I just watched this a second time, and I'm going to upgrade my rating a bit.
I am trying to keep in mind that the year was 1936. I can believe that Bogart once denied he ever made this film. Hardly the highlight of his career, but on the other hand, it was a B picture and the first time he got star billing.
I admit that the scene where the octopus is attacking Bogie (yes, really) is pretty fake looking...but maybe not so bad considering the year involved.
I will admit that with a little better writing and a little better cinematography, this film could have been pretty decent. A man with a less than stellar past is on the lam in the South Seas where he has turned over a new leaf (that's Bogart). At the beginning of the flick, he is getting married to Margaret Lindsay. In a storm (some good footage here), a ship wrecks on the reef, and a young man is saved (Donald Woods). That young man is secretly there to arrest Bogart, but he becomes his friend and falls in love with his wife.
Bogart is "okay" here. Except for an awful moustache! Margaret Lindsay probably did the best acting in the film. Although Donald Woods was not too bad. E. E. Clive was perhaps getting too old. Paul Graetz as the captain...how did he ever get in pictures?
The reason to watch this film is to see the birth of a career, at least in terms of star billing, even if it is a B picture.
Just don't go into it with high expectation. Accept it for a what it is. And have a little fun.
I am trying to keep in mind that the year was 1936. I can believe that Bogart once denied he ever made this film. Hardly the highlight of his career, but on the other hand, it was a B picture and the first time he got star billing.
I admit that the scene where the octopus is attacking Bogie (yes, really) is pretty fake looking...but maybe not so bad considering the year involved.
I will admit that with a little better writing and a little better cinematography, this film could have been pretty decent. A man with a less than stellar past is on the lam in the South Seas where he has turned over a new leaf (that's Bogart). At the beginning of the flick, he is getting married to Margaret Lindsay. In a storm (some good footage here), a ship wrecks on the reef, and a young man is saved (Donald Woods). That young man is secretly there to arrest Bogart, but he becomes his friend and falls in love with his wife.
Bogart is "okay" here. Except for an awful moustache! Margaret Lindsay probably did the best acting in the film. Although Donald Woods was not too bad. E. E. Clive was perhaps getting too old. Paul Graetz as the captain...how did he ever get in pictures?
The reason to watch this film is to see the birth of a career, at least in terms of star billing, even if it is a B picture.
Just don't go into it with high expectation. Accept it for a what it is. And have a little fun.