Sinners in Paradise

Sinners in Paradise was next up in my DVD set.Featuring an intriguing cast and the inimitable James Whale as director, I thought it might be worth a good look.

But no. This Adventure/Morality Play gets off to a good start,but quickly bogs down into a clichéd potboiler which is neither compelling or suspenseful. The Disparate-Characters-Stranded-on-a-Desert-Island fizzles out almost as soon as they hit the island. Comic relief is forced and unfunny and all characters are painted in extremely broad strokes.

The best part of the film is the interesting cast which is comprised of B and lesser A actors. Madge Evans is lovely and John Boles is dashing and manly. Gene Lockhart and Bruce Cabot might have deleted this one from their film credits, as it does them no credit.

I guess it fills out the boxed set but it wasn't worth the trouble.

I don't know what director Whale told actor Lockhart, but the actor's buffoonery just about kills the movie. After a plane crashes in the Pacific, the survivors manage (we're never shown how) to get to an island where a mysterious man (Boles) lives with his Chinese servant. It's a motley crew of survivors, including a rich woman, a gangster, a state senator, two fast-talking operators, a floozie, and several others. Meanwhile, forming new relationships and making needed adjustments carry the narrative.

Perhaps the biggest influence on the film is leftist screenwriter Lester Cole, later one of the blacklisted Hollywood Ten. The movie's subtext shows how social distinctions lose their meaning on the island. Even money. At the same time, the working people's skills take on vital value in new surroundings, while the privileged can contribute little. Then too, I expect Lockhart's generally useless character amounts to Cole's shot at politicians of the time. Good lessons here, and ones not restricted to that Depression era.

Anyway, helping the film are good special effects, especially the frenzied plane crash. Even the studio blended beach shots are well done, a surprise for cheapjack Universal studios. Too bad the acting's uneven, but then the hour-long format doesn't provide for much character development among the large cast. Perhaps the biggest surprise for me was Ping (Fung), the manservant. I expected he would be nothing more than the usual foolish stereotype. But, not so.

Anyway, there's a good movie stymied somewhere inside the brief runtime and Lockhart's over-acting. Check out the thematically similar Five Came Back (1939) to see a much better version.

James Whale directs this unremarkable story of survival (sort of). After a sea plane with several passengers crashes into the ocean near an uncharted island, a man living there must decide whether or not to ferry the survivors back to civilization since he's wanted for murder in China. This is a B movie version of what would be an all star movie of the week on TV. Its not bad, its just been done to death thanks to Gilligan's Island and uncreative TV executives. Once the plane crashes and we get to the island the film is reasonably enjoyable since the story is in motion and all of the clichés are allowed to play out. Well acted by a cast of veterans you'll know whats going to happen as well as the cast knows how to play their well worn parts. Its worth a look if you run across it on TV just don't expect high art even from James Whale

I was very much looking forward to this one, mainly due to Michael's favorable comments but, while I enjoyed it quite a bit, I also thought the material unworthy of its director (who happens to be one of my all-time favorites)! Featuring multiple characters (though the cast itself is rather second-rate!), the film evokes memories of GRAND HOTEL (1932) and LOST HORIZON (1937) but also looks forward to FIVE CAME BACK (1939) and STAGECOACH (1939). FIVE CAME BACK is especially comparable in view of its plot similarities but, while probably no more elaborate a production, that RKO film - directed by John Farrow and featuring one of the best performances by Maltese actor Joseph Calleia - is considerably more compelling and a much better film in every way.

Given Whale's customary lavishness, then, it's distressing to see how his fortunes dwindled at the change in the studio's management and the miniscule budget and B-movie status afforded SINNERS IN PARADISE hurts the film considerably! Still, the opening scenes (featuring an uncredited cameo by Whale regular Dwight Frye) are nicely handled and the airplane crash, while an obvious model, is nonetheless exciting. However, once on the island (and the introduction of its 'master' John Boles, who's miscast but not bad), the film kind of stops dead in its tracks; while it provides a couple of villains, there is no real menace a' la the headhunters closing in on the stranded party in FIVE CAME BACK - and the film merely relies on the obligatory if tepid romance (which mainly revolves around two separate couples) and some resistible comic relief to prod the story along (though Gene Lockhart's typical fooling in the role of a pompous politician is amiable enough)!

Having so far watched four non-horror films by James Whale, it's interesting to note that two were set in stylish surroundings and the other two in exotic locales; still, while equally ramshackle, I found GREEN HELL (1940) - due, in no small measure, to its remarkable cast - to be a lot more satisfying than this one!

While there are a few amusing moments in this film, the odd mixture of characters who find themselves awash on an Island in the Pacific really don't have much chemistry. They are mostly wrapped up in their own egos and forced to do some work or they will never see home again. There is a strange Chinese man, loyal to his master, who is incredibly confusing. He has this goofy laugh that comes at odd times. It grates on the brain. There are bad guys and windbags and loose women and a nice woman. There is an islander who can't go to China because he is wanted for a murder there. He has the only boat and navigation skills to get the people off the island. Everyone stays true to their colors and it rolls toward a predictable conclusion. I found Gene Lockart's politician to be utterly insufferable. They should have drowned him right away.