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East of Sumatra

  • 1953
  • Approved
  • 1h 22m
IMDb RATING
5.3/10
315
YOUR RATING
Jeff Chandler, Suzan Ball, and Marilyn Maxwell in East of Sumatra (1953)
Jungle AdventureActionAdventureRomance

Tough Duke Mullane tries to open a new mine in the jungle, but the natives turn hostile...except for one lissome dancer.Tough Duke Mullane tries to open a new mine in the jungle, but the natives turn hostile...except for one lissome dancer.Tough Duke Mullane tries to open a new mine in the jungle, but the natives turn hostile...except for one lissome dancer.

  • Director
    • Budd Boetticher
  • Writers
    • Louis L'Amour
    • Jack Natteford
    • Frank Gill Jr.
  • Stars
    • Jeff Chandler
    • Marilyn Maxwell
    • Anthony Quinn
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    5.3/10
    315
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Budd Boetticher
    • Writers
      • Louis L'Amour
      • Jack Natteford
      • Frank Gill Jr.
    • Stars
      • Jeff Chandler
      • Marilyn Maxwell
      • Anthony Quinn
    • 9User reviews
    • 3Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Photos9

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    Top cast25

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    Jeff Chandler
    Jeff Chandler
    • Duke Mullane
    Marilyn Maxwell
    Marilyn Maxwell
    • Lory Hale
    Anthony Quinn
    Anthony Quinn
    • Kiang
    Suzan Ball
    Suzan Ball
    • Minyora
    John Sutton
    John Sutton
    • Daniel Catlin
    Jay C. Flippen
    Jay C. Flippen
    • Mac
    Scatman Crothers
    Scatman Crothers
    • Baltimore
    • (as Scat Man Crothers)
    Aram Katcher
    Aram Katcher
    • Atib
    Anthony Eustrel
    Anthony Eustrel
    • Clyde
    • (as Antony Eustrel)
    Eugene Iglesias
    Eugene Iglesias
    • Paulo
    • (as Gene Iglesias)
    Peter Graves
    Peter Graves
    • Cowboy
    Earl Holliman
    Earl Holliman
    • Cupid
    • (as Henry Earl Holliman)
    James Craven
    James Craven
    • Drake
    John Warburton
    John Warburton
    • Gregory Keith
    Michael Dale
    • Co-Pilot
    • (uncredited)
    My Lee Haulani
    • Native Girl
    • (uncredited)
    Charles Horvath
    Charles Horvath
    • Corcoran
    • (uncredited)
    Mailoa Kalili
    • Native Man
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Budd Boetticher
    • Writers
      • Louis L'Amour
      • Jack Natteford
      • Frank Gill Jr.
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews9

    5.3315
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    Featured reviews

    2HotToastyRag

    Just another boring '50s flick

    It's confession time here on Hot Toasty Rag: When I rented this movie, I misread the title and thought it was called East of Sinatra. Needless to say, I was very excited-and very surprised when there was absolutely no mention of Ol' Blue Eyes throughout the entire movie!

    The real plot follows Jeff Chandler to a Malaysian mine as he deals with the natives, who are pretty tame for the most past, two women throwing themselves at him, and a king who's more than willing to cooperate and be his friend. In other words, East of Sumatra is a pretty boring movie. Anthony Quinn plays King Kiang-feel free to roll your eyes as he adds another ethnicity to his roster-and while he extends his arm in friendship, the fly in the ointment is his girlfriend Suzan Ball, who for some reason is more interested in Jeff Chandler than Tony. I know, feel free to roll your eyes again.

    Unless you like really cheesy, boring 1950s movies that randomly take place in the jungle in a vain attempt to recapture the thrill of Red Dust, you probably won't like this movie. I'm sure I don't have to tell you how disappointed I was.
    7henryforastero

    East of Sumatra aims to be an entertaining film and it succeeds.

    Although directed by Budd Boetticher, East of Sumatra is obviously not a western. It is a film of adventure, romance and violent conflict set on a small, imaginary island to the east of the known and already exploited Indonesian archipelagos. This time it was not rubber, oil, gold, or emeralds that the businessmen who traveled the world in search of riches or raw materials for the insatiable jaws of Western industries, and us, the consumers, coveted.

    In this case, the mecca of the expedition led by the rough operator of the company, Duke Mullane (Fred Chandler), was the obtaining of tin, to make bronze and material for soldering electronic circuits. The island is inhabited by aborigines with whom one must negotiate to obtain labor and prevent them from starting a war against these intruders from the West. The king of the tribe is Kiang, played by Anthony Quinn, about to begin his most brilliant stage as a character actor and movie star.

