gridoon2018 Snappy, quick little programmer which packs adventure, comedy, drama, romance and even political messages (!) about division of labor and the relative value of money, in just a little over 63 minutes. The short running time does not allow for much character development (most of the characters remain "types"), but it does not allow for any boring moments, either. It's one of the last starring roles for the warm-voiced Madge Evans (a personal favorite of mine), though in this occasion the standout in the cast is Marion Martin as the brash, sarcastic Iris. **1/2 out of 4.

Blueghost For a film from the late 1930s it's not a bad film. The technological limitations for special effects and cost of shooting on stage verse on location are apparent, but the story is fairly compelling enough.A band of assorted individuals with various pasts and agendas take flight aboard a "flying boat", and find themselves challenged in a new environment.The film by today's standards may seem somewhat racist in regards to one Asian character, but is more or less a product of its time, and the character in question is noble to a fault, and in fact key to helping the rest of the characters.Marion Martin shows that her acting chops weren't quite there yet (and she had yet to engage in an exercise regime), Bruce Cabot of King Kong fame shows his range, and a number of other well known actors of the time do well to bring to life the characters in this film.Again, the shortcomings are the technical aspects, Martin's lack of theatrical training, and money. Otherwise it's a solid B-performer that'll help whittle away a lazy Sunday afternoon.If you need a classic film on your TV or computer, you could do worse, but you could also do better. Either way, give it a shot and see what you think.Not a great film, but nor a bad film.Give it a shot.

MartinHafer "Sinners in Paradise" is an agreeable little B-movie. While it has several plot problems which I'll soon talk about, the overall film is light and entertaining--and would make a nice time-passer.The film begins aboard a clipper (a sort of seaplane used by airlines for cross-Pacific journeys). However, soon they are caught in a storm and the plane crashes. Only one of the crew members survives but unfortunately, the passengers ALL survive. I say this because they are, overall, a miserable lot. Several are extremely selfish and spoiled-- and when they land on a semi-deserted island, they start barking out orders to the two inhabitants as if they owned the place. As for Jim Taylor (John Boles), he's having none of it and tells them they need to work for their keep--he won't be waiting on anyone. So what are these incredibly fussy people to do until (and IF) help ever arrives? In many ways, this plays like "Gilligan's Island" but without the bad comedy. The only attempt at comedy are a couple birds who talk--and wow are they annoying and stupid. Otherwise, it's a decent little film. My favorite part about this is the one played by Willie Fung. Normally in films he played a very, very harmless and subservient sort of fellow. Here, though, he turns out to be a rather macho guy. See the film and see what I mean.

classicsoncall And as far as I can tell, this title would better have served for one of those sexploitation flicks of the era, like "Escort Girl", "Sex Madness" or "Slaves in Bondage". Except for the two munitions salesmen who tried to take out old Ping (Willie Fung), there wasn't a whole lot of sinning going on, even between the gangster (Bruce Cabot) and his moll Iris Compton (Marion Martin). It's actually pretty bland once the story gets going, as survivors of a plane crash in the Pacific try to figure out how they'll all get back home. Not exactly "Lord of the Flies", even though Gene Lockhart takes on the obligatory self important blowhard role as a state senator who tries to put himself in charge but is unceremoniously rebuffed. I don't know anything about the lead actor James Boles, but it looks like he was 'B' films' answer to Clark Gable; I can see how Madge Evans' character fell for him.Notwithstanding the inevitable comparisons to "Gilligan's Island", this one is a generally breezy little number that's entertaining enough in it's roughly one hour run time. I was somewhat intrigued by the idea of burning one's money in a place where it literally had no value, and that concept alone gives the picture a bonus point for originality. Otherwise it plays out fairly typically, but with a cast that makes it interesting to watch.