Piratas dos Mares da China

Edward Ludwig was a specialist of adventure movies: WAKE OF THE RED WITCH, JIVARO, CARIBBEAN, FLAME OF THE ISLANDS. This one is a good film, for those who are nostalgic of this fifties period, a period that provided an atmosphere which we will never see again. Jeff Chandler is as good as usual in this role made for him. Exotic perfume, action scenes, romance on the South seas and islands, what else can we ask for?

The title does tee this up to be something better, but in the end this has more of the air of a standard "Charlie Chan" feature to it as we take a trip to the Portuguese colony of Macau where we encounter "Kent" (Jeff Chandler). He's an American diver, a bit down at heel, who in turn happens to luck out with the visiting "Vivian" (Evelyn Keyes). Nope - not in the way you might think - well not immediately, anyway, but she offers to pay him $1,000 if he will help her retrieve a cargo from the murky depths. When we discover what that is, well then there is soon no shortage of other interested parties - not least estranged husband "Allan" (Philip Friend) and local crime boss "Bok-Ying" (Marvin Miller). They need to get the goods to the safety of Hong Kong - but what chance? Well, that's just one of the problems with this lacklustre crime drama. There's not the slightest amount of jeopardy as the plot follows a path as surely as if it had only recently been dredged across the Pearl river. Chandler and Keyes don't really gel at all and the less said about the not-so-menacing Miller the better. The story itself is all pretty derivative, but that needn't have mattered so much had the underwhelming Chandler managed to impose himself on the blandness of the film, but he can't and although the fog-bound ending is quite excitingly delivered, the rest of this is all just a bit forgettably so-so. Where was Robert Newton?

The problem is the gold is actually there. Evelyn Keyes tricks him to go hunting for it by fooling him with a false bait: he is hired as a diver to go saving a cargo from a wrecked plane loaded with medicines and drugs, but when the cargo is is saved it is pure gold worth $200,000. She wants to share it with him ignorant of the dangers of smuggling gold around Hongkong, the word goes around, and soon the whole area of smugglers and pirates are interested in their cargo, which they intend to sell in Hongkong, including the authorities and a real pirate, and naturally everything goes wrong, particularly since Evelyn's husband turns up and wants to share the party. In the end everyone double-crosses everyone and almost no one is left alive, some getting hoist by their own petards. It's an ordinary adventure yarn, worth watching for the sake of Jeff Chandler, as it is always a pleasure to find old films with him that you haven't seen before. Prepare yourself for some fireworks.

"Smugler's Island" is the sort of adventure film you might watch and soon after forget that you ever saw it in the first place. It's because the film is incredibly mediocre...neither good nor bad...just a very standard adventure story and no more. I can't help but wonder if perhaps the cast had been different (such as Robert Mitchum playing Jeff Chandler's role) or a re-write might have helped.

Steve (Chandler) is an American expatriate who lives in Macao, a colony on the coast of China that was controlled by Portugal until 1999. There he makes money doing odd jobs with his boat. However, in the case of Vivian Craig (Evelyn Keyes), she wants him to do something VERY dangerous and potentially VERY rewarding. She wants him to use his boat and diving equipment to retrieve $200,000 in missing gold. But there turn out to be several important things she failed to mention...such as her being married. She also doesn't mention that some very bad people are likely to get in their way!

While the movie is okay, one scene in particular is among the worst I've seen in recent memory. Vivian is angry at Steve and slaps him. He slaps her back! But soon the pair have a liplock on each other that is one of the most passionate kissing scenes you can imagine...just after the two slapped each other! Talk about weird!

As for the rest of the film, it features some decent diving sequences and action...but also Marvin Mitchell playing an Asian guy! His accent is actually pretty good, but Mitchell looks about as Asian as Ricardo Montalban! Overall, a film that really looks as if Univesal Pictures really wasn't trying very hard....just trying to get it done and then on to the next project.

Steve Kent's boat is repossessed in Macao, leaving him without a way to make his living as a deep sea diver. At a casino, he is introduced to wealthy and beautiful Vivian Craig (Evelyn Keyes), who at first seems interested in Steve (Jeff Chandler)romantically, then lets him know that what she needs more is his diving expertise.

Agreeing to search for medical supplies lost in a plane crash, Steve goes underwater and locates them. Vivian goes along, and when one of the crates breaks open, Steve sees it actually contains a shipment of stolen gold.

At first he intends to turn over Vivian to the authorities, but his attraction to her keeps Steve from doing so. Allan Craig, her husband, then turns up, after the gold. He offers his wife and Steve a three-way split to retrieve the bullion, but other parties have other ideas.

Jeff Chandler plays a character who gets his diving equipment and boat repossessed by a crook, then gets embroiled with a dame and her estranged husband over gold - Chandler's character is quite earthy and a rough diamond. Evelyn Keyes wants to break free from her husband and she thinks gold can do it, but her husband (Philip Friend) turns up, lending some villainy. It's actually a nifty adventure film with a blinding pace and nary a dull bit. Not much of action but good viewing nevertheless. There's drive to the plot and Chandler and Keyes have good chemistry. Liked the location, the bustling atmosphere of Macao.