    Duke Mullane is saddled with a badly ended love affair with Lory Hale (Marylin Maxwell) who is at that juncture the fiancée of Mullane's chief, Daniel Catlin played by the ever menacing John Sutton. And of course, Mullane gets entangled with the future queen and fiancée of Kiang, the half-breed Myniora (Suzan Ball) who, dancing in honour of the guests, set fire to the studio that simulated the residence of the tribe of suspicious aborigines.

    There are other familiar faces in the cast, the efficient veteran Jay C Flippen and the then young Earl Holliman credited as Henry Earl Holliman. And there is also Peter Graves, in a supporting role without relief but who acted efficiently, as Mullane's loyal and balanced assistant, Cowboy.

    I am a fan of the Hollywood classics of the 1930 - 1960 period and it is very difficult to be objective when watching these films. There are always familiar faces, like images from a huge family photo album, and the mind finds delight in re-evoking those old films. Even if they are not perfect.
    4bkoganbing

    Jungle Fever In Indonesia

    East Of Sumatra was one of those potboiler stories that Universal cast Jeff Chandler in while he was under contract there. The story is a romantic pentagon set in the exotic location of an Indonesian jungle with all the men acting with exceedingly high testosterone levels.

    John Sutton who is engaged to Marilyn Maxwell without knowing she was once Chandler's girl becomes Chandler's boss on a new job set for one of the thousands of islands in the Indonesian archipelago where the rule of Achmed Sukarno hasn't gotten hold yet. The island is ruled by King Anthony Quinn who has a special girl in Suzan Ball. But Ball is checking out Chandler and the rest of his crew as they start a tin mining operation.

    No need to go into all the details, but it all blows up quite nicely with the natives making war against Chandler and his crew with Sutton stupidly bringing Maxwell along into harm's and Jeff's way. It ends in tragedy for one of the five principal cast members.

    The film is based on a Louis L'Amour story which since he wrote westerns may have begun as that and Budd Boetticher directed East of Sumatra. Both these guys should have stuck to the American west.
    searchanddestroy-1

    Engaging little adventure yarn, from western guys

    Western specialists wrote and directed this NON western movie; I speak of Budd Boetticher behind the camera and Louis L'Amour for the story. It is not a western but it could be in the pace and characters depiction, symphony. It is tough, efficient, fast paced, and offering a Jeff Candler in great shape, facing Anthony Quinn, for the first and only time in his career. Yes, good adventure film that proves Boetticher was not only good in westerns. Not big surprises though. So, don't get too much excited, just sit, have a good drink and enjoy. Excellent production design. Very rare gem, strangely, even unavailable on DVD. I took it from a French channel in the eighties.
    7coltras35

    East of Sumatra

    Duke Mullane (Jeff Chandler), manager of a Malayan tin mine, goes to a little-known island to open a new mine in the jungle. Initially, the natives are friendly, especially dancer Minyora (Suzan Ball), who is soon to be married to local ruler King Kiang (Anthony Quinn). The problem is she's too friendly and comes on strong at poor Duke ( what can a man do!!). He resists as he knows Kiang gets green eyed quick and can get mad ...

    A series of unfortunate incidents changes Kiang's attitude to hostility, such as the fire started with Duke's match found nearby. Naturally, Kiang thinks it's Duke's doing, thus Duke is stranded with his crew, Minyora, and his old flame Lory (Marilyn Maxwell), who is engaged to his boss, as Kiang intends to let them starve. He destroys their plane ... things are going to get worse quick ...

    Romantic triangles, poisoned darts, an idiotically pompous boss who hates the hero, a jeolous King and a flirty native lady who likes to get the temperatures up! It's all here in this solid adventure yarn that builds its characters and the situation steadily, though it can get talky and nothing really thrilling happens in the first half - in the second half, things pick up in terms of excitement. The blowdart hitting Chandler's men came across painful as the recipient of the sharp little things expressed absolute pain! A little grittiness there. The fight between Chandler and Quinn in the finale is really well-staged and exciting.

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    Related interests

    Jack Black, Kevin Hart, Dwayne Johnson, and Karen Gillan in Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017)
    Jungle Adventure
    Bruce Willis in Die Hard (1988)
    Action
    Still frame
    Adventure
    Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca (1942)
    Romance

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

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    • Quotes

      Cowboy: Just think, within slingin' distance of a dead cat, there's millions o' unborn beer cans! Nature sure is wonderful.

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    FAQ14

    • How long is East of Sumatra?Powered by Alexa

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • September 23, 1953 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Gefangene des Dschungels
    • Filming locations
      • Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA
    • Production company
      • Universal International Pictures (UI)
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 22m(82 min)
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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