McVeagh of the South Seas

1914 AdventureDrama 59 minutes Directed by Cyril Bruce

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About McVeagh of the South Seas

A shipwreck near the Solomon Islands puts Harmon Darrell and his daughter Nancy in a lifeboat. On one island, Cyril McVeagh, a captain ruined by a broken affair with Nancy, runs a pearl-diving operation with his crazed mate Pearly Gates. He is about to marry Liana, a local woman Pearly also wants, when Nancy arrives and sees what he has become. Liana's former betrothed, Tanarka, leads a rising. McVeagh sends Nancy off in a boat, fights Pearly in a burning shack, and gets away when Pearly's mind clears. Liana stays, thinking McVeagh dead. He sets a course for San Francisco.

Cast & crew

More about McVeagh of the South Seas

Harry Carey wrote the film, starred as Cyril Bruce McVeagh, and directed it with Cyril Bruce. Gregory Allen was assistant director. The Progressive Motion Picture Company produced it. Alliance Films Corporation released it on 2 November 1914 in five reels. Fern Foster plays Liana, Herbert Russell plays Pearly Gates, Kathleen Butler plays Nancy Darrell, and Jack Terry plays Harmon Darrell. It was reissued as Brute Island.

Themes

  • A captain gone to drink
  • Nancy sees what he has become
  • A rising, a fire, and a course for San Francisco
  • Solomon Islands
  • Harry Carey
  • pearl diving
  • shipwreck
  • Liana
  • Brute Island

Making

Carey made the five-reeler for his own Progressive company and sold it through Alliance. The later title Brute Island is a reissue, not a second film.

Preservation

The film survives and has been issued on DVD under the reissue title Brute Island.

Notes

  • The reissue title is Brute Island. A DVD has been issued under that name.
  • AFI's synopsis also has McVeagh running a pearl-diving operation. The Wikipedia plot names the Solomon Islands.
  • Liana believes he died in the fire and stays on the island to mourn him.
  • Pearly wants Liana, and Tanarka is the betrothed McVeagh displaced.
  • The last shot of the story is a course set for San Francisco, not a wedding on the beach.

Scenes

  • Nancy comes ashore and finds McVeagh about to marry Liana.
  • McVeagh and Pearly fight in the burning shack.
  • Liana stays to mourn him while his boat turns toward San Francisco.

Also available

  • Internet Archive (silent-mcveagh-of-the-south-seas)
  • DVD under the reissue title Brute Island