Ajouter une intrigue dans votre langueThe West Indies island of Portuga exists mainly for sponge diving. But the best area of collection is frequented by a very large manta ray. Nina loses her brother to the creature and is comf... Tout lireThe West Indies island of Portuga exists mainly for sponge diving. But the best area of collection is frequented by a very large manta ray. Nina loses her brother to the creature and is comforted by a newly arrived minister, who seems very interested in an old poster offering a r... Tout lireThe West Indies island of Portuga exists mainly for sponge diving. But the best area of collection is frequented by a very large manta ray. Nina loses her brother to the creature and is comforted by a newly arrived minister, who seems very interested in an old poster offering a reward for a convict recently escaped from nearby Devil's Island. More deaths attributed to... Tout lire
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The Seabat only has around 3-2 minutes of screen time and disappears for a good 40 minutes. I think it's false advertising.
Bad acting from most of the supporting cast, unlikable characters, outdated depictions of native tribes, and probably Boris Karloff's worst movie.
But there is a couple good things about the movie!
The cinematography is dang good for the time, the underwater scenes look good too! At the end of the film when the Seabat gets shot with a harpoon it cuts to this beautiful shot of the Seabat jumping out of the water while the sun rises and the camera is placed on a high shot while on a 60 degree angle! It's one of the best shots in early sound films!
If you wanna watch this one, skip to the last five minutes.
The setting is a West Indies island where a bunch of grimy sponge divers lust after barefoot temptress Raquel Torres, who only has eyes for the beautiful (and, with his thick Swedish accent, virtually unintelligible) Nils Asther. But when he dies in the clutches of the title monster villain, she turns her back on God and offers herself as reward to the man who destroys the beast. It's a decision she quickly comes to regret, and as the body count increases, the guilt-ridden Raquel flails her arms and pounds her breasts with the frenzy of a silent movie diva.
As if this plot weren't febrile enough, Torres begins falling for newly arrived man of the cloth Charles Bickford, who does his damnedest to resist her overtures since he's actually an escaped convict from Devil's Island.
This awesomely wacky nonsense was concocted by the radical left-wing screenwriter John Howard Lawson without a hint of the political agitprop that infused his later screen work. The film, however, is not without interest: the camera work by Ira Morgan is sensuous and inventive (particularly when underwater) and the cast of scurvy Island rats is populated with such compelling character types as John Miljan (in a departure from his usual urban smoothie), Boris Karloff (as the glowering Corsican), and silent film veterans Gibson Gowland and Mack Swain.
It is unfortunate that this splendid little film from MGM has become so obscure as it has much to offer in the way of ambiance and good acting from an interesting cast. The production values are high and the location shooting (on Mexico's Mazatlán coast) with its glimpses of pseudo West Indies island culture add to the film's atmosphere. Director Lionel Barrymore keeps the action moving right along, with just enough requisite romance, suspenseful encounters with the hideous sea bat and a dandy fist fight near the end to keep the viewers happy.
Mexican actress Raquel Torres plays the fiery island miss who wants to escape the tragedy which has attacked her family. Silent screen star Nils Asther is her gentle, loving brother, a sponge diver. His departure from the story early on is poignant & regrettable. Disheveled George F. Marion steals most of his scenes as their disreputable father. Sturdy Charles Bickford is the no-nonsense pastor with a secret who arrives on the Island of Portuga and is quickly confronted by danger. All four give excellent performances.
Other crew members of the sponge boat are played by lecherous John Miljan, who acted the villain in many early MGM talkies; blustering Gibson Gowland, who only five years earlier had starred in von Stroheim's masterpiece GREED; and, in a tiny role, pre-celeb Boris Karloff. Silent movie comic Mack Swain portrays the owner of the island grog shop.
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The giant Atlantic manta (Manta birostris), sometimes called a sea bat, is a type of devilfish and is characterized by its large flapping fins and two horny protrusions near its mouth, giving it a diabolic appearance. It lives in the warmer waters near both islands and coastlines, where it eats small fish & plankton. The Atlantic manta can grow to 23' from fin tip to fin tip and weigh up to 2,200 pounds. Despite its sinister aspect it is known -contrary to legend- to be gentle and does not attack divers.
Le saviez-vous
- AnecdotesAlthough resembling a giant oceanic manta ray, the Sea Bat has a blow hole like a whale (a mammal). The Manta ray is a fish, it breathes underwater thanks to its gills.
- Crédits fousIntro: Strangest of all strange sea creatures is the Giant Ray, a deadly specie of devil fish, found in the mighty, warm waters of the West Indies.
"....a huge, bat-like creature which uses its body fins as a bird does its wings....known to lift a whole ship, to the amazement and terror of the crew!" (National Geographic Magazine)
PORTUGA ISLAND Through the night....the weird chant of Voodoo worship. Through the day....the weird industry of Sponge Diving.
- Versions alternativesMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer also released this film as a silent, with the titles credited to Philip J. Leddy. He was not credited in the sound version.
- ConnexionsFeatured in Sharksploitation (2023)
- Bandes originalesLo-Lo
(uncredited)
Music by Reggie Montgomery and George Warde
Lyrics by Felix E. Feist and Howard Johnson
Sung by Raquel Torres a capella
Played in the score at the end
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Détails
- Durée58 minutes
- Couleur