Somerset Maugham's "The Narrow Corner" haf its second film version at Warner Brothers within a span of three years. This time, it has been reduced to a B film, cut down to an hour's length yet every bit as exciting and even faster paced than the original. It tells the story of diving boss Humphrey Bogart on a lost island in the Pacific, newly married to Margaret Lindsay and too busy to have a real marriage. When they rescue Donald Woods during a storm, the last thing that Bogart expects as his wife to fall in love with Woods. The squid later stolen bye Ed Wood for "Bride of the Monster" makes an appearance in the film, or at least I think it's the same squid, causing fear in the minds of the natives who refused to dive, causing Bogart to make the dive himself. of course as boggart becomes wise to what's going on with his wife, his attitude changes, making him as dangerous as Duke Mantee in "The Petrified Forest".
While the film is action-packed and certainly luscious to look at, it is obvious that a lot of the sets are paintings and that the squid is as phony as Tarzan's rubber crocodiles. Lindsay and Woods have absolutely no chemistry, and Bogart's feisty performance allows him to easily steal the film, the very same year that he became a full-fledged star with the film version of "The Petrified Forest". There's a religious theme with one of the older men on the island using the story of David and Bathsheba to provide a warning to Woods about stealing another man's wife. That was done more profoundly in the original version which as a film had better casting among the second leads. The appearance of the seemingly dancing squid creates a few unintentional chuckles, but overall this is too entertaining and a major milestone in Bogart's career to pass over.
While the film is action-packed and certainly luscious to look at, it is obvious that a lot of the sets are paintings and that the squid is as phony as Tarzan's rubber crocodiles. Lindsay and Woods have absolutely no chemistry, and Bogart's feisty performance allows him to easily steal the film, the very same year that he became a full-fledged star with the film version of "The Petrified Forest". There's a religious theme with one of the older men on the island using the story of David and Bathsheba to provide a warning to Woods about stealing another man's wife. That was done more profoundly in the original version which as a film had better casting among the second leads. The appearance of the seemingly dancing squid creates a few unintentional chuckles, but overall this is too entertaining and a major milestone in Bogart's career to pass over.