Bofsensai
More masochistic movie musings, because this is an effort almost hardly worth entering a review as there is little of note to keep your attention; EXCEPT, that is, for the fact that this stars what seems to be the only film that sultry, dark eyed, full (bottom) lipped (á la A. Jolie style) forgotten starlet beauty Devera Burton appeared in: unfortunately the copy I saw seemed to be mostly shot too darkly in shadow and many of her appearances profile or mid distance; but about three quarters of the way through (c.45 / 6 min. mark) having come into possession (from gone mad dead dad, captain of the ship) - and thus been possessed herself - by the titular Omoo Omoo Shark God's black pearl eyes curse, she's given a full frame, lit face shot in which to emote almost in a M. Monroe style c. 'Don't Bother to Knock' era. And for that alone, it was worth the price of the time given to watch entry.So, if you do decide she is worth catching (she deserves it; she's gorgeous!), you can also savour the scene where she staring out from the top deck of the eighteenth century schooner, over the ocean, joined by the obviously far more educated doctor, he warns her not to go for a swim (she's 'decked' out in eighteenth century attire: did such womenfolk really leap off the poop deck for a dip in those days?), since directs her attention to a battle between denizens of the deep below (Octopus and Moray eel) all of which is shown that as from their vantage point, they can see through the ocean down to the seabed in pristine (aquarium!*) detail. (PLOT SPOILER?: "For as long as that octopus lives - there can be no peace." - um, for the shoals of fish that is, which are then soundtracked to what seems to be the music usually used for attacking Indians in Westerns. - And to its music, there's also some occasional nice 'weirdy' theremin use, too.) Having got that far, there's also one or two more daft delivery lines to listen out for: check the quotes sidebar.* another reviewer already noted how the Octopus tentacles clearly come up against some clear obstruction .. but which, if you like Octopi, provides good views of them, though - so credit due to presumably (possibly), from the title card credits, "Optical effects: Consolidated Film Industries".Oh, by the way: yes, it's based (mashed up?) on a Herman Melville book=double bill it with Greg Peck's 'Moby Dick'!
JohnHowardReid
Camp? No! Well made? No! Good acting? No! Competent director? No! In fact this is the only film directed by Leon Leonard. Thrilling screenplay? No! In fact, this is also the only film written by Leon Leonard. Before he surfaced for Omoo, Leonard's only other association with the movies occurred way back in 1930 in which he acted in a Rudy Vallee short called "Campus Sweethearts" and was actually billed ahead of Ginger Rogers. Solid production values? No! Made on a shoestring budget? Definitely! Moody photography? Yes! Thank you, Benjamin H. "Tough Assignment" Kline! Based on the 1847 novel by Herman Melville? Sort of! Other info: Aside from a small, uncredited part in "The Threat" (1949), this is the only film appearance of its female "star", Devera Burton. The male star, however, Australian actor, Ron Randell who played the title role in "Smithy" (1946), went on to have a most distinguished career on the Broadway stage which, oddly enough, ran parallel to an extensive movie (mostly minor films) and TV career (mostly – except for the "O.S.S." series in which he played Captain Frank Hawthorn – "guest" roles). Available on a very good Alpha DVD.
dwpollar
1st watched 2/18/2007 - 4 out of 10(Dir-Leon Leonard): Fair adventure movie based on a novel by the author of Moby Dick fame, Herman Melville. This movie is about the captain of a ship who had stolen the eyes(that were extremely rare black pearls) from a native tribe's God sculpture and hidden them somewhere that only he knew about before leaving the Island of Tivi. He got very sick and was on a secret voyage to go back to the island to retrieve the pearls for himself while others(like his daughter) thought that he was going back to be treated by the local medicine man. Others didn't know the reason for the voyage. A stowaway actually knew the real reason for the trip -- to return the eyes to their God. The silly part is that the pearls were hidden very close to the statue and all this time the natives ran their tribe without their God having eyes(causing them all kinds of problems). Along the way, we are treated(for some reason) to a short underwater nature show with an electric eel fighting a local octopus(I guess only Herman Melville knows what this was all about). Once they get to the island, the Captain dies but passes the whereabouts of the pearls to his daughter but she also gets the sickness curse as well. One of the bad guys finds out where the God is housed and convinces the daughter to go there and steal back the pearls but at this point the good guys find out what's going on and a fight ensues. I won't tell you the results of the fight or the ending, I'll leave that up to you to find out if you want. As I said earlier, the movie was OK, but some very silly things that I've already mentioned lessened it's impact. I wonder if that new "Pirates of the Caribbean" got some of it's plot from this one ---hmm
black pearls, a curse( I wonder
) Well, it doesn't matter, those elements didn't make for a very good movie in this case or the other. It seems they would learn they're lesson, but with the money rolling in on that newer movie I'm sure they won't. Oh well.
thethrill
Oh, Man, talk about the effect of advertising. Apparently, all that you have to do to enjoy box office succes is title your movie after a revered 19th century novel. Horrendous acting, directing, and cinematography in this sham of an effort.