a good leader, teching farming and religion, and in 1814 the island was discovered by British ships. They were so impressed by by the example Adams set they decided not to arrest him as a mutineer.

[Clyderigged]

Webfoot,

Which ship were you on when you visited Pitcairn in the mid-80s? I know, Captain Kimberly and the brig Romance, visited Pitcairn several times during their world cruises. I believe Captain Moreland and the Picton Castle have often visited carrying supplies and items for trade.

[Stephen]

I was there in 1990 on the Pacific Swift. This was just previous to the unfortunate events previously referred to.
We actually took on one of the islanders for the rest of the leg to Hawaii - Tom Christian's daughter Raylene came with us. It was quite an emotional goodbye when we left Pitcairn.
I'll see if I can dig up a couple photos...

[webfoot]

I was on the schooner, Appledore III, that is Capt. Herb Smith holding the camera. We went on to Tahiti and actually saw the replica of the Bounty when we stopped in Vanuatu.

Chris