Savage Shadows

Savage Shadow
Savage Shadow
Directed by	Henri Bource
Written by	Henri Bource
Produced by	Henri Bource
Cinematography	Henri Bource; Ron Taylor
Distributed by	Seven Keys
Release date	October 1969;
Running time	90 mins
Country	Australia
Language	English

Savage Shadows is a 1969 Australian documentary film. It was based on the shark attack on diver Henri Bource in 1964.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6]

In 1969 the distributor, Andrew Gaty, announced he had rejected an American sale offer from NBC of $100,000 declaring the film would make $3 million.^[7] He sold it for $260,000.^[8]

The film ran 90 minutes but was cut down to 53 minutes for TV.^[9]

Reception

Colin Bennett of The Age wrote "too long, patchily coloured, this 93-minute piece of anti tourism has a conventional, US-slanted commentary and underwater photography that cannot stand up to Cousteau's."^[10]

The Sydney Sun Herald called it "compelling" with a "well made script".^[11]

References

^ "Shark victim satisfactory". Canberra Times. 1964-12-01. p. 17. Retrieved 2017-12-05.
^ "Untitled". Canberra Times. 1967-01-07. p. 8. Retrieved 2017-12-05.
^ "Untitled". Canberra Times. 1964-12-02. p. 3. Retrieved 2017-12-05.
^ "SHARK TAKES DIVER'S LEG". Canberra Times. 1964-11-30. p. 1. Retrieved 2017-12-05.
^ COLLINS, PETER (2014-12-06). "Witnesses recall Lady Julia Percy Island shark attack, 50 years on". The Standard. Retrieved 2017-12-05.
^ ""SAVAGE SHADOWS"". The Australian Jewish News. Vol. XXXVI, no. 6. Victoria, Australia. 17 October 1969. p. 37. Retrieved 24 June 2025 – via National Library of Australia.
^ Kenihan, Geoffrey (16 January 1969). "$100,000 'no' on shark film". The Age. p. 2.
^ Bennett, Colin (7 October 1969). "He wants to be a big man in films". The Age. p. 2.
^ "Shark attack re-enacted". The Age. 15 October 1970. p. 33.
^ Bennett, Colin (10 October 1969). "new films". The Age. p. 2.
^ "Savage Shadows". The Sydney Morning Herald. 14 December 1969. p. 120.