Robert Ruark was Home in Southport
Robert Ruark’s hollywood movie ‘Something of Value’ has roots in Southport
BY: LINDA PUKENAS
It was 1957 when theaters around the Country had posters promoting a movie starring up-and-coming actors Rock Hudson, Sidney Poitier and Dana Wynter. These young stars were bringing author/writer Robert Ruark’s novel Something of Value to life on the big screen.
Like so many of Robert Ruark’s books, biographies and syndicated columns Some- thing of Value was shaped by his life’s expe- riences & views. Robert Ruark was born and raised in Wilmington, NC but considered Southport, NC home. His grandparents lived in Southport and it is where he spent most of his free time with his grandpa, Captain Edward “Ned” Adkins. Ruark’s most well- known books, “The Old Man and the Boy,” and “The Old Man’s Boy Grows Older,” illustrated his love for his grandfather, Southport home on Lord Street, the Cape Fear River and Region and the great outdoors. His life was shaped by the lessons he learned from “The Old Man” and his time in Southport.
Ruark’s love for the outdoors and the hunter within, led him to Africa where he developed a long love affair for the continent, its diverse cultures and values. The movie, Something of Value portrays the Mau Mau uprising in Kenya. It depicts the colonial and native African conflict created by colonialism and differing views on how life should be lived. The story shows two young men (one a Kenyan native & one a colonial) who have grown up together like brothers later being divided by prejudices that surface and in- creasing tensions as the uprising heightens. Robert Ruark’s story of two fictional characters set in true historic times is compelling and educational.
The novel was published in April 1955 and MGM announced earlier that year they had bought the film rights for $300,000. The New York Times wrote of the book that “the explosive impact of Robert Ruark’s “Something of Value” will reverberate for a long time to come on both sides of the Atlantic.” It was a best-selling novel.
The film’s budget was $2.6 Million and it brought in $3.6 Million at the box office but MGM later recorded a net loss. Those, of course, were in 1957 dollars.
The female lead was originally announced for Grace Kelly with the final casting an- nounced in May 1956. The movie was the sole American entry at the Venice Film Festival in 1957. Ruark published a sequel to his original novel in 1962 called Uhuru. Ruark’s Something of Value was his only novel to be made into a Hollywood movie. MGM’s 1957 classic, Something of Value starring Rock Hudson, Sidney Poitier and Dana Wynter will be shown on Friday, May 13 at 7:30 pm in Southport’s Franklin Square Park. The special screening is FREE and sponsored by the City of Southport, Southport Magazine and the Robert Ruark Society. It is the first of the City’s 2016 movie series and the first public showing of the movie in Southport since its release. It is the third event by the Robert Ru- ark Society this year.
Moviegoers are encouraged to bring an outdoor chair and picnic dinners are available by calling Baked With Love at 910.454.0044 in advance.
AT HOME IN SOUTHPORT
Robert C. Ruark was born in Wilmington, NC son of Robert and Charlotte Ruark. How- ever, during young Robert’s life, he spent most of his free time with his grandfather, Captain Edward “Ned” Adkins in Southport, NC. From the time of his birth until Cap- tain Adkins’ death in 1932, Ruark learned about life from the man he would call “the old man.” As a result, he always referred to Southport as “home.”
After the death of his grandparents , at 15 he entered the University of North Carolina, and then later joined the Navy and worked at various jobs. In the 1940s he became a writer, first as a sports writer and then as a syndicated columnist and author. By the 1950s he was prosperous and well-known. He had married Virginia Webb in 1938; they divorced in 1963. His last trip to NC was in 1960 as he later lived in London and Barcelona before settling in Palamos, Spain. He died July 1, 1965 of cirrhosis of the liver brought on by alcoholism. He was only 49 and is buried in Palamos.
Ruark wrote for countless Newspapers and Magazines for over three decades including a popular column in Field & Stream Magazine for nearly 10 years. He also authored over a dozen books and wrote & directed a movie and film. All in all, however, he will forever be remembered as Southport, North Carolina’s favorite son – a maverick adventurer and story teller who loved all the joy that could be found in the beauty and sublimity of nature.
There is much to tell about the life of Robert Ruark, his career as a big game hunter, for example, but his story always returns to his connection with Southport and the Cape Fear region. Although Robert Ruark’s short life was complex, his deep love for Southport was not. He clearly embraced and treasured this small coastal, historic city.
ROBERT RUARK SOCIETY
The Robert Ruark Society recently reorganized and expanded its mission. The Society works to preserve Robert Ruark’s heritage through fostering educational, cultural & historical activities and events depicting his life & writings. Because of Robert Ruark’s demonstrated love of the ecology of the lower Cape Fear, the Society also focuses on promoting and supporting the health and sustainability of the North Carolina coastal old oak tree population in and around the Southport region.
Membership is only $15 a year and goes toward programs such as the 2016 free movie viewing of Something of Value in May, the Reader-Theatre Program this past January, the annual meeting/birthday celebration in December and to begin to identify and care for the legacy Oak Trees in Southport in conjunction with the Southport Forestry Committee. The Society is also looking forward to the 2017 “Writers’ Conference” being developed and led by Dr. Joe Pat Hatem, an avid Ruark reader. For more information on the Society, please email RobertRuarkSociety@Gmail.com or call 910.620.9963.
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By: admin
No biography available at this time
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I hate to say it, but his work pretty much died with the author, even though he was on par in fame with Hemingway at the time. Few people, even those still living who were alive during his day, remember or know anything about him. Maybe his work will one day blossom in the same manner as did Melville and Poe.
Actually, that’s incorrect. His fan base is strong. Not what it once was but people still pass his books on to younger generations. And talk to me about him. Unfortunately kids don’t hunt and fish like they used to, but stay attached to video games and smart devices.
What was your family relation to him?
My grandmother snoree banks would cook for this family.I remember playing in the as a little girl while she would be in the house doing whatever she did.