Danger Island is an American live-action adventure serial produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and originally broadcast on NBC during the 1968–69 season, as a segment of The Banana Splits Adventure Hour.[1] It was filmed in Mexico, directed by future Superman, The Goonies and Lethal Weapon director Richard Donner, and featured Jan-Michael Vincent as Lincoln 'Link' Simmons.[2]
| Danger Island | |
|---|---|
 Title card. | |
| Genre | Adventure |
| Directed by | Richard Donner |
| Starring | Frank Aletter Jan-Michael Vincent Ronne Troup Rockne Tarkington Kim Kahana Victor Eberg |
| Narrated by | Frank Aletter |
| Theme music composer | Nelson B. Winkless Jr. Ritchie Adams Mark Barkan |
| Opening theme | "Danger Island Main Theme" |
| Composers |
|
| Country of origin | United States Mexico |
| Original languages | English Nahuatl |
| No. of episodes | 36 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Joseph Barbera William Hanna |
| Producer | Edward J. Rosen |
| Production locations | Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico |
| Running time | 10 minutes (per episode) |
| Production company | Hanna-Barbera Productions |
| Original release | |
| Network | NBC |
| Release | September 7, 1968 – January 11, 1969 |
| Related | |
| The Banana Splits Adventure Hour Mystery Island | |
The series comprises a six-hour adventure yarn broken down into 36 short chapters. Each chapter is roughly ten minutes long and includes a suspenseful cliffhanger ending that is resolved in the next installment. The live-action segment was created to cut production costs on the mostly-animated hour-long show.[3]
Plot
editInspired by the 1964 series Jonny Quest (also produced by Hanna-Barbera),[4] Danger Island depicted the adventures of a trio of explorers in an unnamed tropical island group: Prof. Irwin Hayden, an archaeologist; Lincoln "Link" Simmons, the professor's youthful assistant; and Leslie, the professor's daughter, who serves as both a love interest for Link and the series' token damsel in distress.
Several years earlier, the professor's brother (also an archaeologist) disappeared in the same island chain while searching for the mythical lost city of Tobanya. They are joined on their quest by Elihu Morgan, a shipwrecked merchant mariner, and his sidekick Chongo, who speaks only in a series of monkey-like chatters and birdcalls. They are pursued by a group of bumbling, but heavily armed, modern-day pirates led by the murderous Captain Mu-Tan, and by three tribes of cannibal natives known as "the Headhunters", "the Skeleton Men" and "the Ash Men". The show spawned a popular[5] catchphrase, "Uh-oh, Chongo!", among children of that time.
Characters
editMain characters
edit- Prof. Irwin Hayden – Frank Aletter
- Lincoln 'Link' Simmons – Jan-Michael Vincent (as Michael Vincent)
- Leslie Hayden – Ronne Troup
- Elihu Morgan – Rockne Tarkington
- Chongo – Kim Kahana (as Kahana)
Villains
edit- Captain Mu-Tan – Victor Eberg
- Chu – Rodrigo Arrendondo
Home media
editThe first episode was released on the DVDs Saturday Morning Cartoons 1970s Vol. 2 & Saturday Morning Cartoons: 1960s-1980s Collection.
References
edit- ^ Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 109–111. ISBN 978-1476665993.
- ^ "Cinematic Lost Civilizations" (PDF). Retrieved 29 April 2015.
- ^ Woolery, George W. (1983). Children's Television: The First Thirty-Five Years, 1946-1981, Part I: Animated Cartoon Series. Scarecrow Press. p. 34. ISBN 0-8108-1557-5. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
- ^ The history of Danger Island
- ^ TV Tropes:Banana Splits