Docteur Caraïbes is an European adventure series made in 1968 for ORTF (Office de radiodiffusion-télévision française) and composed of 4 x 90-minute TV movies: L'Or de l'Astrolabe, Amende honorable, Le Pigeon bleu and L'Homme à l'Albatros. Each was split into 3 x 30-minute episodes. ORTF aired Docteur Caraïbes on the Deuxième chaîne from January 17, 1973 to February 12, 1973 as 12 half-hour episodes. Jean-Pierre Decourt, the director of Rocambole (1964-1965), Lagardère (1967) and five episodes of Arsène Lupin (1971-1974), helmed the series. The scenario was written by Marcel Jullian (Le Cerveau, Les Enquêteurs associés), Jean-Pierre Decourt and Raymond Jacquet. Filmed in English and dubbed in French, Docteur Caraïbes was co-produced by Telecip and ORTF with British film laboratories Humphries Holdings Ltd and Italian company Firmfilm.
Humphries planned to expand its activities into the production field. Man with the Albatross/The Man and the Albatross (L'Homme à l'Albatros) was chosen as the first of four Dr. Caribbean feature film versions of the TV movies due to be distributed in the UK and Commonwealth between 1968 and 1969 (1). When the Deuxième chaîne showed Docteur Caraïbes, Telecip was the successful producer of Les Nouvelles Aventures de Vidocq (1971-1974), Aux frontières du possible (1971-1974) and La Demoiselle d'Avignon (1972) with Louis Velle and Marthe Keller. Written by Louis Velle with author and scriptwriter Frédérique Hébrard, his wife, La Demoiselle d'Avignon gave the actor, playwright and writer a huge popularity (2). The same year, French viewers saw him in Le 16 à Kerbriant and L'Homme qui revient de loin (a Telecip production). He was chosen for the lead role of Docteur Caraïbes by Jean-Pierre Decourt after Jean Piat, the star of Lagardère, turned it down (3).
Louis Velle plays Dr. Marc Saint-Jacques, aka "Doctor Caribbean", a physician-scientist working in Guadeloupe. Marc is caught in a shooting on the beach where a sailor named Jeff is targeted by mobsters in white hats and suits (the "Sea Fleas gang") and their boss Neron. Inspecteur Philippe ("Phil"), a friend of Marc, interrogates him and Jeff. Saint-Jacques investigates on his own while Dr. Laura Méline, his new assistant, would prefer him to focus on science. Neron works for Denniger, an enigmatic millionaire. Jeff is played by Jess Hahn, an American actor settled in France. The French public watched him in numerous cinema and television productions done in Europe such as The Trial (1962), Topkapi (1964), Les Barbouzes (1964), Les Saintes Chéries (1965-1970), L'Île Mystérieuse (1973), and many others.
English actress Suzanna Leigh (Laura Méline) was seen in Paradise, Hawaiian Style (1966), Deadlier Than the Male (1967) or The Persuaders! (1971). Italian character actor Tiberio Murgia (After The Fox) is Tiberio, a junk dealer. Murgia and Jess Hahn were in Le Saint prend l'affût (1966). Georges Aminel, an actor of Martinican origin, plays Phil. Aminel was a member of the Comédie-Française from 1967 to 1972. Best remembered as the French voice of Darth Vader in three Star Wars movies, he dubbed Yul Brynner or Orson Welles. Denniger is portrayed by Paul Massie, a Canadian-born actor. His resume includes Orders to Kill (1958), The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll (1960), The Rebel (1961) and roles in No Hiding Place (1961), The Avengers (1965), etc. In 1974 Paul Massie changed careers to be a theatre professor for the University of South Florida.
Jean Négroni (Neron) was mainly a theatre actor and director but he appeared on television and in movies, amongst which Le Deuxième Souffle (1966), L'Alpagueur (1975) and I... comme Icare (1979). He was the narrator of La Jetée (1962) and the French dubbing voice of Ben Kingsley in several films. In L'Or de l'Astrolabe, Marc and Laura help Jeff and Rosa (Viviane Ventura) against Neron, who covets a treasure. The friendship of Marc and Jeff is put to the test in Amende honorable. The latter must pay a big fine for rum trafficking, though he's innocent, or he'll lose his boat. In Le Pigeon bleu, Laura is under the surveillance of Neron's chauffeur (François Jaubert), CIA agents Malan (Bill Hutchinson) and Watson (Matt Zimmerman, Thunderbirds), and a photographer (Armando Francioli). Hitchcock actress Tippi Hedren (The Birds, Marnie) is the special guest star of L'Homme à l'Albatros as Sonia.
The other main actors of Docteur Caraïbes are Gino Lazzari (Red) and Philippe de la Cruz (Apollino). Exec produced by Robert Velin. English version produced by Donald Getz. Michel Wyn, the line producer and second unit director, later helmed La Demoiselle d'Avignon and L'Homme qui revient de loin. Music composed by Jack Arel (Aux frontières du possible) and performed by Le Grand Orchestre de Paul Mauriat, conducted by Pierre Dutour. End title Sous un ciel de feu sung by Herbert Léonard. Music by Jack Arel, Lyrics by Vline Buggy (4). Cinematography by André Dumaître. Editing by Renée Lichtig (Coplan FX18 casse tout) and Peter Sykes (The Avengers), assisted with Phil Stevens, Clarin Scott and John House. Stunts by Daniel Perche. Docteur Caraïbes was shot in Guadeloupe (Pointe-à-Pitre, Deshaies...) from May to August 1968.
The expansion of Humphries Holdings didn't turn as intended. On Docteur Caraïbes, the company is only credited for its laboratory work (not as a co-producer). A cinema version of L'Or de l'Astrolabe surfaced in French theaters in July 1970 under the title of Docteur Caraïbes. The four TV movies were released in France on VHS in the 1990s by Koba Films Vidéo (5). The 12 half-hour episodes are available on DVD since 2021 thanks to Elephant Films and its collection Les Joyaux de la Télévision. They are the best way to enjoy the entertaining Docteur Caraïbes. Louis Velle is a perfect action hero with panache and humour. Jess Hahn is an excellent sidekick. Suzanna Leigh is basically a James Bond girl of the era. Georges Aminel, Paul Massie and Jean Negroni are great. Director Jean-Pierre Decourt continued to helm important TV productions like Schulmeister, espion de l'empereur (1971-1974), Les évasions célèbres (1972), Trois Mâts pour l'Aventure (1973), Michel Strogoff (1975) or Kidnapped (1978).
Louis Velle returned to the adventure genre with L'étrange Monsieur Duvallier (1979), a series based on the Raner novels by Claude Klotz. After La Demoiselle d'Avignon, Frédérique Hébrard and Louis Velle did Le Mari de l'Ambassadeur (1990), Le château des oliviers (1993) and Le Grand Batre (1997).
