Hell Harbor (1930) User Reviews

Little To Offer

[atlasmb · 5/10 · 19 January 2016]

"Hell Harbor" is an early talkie and it feels like it. The script is stilted and unfocused. The best part of the film is when Lupe Velez (as Anita Morgan) sings.

Unfortunately, the quality of the print I saw was very rough, with skips in both the video and audio. Some dialogue--no matter how inept--was difficult to hear.

Much of the acting is over the top. The story is very simple. And with little character development, the motivations of the characters are ambiguous. Having little to work with, the actors abilities are not showcased well.

The only real plot concerns Anita's desire to go to Havana. But her father plans to sell her (in marriage) to a coarse local who entices him with pearls.

Lupe never goes out of style

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 19 January 2016]

Henry King who was a contract director later on for 20th Century Fox and turned out some of their best films did this one for an outfit called Inspirational Pictures. The star here is Lupe Velez who by all accounts was one wild child. She plays one here in Hell Harbor.

She's the descendant of the famous pirate Henry Morgan in fact on this obscure Caribbean island everybody's a descendant of those bloodthirsty buccaneers of yore. But Lupe yearns for the big city life to be found in Havana.

Her meal ticket she sees as playboy John Holland who is arriving on his yacht and Lupe has just what he wants. Well one of the two things he wants. The other is pearls and trader Jean Hersholt has those. He also wants Lupe and Lupe's dead Gibson Gowland is quite willing to promote a marriage like that. Hersholt and Gowland have plans for Holland that don't include matrimony.

The location shooting in Tampa and surrounding environs substitute well for the Caribbean. Well it's close enough in any event. You'll also see cowboy sidekick Al St.John in an unusual non-western role as one of the island denizens. But of course there's the seductive Lupe Velez who got everyone's 1930 mojo going. Also unusual to see Jean Hersholt who is best remembered as the kindly Dr. Christian in a villainous part.

What Lupe Velez had never goes out of style.

Hard to Ignore the Incredibly Slow Pace

[Uriah43 · 4/10 · 28 March 2019]

This film begins on a remote island somewhere in the Caribbean Sea with a lecherous man by the name of "Joseph Horngold" (Jean Hersholt) owning the local trading post and seeking to buy a beautiful woman named "Anita Morgan" (Lupe Velez) as a wife from her ill-tempered and destitute father "Henry Morgan" (Gibson Gowland). Anita, on the other hand, wants nothing to do with Joseph Horngold and seeks to take whatever measures she can to prevent the marriage at all costs. It's then that a young sea captain named "Bob Wade" (John Holland) arrives in Hell Harbor and after one look Anita is immediately attracted to him. Of course, the fact that he can deprive Joseph Horngold of the money he needs to buy her from her father also figures into her considerations as well. In any case, he soon unwittingly becomes a central player in Anita's plan to find happiness and she is willing to do whatever it takes in that regard. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this was an extremely old film which definitely shows its age in all departments. It was also rather boring. That being said, I generally overlook certain faults in older films of this type due to my belief that one should not hold it to the same standards of today. But it was difficult for me to ignore the incredibly slow pace and for that reason I have rated it accordingly. Slightly below average.

Rondo Hatton's first film!

[reptilicus · 21 January 2002]

Interesting, rarely seen film that is notable for the re-teaming of Jean Hersholt and Gibson Gowland, who made such memorable enemies in Erich von Stroheim's GREED (1924). For genre fans though it is also memorable as the first screen appearance of Rondo Hatton. Filmed in Florida, Hatton was working as a reporter for the Tampa Herald at the time and was probably spotted there by director Henry King. Though Hatton's glandular condition, acromegaly, was already noticeable we can see it is not nearly as pronounced as it was in his later Universal films. Rondo has the small role of the bartender in a dusty dive in the small coastal village where the action takes place. He may or may not have any lines. In one scene where the lights go out and a murder takes place a voice cries out "He's done for!" and that MIGHT be Rondo's voice but it is hard to tell. Henry King gave Rondo that old line (which was probably a cliche even in 1930) "If you ever come to Hollywood come and see me." Well it took Hatton 7 years to make up his mind but finally he boarded a train for the west coast, leaving behind a wife who thought he was wasting his time. His first film in Hollywood was IN OLD CHICAGO (1937) also directed by Henry King. Rondo is billed 17th in the credits and listed as "bodyguard" though several people in the film call his character "Rondo". It was the start of a short but memorable career, capped by immortality in 3 Universal pictures where he played the spine snapping "Creeper". Nicely done Rondo, you lived the dream.

Despite the plot, the film is dull....very dull.

[planktonrules · 2/10 · 21 March 2016]

"Hell Harbor" is set on some crappy island in the Caribbean. A slimy guy, Joseph Horngold (Jean Hersholt) has cheated a drunk out of some very valuable pearls. With the pearls, he hopes to marry Henry Morgan's daughter. Morgan (Gibson Gowland) is more than happy to essentially sell Anita (Lupe Valez) and force her to marry Joseph. Additionally, Anita learns that there's a plan to cheat an American out of his pearls and kill him! But Anita loves the guy and is determined to help the American.

This film is a very low budgeted B made by a poverty row studio, Inspiration. Because of this, despite the tropical location, the film just looks cheap. There is no incidental music (not too unusual for 1930) but the acting and actors just seem rough...very, very rough. The film is actually very hard to watch and I became bored with it almost instantly! The only reason to see it is if you are a total film nut and want to see Rondo Hatton in his first film, though his part is quite small.

