classicsoncall 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.

Silents Fan This Producers Releasing Corporation distribution straight from poverty row has just about everything you could imagine or want to see and hear in a B picture second biller: barroom brawls, sunken treasure, a treasure map, an underwater grotto, double-crosses, fist fights, hold ups, restless natives, menacing drums, a big storm, and a flashlight-wielding marionette in a diving suit. But wait, there's more: classical music, torch songs, island ballads, synchronized swimming, beautiful girls wearing sarongs, Gale Sondergaard and above all, Sidney Toler naked to the waist and dripping wet in a bathing suit. If you have a taste for B movies, this is truly must see entertainment!

robert_deveau Had I known who the romantic leads are in this film I would have made it a point to see it years ago. How often do you get the opportunity to see Gale Sondergaard and John Carradine play characters better suited to Humprhey Bogart and Lauren Bacall? ISLE OF FORGOTTEN SINS is a thoroughly enjoyable South Seas adventure with Carradine and Sondergaard, cast completely against type, doing terrific work for low budget miracle worker Edgar G. Ulmer. Add Frank Fenton as Carradine's battling buddy, Sidney Toler as their jovial adversary, Rik Vallin as Toler's classical piano-playing second mate and Veda Ann Borg as a treacherous native girl, clever use of a puppet (!) for the deep sea diving scenes and a climactic monsoon -- what more do you need?NOTE: The running time of this film is usually listed as 82 minutes. The video print I watched (from VCI Video) ran 76 minutes, and did not appear to be missing anything major.

jaguar-4 John Carradine and Frank Fenton drink a lot and get in fist fights, some over Gale Sondergaard who's a bar owner/madam (?) of a bunch of American bar girls/hookers(?) on a little south sea island. A scene at the beginning when Gale wakes up the girls fascinates me for some reason. Veda Ann Borg is very campy as a two-faced "native" girl. Gale -- that big kitty -- does a great acting job in this silly, fun mishmosh.