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George's Island (film)
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Wikipedia article
'George's Island' is a Canadian drama film. It was shot in and around Halifax, Nova Scotia.[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097419/?ref_=ttfc_fc_tt IMDb]
Plot
Ten-year-old George (Nathaniel Moreau) lives in a dilapidated home near the Halifax Harbour with his grandfather Captain Waters (Ian Bannen). Captain Waters is a wheelchair-using former sailor. He is fond of telling George ghost stories. He volunteers an old story about the time he saw Captain Kidd's ghost out in Halifax Harbour. When George learns in school about Kidd's supposed buried treasure out on nearby George's Island, he volunteers the story, and is punished by nosy school teacher Miss Birdwood (Sheila McCarthy). Miss Birdwood believes that the root of George's outburst is "trouble at home." She launches her own sneaky investigation to find out the truth. When she discovers that Captain Waters has a fondness for grog, she reports the family to Mr. Droonfield (Maury Chaykin) at Child Services. While Mr. Droonfield determines a course of action, George is temporarily placed with a foster family, the Beanes (portrayed by Brian Downey and Irene Hogan) who keep him locked up in a basement cell. On Halloween night, George and the Beanes' other adoptee, Bonnie (Vickie Ridler), escape with Captain Waters and head for safety on George's Island. Miss Birdwood and Mr. Droonfield give chase, but they accidentally awaken the ghosts of Captain Kidd (Gary Reineke) and his men, who think that the intruders are after their chest of gold.[http://www.canuxploitation.com/review/georgeisle.html Canucxploitation]
Cast
*Ian Bannen as Captain Waters
*Sheila McCarthy as Miss Birdwood
*Maury Chaykin as Mr. Droonfield
*Nathaniel Moreau as George Waters
*Vickie Ridler as Bonnie
*Brian Downey as Mr. Beane
*Irene Hogan as Mrs. Beane
*Gary Reineke as Captain Kidd
Inspiration
'George's Island' is an actual island in the Halifax Harbour. Local maritime folklore holds tales of pirates seeking revenge over buried treasure stolen from the island. These tales inspired the script for the film.[http://www.cbc.ca/archives/categories/arts-entertainment/film/bright-lights-political-fights-the-canadian-film-industry/gone-in-three-weeks.html CBC Digital Archives: George's Island: Canadian movie gone in three weeks]
Reception
Upon its release, the film went relatively unnoticed. It was overshadowed by films with larger production and advertising budgets. It was only shown in Canadian theatres for three weeks.[http://www.cbc.ca/archives/categories/arts-entertainment/film/bright-lights-political-fights-the-canadian-film-industry/gone-in-three-weeks.html CBC Digital Archives: George's Island: Canadian movie gone in three weeks]
George's Island was judged the best live-action film at the 1990 Chicago International Festival of Children's Films.[http://www.cbc.ca/archives/categories/arts-entertainment/film/bright-lights-political-fights-the-canadian-film-industry/gone-in-three-weeks.html CBC Digital Archives: George's Island: Canadian movie gone in three weeks]
Currently, there are no critical reviews of the film on Rotten Tomatoes.
References
Category:Canadian children's films
Category:Films set on islands
Category:Canadian drama films
Category:English-language Canadian films
Category:Films directed by Paul Donovan
Category:1989 children's films
Category:1989 drama films
Category:1989 films
Category:1980s English-language films
Category:1980s Canadian films
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