The film is set somewhere in the Pacific on some Polynesian Island. To demonstrate this, the filmmakers inserted lots of grainy old stock footage...and it really was obvious. Soon you see that a baddie named Mike Lutz has been cheating a dumbbell, Mr. Armstrong, out of his fortune. As for Armstrong, he's an alcoholic and a womanizer--which is not good because his fiancée, Miss Bradford (Marceline Day), is on her way to the island to marry him. When she arrives, evil Mike makes a play for her but the hero, Thorn (Kenneth Harlan) arrives to save the day--whisking her off to his plantation to stay. It's obvious that Thorn is smitten with Miss Bradford, but because he's the heroic type, he's quite the gentleman. In fact, he tries to help Armstrong throughout the film--even though Armstrong really is a hopeless jerk-face. Through the course of saving the Jerk-face, Thorn gets on evil Captain Lutz's bad side and Lutz plans on revenge. Can Thorn save the day or will Thorn steal everything...including Miss Bradford?
The film is a bit silly and in many ways it plays out like a Popeye cartoon- -with a bunch of sailor beating the crap out of each other. Think of Thorn as Popeye and Lutz as Bluto...and, perhaps, Armstrong as Wimpy...though instead of being addicted to burgers, he's addicted to booze and broads. And, of course, the skinny Miss Bradford is Olive. Additionally, there is a lot of singing--something you wouldn't expect in a South Seas adventure like this one! A few of the songs are completely ridiculous (such as the one Thorn sings with his crew as their ship comes in to port) and one actually was good (the one where he translates the Polynesian song into English), as Harlan had a beautiful voice. He wasn't exactly handsome and perhaps that is why he didn't go on to become a big star--though with a voice like that, I am still rather surprised.
Overall, the film has a lot of crappy stock footage, occasionally offensive stereotypes ('...all the locals are lazy'), a very simplistic plot, one of the DUMBEST sidekicks in movie history (Beauty is a 100% idiot) and some occasionally limp acting. But, it also has a likable leading man and, somehow, the film engaged my interest. Yes, I knew that there'd be a final big showdown between Thorn and Lutz...and I actually found myself caring! Worth seeing if your standards and expectations are both low.
The film is a bit silly and in many ways it plays out like a Popeye cartoon- -with a bunch of sailor beating the crap out of each other. Think of Thorn as Popeye and Lutz as Bluto...and, perhaps, Armstrong as Wimpy...though instead of being addicted to burgers, he's addicted to booze and broads. And, of course, the skinny Miss Bradford is Olive. Additionally, there is a lot of singing--something you wouldn't expect in a South Seas adventure like this one! A few of the songs are completely ridiculous (such as the one Thorn sings with his crew as their ship comes in to port) and one actually was good (the one where he translates the Polynesian song into English), as Harlan had a beautiful voice. He wasn't exactly handsome and perhaps that is why he didn't go on to become a big star--though with a voice like that, I am still rather surprised.
Overall, the film has a lot of crappy stock footage, occasionally offensive stereotypes ('...all the locals are lazy'), a very simplistic plot, one of the DUMBEST sidekicks in movie history (Beauty is a 100% idiot) and some occasionally limp acting. But, it also has a likable leading man and, somehow, the film engaged my interest. Yes, I knew that there'd be a final big showdown between Thorn and Lutz...and I actually found myself caring! Worth seeing if your standards and expectations are both low.