The Planter's Wife (1952 film)
| The Planter's Wife | |
|---|---|
Original British film poster
|
|
| Directed by | Ken Annakin |
| Produced by | John Stafford |
| Written by | Guy Elmes Peter Proud |
| Based on | novel by Sidney Charles George |
| Starring |
Claudette Colbert Jack Hawkins |
| Music by | Allan Gray |
| Cinematography | Geoffrey Unsworth |
| Edited by | Alfred Roome |
|
Production
company |
Pinnacle Productions
|
| Distributed by |
General Film Distributors (UK) United Artists (USA) |
|
Release date
|
18 September 1952 (UK) 26 November 1952 (USA) |
|
Running time
|
88 min. |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
The Planter's Wife is a 1952 British drama film directed by Ken Annakin, and starring Claudette Colbert, Jack Hawkins and Anthony Steel. It is set against the backdrop of the Malayan Emergency and focuses on a rubber planter and his neighbours who are fending off a campaign of sustained attacks by Communist insurgents while also struggling to save their marriage.
The film was retitled Outpost in Malaya in the United States.
During the Malayan Emergency, communist terrorists attack an isolated rubber plantation, killing the manager. This concerns neighbouring planter Jim Frazer, who is struggling to produce rubber under constant attacks. Jim is having domestic difficulties with his American wife Liz, who is planning to take their son Mike to England and not return. British Inspector Hugh Dodson urges Liz to come clean with Jim.
Jim gives a lift to Wan Li, a Chinese man, the uncle of a little servant girl injured in the attack on Jim's neighbour. After Wan Li goes to the police, the communists murder him. Mike is almost bitten by a cobra but a mongoose kills the snake.
A bandit attacks Liz and corners her, but she shoots him with a pistol. Jim takes her home. When she awakes the plantation is under attack. Jim fights off the communists with the help of his friend Nair. Liz decides to stay in Malaya.
The movie was originally known as White Blood. This was the name given to liquid rubber as it is tapped from trees. However the title was criticised by the Colonial Office and overseas distributors because it could be interpreted as referring to racial discrimination, so it was changed to The Planter's Wife.
The film was co-financed by the NFFC.
Director Ken Annakin and a team gathered anecdotes from planters, policemen and soldiers in Malaya and shot second unit sequences there as well as Singapore and Malacca but for safety reasons during the ongoing Emergency, much of the filming was done in Ceylon. The majority of the film was shot in London at Pinewood Studios.
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Wikipedia