Sinners in Paradise

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!

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.

This film Sinners In Paradise was an interesting find. It's a combination of The Lost Horrizon, Stagecoach, The Admirable Crichton with a bit of Gilligan's Island thrown in.

An interesting mix of people are passengers on a sea plane bound for China which crashes in the Pacific and the surviving passengers plus a steward from the crew are tossed into the sea. They make it to a tropical island where John Boles and his servant Willie Fung have set up house. He's not a very hospitable host and forces these people to work for their keep. Some of them like Senator Gene Lockhart and heiress Charlotte Wynters are not used to manual labor. In this new society that is forming on the island they're at the bottom of the pecking order and resent it.

The rest of the survivors include steward Don Barry from the crew, recent divorcée Madge Evans bound for China to serve as a missionary, mob hit man Bruce Cabot, working class girl brassy Marion Martin, widow Nana Bryant looking to join her son in Shanghai, and a pair of munitions manufacturers Milburn Stone and Morgan Conway looking to make some money off the various wars going in China. It's quite an interesting group of castaways here on Boles' Island.

The iconoclastic Boles is a man of mystery. Their host has good and sufficient reason for not wanting to return to civilization. In point of fact those who want to get back the most are the ones that civilization could do without.

Lockhart is the most interesting character of the bunch. He can't figure out why a natural born 'leader' and man of the people isn't just handed responsibility to lead the castaways. He's not a great advertisement for our political leadership.

James Whale directed this film and it was a reunion of sorts with Boles who was in the cast of his most acclaimed work, the original Frankenstein. Although by now Whale was directing B films and Sinners In Paradise is definitely in that category, it's still an interesting piece of work and worthy of more than one look.

"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.

Sinners in Paradise (1938)

*** (out of 4)

Universal drama directed by James Whale about a plane load of people who crash on an island ran by a loner (John Boles). This one here doesn't have a very good reputation but I found it to be highly entertaining until the last fifteen minutes when things started to drag a bit. Whale's direction is right on the mark mixing some nice drama with some comedy and using the oddball characters to full effect. Boles, from Whale's Frankenstein is very good in the lead and the supporting players are good as well. The plane crash is handled with a master's touch. Madge Evans and Bruce Cabot co-star.