East of Sumatra 1953
As a young man, Louis L’Amour wasn’t exactly untraveled. “Aside from wandering over much of the west I’d been through the West Indies, to England and back, to Italy and the Netherlands and back. I’d gone around the world, touching Japan, China, Borneo, Java, Sumatra, the Straits Settlements, Malaya, India, Arabia, Egypt, etc.”
From these experiences came Louis’ first movie, EAST OF SUMATRA, in 1953 with Jeff Chandler and Marilyn Maxwell. It was written as an original story and had not yet been published. Also in the cast were Anthony Quinn, Suzan Ball, Scatman Crothers, Peter Graves, and Earl Holliman.
The storyline: Duke Mullane, manager of a Malayan tin mine, goes to a little-known island to open a new mine in the jungle. Initially, the natives there are friendly, especially dancer Minyora…who proves to be the fiance of local ruler King Kiang. Alas, a series of unfortunate incidents changes Kiang’s attitude to hostility, and Duke is stranded with his crew, Minyora, and his old flame Lory…who’s now engaged to his boss! Are romantic triangles more deadly than poisoned blowgun darts?
