I saw this picture under it's re-release title of "Monsoon", but that's neither here nor there. What strikes me is that once under way, the story made no sense at all, considering the sunken treasure at the center of it was literally at the doorstep of Captain Krogan's (Sidney Toler) native hut. Why didn't he and partner Johnny Pacific (Rick Vallin) just get it themselves instead of luring Clancy (John Carradine) and Burke (Frank Fenton) into this convoluted scheme? But I guess then you wouldn't have a story.
While the men are involved in all manner of intrigue and fisticuffs, Gale Sondegaard provides a mysterious and exotic presence as Marge Wilson, proprietor of a gambling den on the Isle of Forgotten Sins. She's partial to Carradine's character, but I never got the attraction; in profile he looks anorexic, and the stripes didn't add any pounds to his frame. Considering they were partners, Clancy and Burke sure took out a lot of furniture over the course of the film, and if this were a Western, their first brawl would rank right up there as one of the best.
But oh those underwater scenes! They were slow and downright boring if not so comical. There were a couple of times when the diver looked like he was about to fall over, and that's not easy when you're under water. Well you get what you pay for with these low budget poverty row efforts, and Producers Releasing was one of the poorest.
Still, it's an interesting mix of actors with Carradine, Toler and Sondegaard in the mix. I got a kick out of Toler when he broke into Charlie Chan mode speaking to an island girl at one point. The finale is a hoot as Toler's Krogan shoots it out with partner Johnny at point black range, and they both empty their guns before finally going down. Then the monsoon hits, and even though there was warning, all of a sudden the hut is overwhelmed and floating out to sea! Well, the native chief saw it coming when he said there was 'much bad magic in the sky'. He might have been talking about the picture just as well.
While the men are involved in all manner of intrigue and fisticuffs, Gale Sondegaard provides a mysterious and exotic presence as Marge Wilson, proprietor of a gambling den on the Isle of Forgotten Sins. She's partial to Carradine's character, but I never got the attraction; in profile he looks anorexic, and the stripes didn't add any pounds to his frame. Considering they were partners, Clancy and Burke sure took out a lot of furniture over the course of the film, and if this were a Western, their first brawl would rank right up there as one of the best.
But oh those underwater scenes! They were slow and downright boring if not so comical. There were a couple of times when the diver looked like he was about to fall over, and that's not easy when you're under water. Well you get what you pay for with these low budget poverty row efforts, and Producers Releasing was one of the poorest.
Still, it's an interesting mix of actors with Carradine, Toler and Sondegaard in the mix. I got a kick out of Toler when he broke into Charlie Chan mode speaking to an island girl at one point. The finale is a hoot as Toler's Krogan shoots it out with partner Johnny at point black range, and they both empty their guns before finally going down. Then the monsoon hits, and even though there was warning, all of a sudden the hut is overwhelmed and floating out to sea! Well, the native chief saw it coming when he said there was 'much bad magic in the sky'. He might have been talking about the picture just as well.