ISLE OF FORGOTTEN SINS (1943) aka MONSOON is another of those South Sea Adventures so beloved by Hollywood in the 'GOLDEN AGE' of the studio system. The best of those films was THE HURRICANE (1937) which we rated IMDb Ten**********Stars. Thats why this film gets Two**Stars for it is only twenty (20%) percent as good.
The film though resembles more TYPHOON (1940) IMDb Six******Stars. That PARAMOUNT production was nominated for a Academy Award for Special Visual Effects. No chance of that with this film. The only thing PRC has in common with PARAMOUNT is they both start with a 'P'! Like TYPHOON this ends with a big special effects scene done with all the skill PRC could muster. Which means there is nothing 'special' about it at all. I have seen children do better in their bathtub.
The participants of this film were either needing a fast buck or had fallen on hard times starting with Director Edgar G. Ulmer. Yes, the same Director who created the classic THE BLACK CAT (1934). None of that originality is presented here. Sidney Toler must have wanted to stretch himself from his CHARLIE CHAN roles at MONOGRAM. Hard to tell if this was good move on his part. John Carradine obviously was in it for a fast buck and phoned in his role. As for Gale Sondergaard she must have made somebody very angry at the major studios. At that time she had already won the Acadamy Award for Best Supporting Actress and would be nominated again. Though it was interesting to see her in a sarong and show off her attractive and feminine figure. That is the sole reason to see this film.
The film though resembles more TYPHOON (1940) IMDb Six******Stars. That PARAMOUNT production was nominated for a Academy Award for Special Visual Effects. No chance of that with this film. The only thing PRC has in common with PARAMOUNT is they both start with a 'P'! Like TYPHOON this ends with a big special effects scene done with all the skill PRC could muster. Which means there is nothing 'special' about it at all. I have seen children do better in their bathtub.
The participants of this film were either needing a fast buck or had fallen on hard times starting with Director Edgar G. Ulmer. Yes, the same Director who created the classic THE BLACK CAT (1934). None of that originality is presented here. Sidney Toler must have wanted to stretch himself from his CHARLIE CHAN roles at MONOGRAM. Hard to tell if this was good move on his part. John Carradine obviously was in it for a fast buck and phoned in his role. As for Gale Sondergaard she must have made somebody very angry at the major studios. At that time she had already won the Acadamy Award for Best Supporting Actress and would be nominated again. Though it was interesting to see her in a sarong and show off her attractive and feminine figure. That is the sole reason to see this film.