Photo Credit : Monique Polack
About “ Jamaica Land Of Film ” by Peter Polack
If Jamaica were an actor she would have appeared in more than one hundred and forty-one films according to a popular internet database .
The list of movies where the name Jamaica plays a prominent part is probably closer to two hundred but this number pares down substantially if it is limited to those films that were actually shot in part or whole in Jamaica .
One of the most costly films for its time at US $ 1 million was the 1916 Eastern fantasy , A Daughter of the Gods , that not only saw substantial set construction in Kingston at Fort Augusta , but one of the earliest examples of nudity by actress Annette Kellermann in mainstream cinema .
Jamaica was associated with at least one other first with The Devil ’ s Daughter in 1939 being the first American black feature film shot on location in Jamaica .
Jamaica was sufficiently popular as a location to have several productions in one year such as Live and Let Die as well as Papillon in 1973 . Jamaican based productions provided a few substantial opportunities for local actors over the decades preeminent among them being the beautiful Claudia Robinson in Wide Sargasso Sea who received popular acclaim in later reviews .
The popularity of earlier Jamaica location film productions were a consequence of low production costs , close proximity to Florida , the availability of extras , many with prior experience from the frequent productions on island , and the exotic locale . The trend has sputtered in later years from competition by location countries prepared to offer a portion of financing and tax relief .
Some Jamaican location film productions that included local actors were :
Manfish ( 1956 ) – Jamaican Eric Coverley played police officer Chavez in in this production also called Calypso in the UK .
Dr . No ( 1962 ) with parts by Reggie Carter , Marguerite Lewars and the UK transplant Timothy Moxon .
A High Wind in Jamaica ( 1965 ) with Charles Hyatt
Jamaican Gold also The Treasure Seekers ( 1979 ) with Dermot Hussey and Bobby Ghisays
The Mighty Quinn ( 1989 ) with Carl Bradshaw Marked for Death ( 1990 ) with Jimmy Cliff Prelude to a Kiss ( 1992 ) with Peter Lloyd
Belly ( 1998 ) with Mr . Vegas ( Clifford Smith ) and Sean Paul ( Sean Henriques )
Shattered Image ( 1998 ) with Leonie Forbes , Fay Ellington , Pablo Hoilett and Billy Wilmott
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