Port Sinister

Port Sinister is a nice little b-movie. It's nothing spectacular, but its entertaining.

To me, it has the feel of a movie serial (in fact, there are a few actors in it from the old chapterplays). The story is relatively preposterous even for fifties science fiction: The legendary pirate town of Port Royal is scheduled to rise again from the sea and a scientific expedition to study it is hijacked by a band of criminals who hope to get all the hidden loot of the Governor's mansion.

The only "name" you'll probably recognize in the cast is William Schallert (The Patty Duke Show, The Man From Planet X) who is cast as one of the double-crossing bad guys.

There are some interesting special effects though. The sets are rather involved for a low-budget movie, with a lot of elevation and nooks and crannies for the heroes and baddies to get around. The crab monster that attacks some of the characters is actually one of the better crustacean monsters I've seen, with the only drawback being some stilted puppetry.

I mainly wanted to watch this film because I collect fifties science fiction films. I wasn't expecting anything tremendously brilliant, but was pleasantly surprised at the relative cohesiveness and compactness of this little story.

A scientist predicts that recent earthquakes will cause the sunken pirate stronghold of Port Royale (which sunk in an earthquake in the 1600's) to briefly rise to the surface again. In a sea plane an expedition arrives on the island to salvage the pirate treasure before the island sinks again. Unfortunately, a gang of crooks learn of the expedition and the treasure the risen island holds and menace the the scientists. Sea turtle sized giant crabs emerge from a cave, briefly menacing the cast and dispatching with some of the bad guys. The good guys escape the island before an earthquake again causes the island to sink once again to the bottom of the sea.

PORT SINISTER, which was released as BEAST OF PARADISE ISLAND in the U.K., is a mostly minor routine adventure picture produced solely with the intent to fill the bottom half of a double bill (the original meaning of the term "B" movie). The giant crabs which play only a minor part in the proceedings, are probably the only reason why this mostly forgotten film has surfaced on video. The sets for the sunken island are mildly interesting, with lots of mist and low lighting to hide the cheapness. Acting and direction are routine. PORT SINISTER is another one of those films that one sits through mildly entertained, but it begins to fade from memory soon after one has seen it.

I finally got the chance to view this obscure film in it's entirety.

The story and dialogue were fine and the island sets were outstanding (in the elaborate style of The Land Unknown) but the terrible amateur acting and poor line delivery by a large majority of the cast left Port Sinister dead in the water.

As for the famed Giant Crab, please be advised that the stilted puppetry mentioned above only occurs for only a brief instance(they must not have been too proud of their puppet creation) with the remainder of the crab scenes being filled by closeups of a real live crab. Although I am a big fan of cheese, this two minute scene was not worth seeking out this 'lost classic'.

For 50's sci-fi enthusiasts, there are many other lesser known sci-fi efforts that are more deserving of your time and money than Port Sinister. Try out The Night the World Exploded, Mutiny in Outer Space, Caltiki - the Immortal Monster, War of the Satellites, Magnetic Monster, Unknown World or The Earth Dies Screaming first.

Worth a watch for fans if you happen across it on TV but Port Sinister is strictly bottom of the barrel for repeat viewings.