Monsoon (Isle of Forgotten Sins)

Rating:
Summary: South Seas in a Swimming Pool
Review: I read somewhere that this was filmed in the swimming pool at PRC, the doyen of poverty row movie makers. Maybe so, but it is amazing what a genius director like Edgar Ulmer (who gave us the wonderful "Detour") can do with a small budget. Gale Sondergaard is the madam of a south sea island brothel called "Isle of Forgotten Sins". John Caradine is her two-fisted, diver boyfriend who goes after sunken treasure with Frank Fenton, a rival for Gale's affections. Sinister Sidney Toler (Charlie Chan) is also along for the ride but I wont tell you what happens because it's well worth a look, especially at the cheap price. However, be prepared for a fair bit of rear projection, obvious miniatures and a puppet. But it's all good fun in an el cheapo sort of way, plus you also get a couple of songs for your trouble. I had to smile when the diver walked the deck of the sunken ship to the strains of what sounded like a pirate sea shanty. Wonderful stuff. The monsoon of the title, complete with wind, rain and a tidal wave, comes late in the picture. It's short but quite well done considering this is a PRC release. Now for the bad news. The Alpha dvd is taken from a VHS master (a few video drop-outs are evident) of a very worn print. The sound was very scratchy in places and particulary noticable during the tropical moon number. But it definately IS watchable.... and the all babes wear sarongs! Watcha waitin' for.