He’s Too Ornary To Die. ⭐️

 September Storm 1960 is a nautical thriller with a rubber shark in it. It proves that slicks or in this case a film poster, have been lying or at the very least grossly exaggerating sharks for over 65 years. Longer than that really if we include 1958’s She Gods Of Shark Reef. Not only is size, anatomy, colouration and demeanour exaggerated or just plain wrong. This rubber shark is also misrepresenting any drama the movie poster lures us in with with its less than two minute screen time. However, and this is important, as far as I can tell  this may be the first time a rubber shark was made for a movie. Now as far as Rubber sharks go this one, if I am to put it on a scale, sits above The Polonia Brothers rubber shark fin movies but below the artifice of  2003’s Red Water (USA). Yes technically Red Water is a rubber shark with some animatronic articulation but September Storms rubber shark Is exceptional as well. It exists as an example of all shark preconceptions of a misinformed post war public. I don’t like giving spoilers but I feel if you were to sit through this turgid though well shot (and beautifully restored) underwater movie you need to come away with something to talk about. It is as though the production  designer knew little and turned too the early books by Cousteau or that other antique aqualung adventurer, Hans Hass. So we are given a 6 to about 8 foot amalgamated shark with a small head and dark rimmed eyes . It’s most prominent features are oversized fins both at the tail lobes and both dorsal and pectoral. Secondly is it’s spectacular oversized Tiger Shark like striping. I am sure if the artist that designed the cartoon like creature on the poster at Twentieth Century Fox had seen the Rubber shark he would have put more effort into selling this. 

First Rubber Shark: Maybe ? , If you are interested in seeing an early use of live Sharks in Sharksploitation check out  1958’s She Gods Of Shark Reef. Another milestone in underwhelming. The use of live Shark footage can be entertaining particularly when the drama has failed as in 2012’s Dark Tide. Whoops,I digress again.