Lupe Velez shines

[gbill-74877 · 7/10 · 15 February 2023]

"Tonight, near you, that song makes me think of love. The moon warms me in its light. Still the stars twinkle just for me."

What starts off as a rather creaky old film, not helped by the state of its preservation or by its moving along at a rather ponderous pace, turned into halfway decent film, mainly because of the charms of Lupe Velez. And there's great casting all around, with Jean Hersholt and Gibson Gowland appearing as a couple of island rakes, six years after playing enemies in Erich von Stroheim's silent classic Greed. It's one of those pre-Code films that played upon the enticement of an "exotic" locale, in this case, an island in the Caribbean, but instead of glamorizing it, we feel the grit and sleaze of the place. Dance halls are filled with dangerous men who will do anything for money. One such man (Gowland) regularly beats his daughter (Velez) and wants to sell her into a marriage with a lecherous trader (Hersholt). The young woman recoils at the thought, and dreams of going to Havana. Enter a handsome sailor (John Holland) and, well, you get the idea. Not unexpectedly, there is a "white savior" aspect to the story.

Velez was just 22 in this film, her second talkie, and she has lots of charming moments. She sings while dreaming of Havana and dances playfully on the beach, but she also stands up to her father as he tries to whip her, threatening to kill him with a knife if he keeps it up. She shows quite a range between moments of dismay over her fate to standing proudly at the bow of the little boat and sneaking aboard the trader's vessel. There is also a truly sublime moment when she's dreaming something rapturous and is woken up - she's wonderful and is captured beautifully. In the version of the film that is 83 minutes long, it appeared at roughly the 51:40 point. Overall, it's not a great film, but it was entertaining anytime she was on the screen, and that was enough to make me happy I saw this.

Jean Hersholt, not quite the.humanitarian.

[mark.waltz · 2/10 · 4 January 2016]

Today, the name of Jean Hersholt means very little to movie students other than the namesake of a special award at the Oscars for service to humanity. He is known in classic movies for playing the kindly Dr. Christian as well as his character roles in such classics as "Grand Hotel", "Dinner at Eight" and "Heidi". But he also played his share of brutish characters, and here, he is absolutely wretched.

This is a tropical island where the spitfire Lupe Velez is attacked by him and manages to get the lecherous man off of her. Desperate to get to Havana and away from the evil Hetdhokt and her opportunistic father, Velez looks for whatever form of escape that she can find. When a handsome stranger arrives, it appears that her prayers have been answered.

What starts off as interesting becomes a painful, creaky bore, a tedious melodrama of pearl diving and revenge between Hetholt, Velez and newcomer John Holland, resulting in murder and false accusations. Even an hour long edited print is insufferable with long dramatic pauses in many scenes and very dark photography. I couldn't imagine suffering from another 20-30 minutes of it.

It has the potential of being a curiosity of some interest but other than having the legendary Henry King as its director, it truly had nothing to get me interested in it. Obviously the issue lies with primitive filmmaking techniques and suffers all the more from that in spite of its exotic setting and unforgettable leading lady.

For once, the cut-down is better than the original movie!

[JohnHowardReid · 7/10 · 8 December 2017]

Director Henry King's "Hell Harbor" (1930) can be viewed to advantage in a 64-minutes cut-down on an 8/10 VintageFilmBuff DVD, which jettisons most of the boring footage with unimpressive hero John Holland in order to concentrate on the sinuous Lupe Velez and the charismatic villains, Gibson Gowland and Jean Hersholt.

The story setting and location material actually offers something new for a change and the thrilling action scenes come across with considerable power.

Nonetheless, Henry King's first talkie does not evidence the smooth expertise or the ultra glossiness we usually associate with his movies. Presumably, three changes of cameramen (art director Robert M. Haas was even forced to take over for a while) cannot have helped.

Still, it's rare to find a single movie (not a compilation) that ran through four changes of cameramen. See if you can pick who photographed what. I could not, and I've been a hobby photographer for 71 years!

Florida

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 17 December 2023]

Hell Harbor is a Caribbean port, formerly home to pirates. Henry Morgan (Gibson Gowland) kills and robs Peg Leg who sold a load of pearls. He gets blackmailed by Joseph Horngold (Jean Hersholt) and agrees to sell the marriage to his daughter Anita Morgan (Lupe Velez). She dreams of going to Havana. American pearl buyer Bob Wade (John Holland) arrives.

It's pre-Code and it's filmed in Florida. Florida is the most intriguing aspect. This has a bit of pirate-like local flavors although it's too in your face. Lupe Velez looks beautiful and is full of charisma. There is some good style attempted and some not-good execution. It's on TCM. It needs more restoration.

Take Me to Havana

[view_and_review · 6/10 · 3 February 2024]

I wanted to watch this for Lupe Velez only. After seeing her in "The Half-Naked Truth" and finding her to be the only bright spot of the movie, I wanted to see her in other movies.

Lupe played Anita, a half-Spanish young lady who lived on a Caribbean island. Her white father (Gibson Gowland) was greedy, grimy, and abusive. She had to threaten to kill him to keep him away from her when she refused to marry Joseph Horngold (Jean Hersholt).

Lupe's father was going to sell her to Joseph Horngold for a trifling amount. Of course, the amount of money isn't what was at issue here; she didn't love him and Joseph was a repulsive person.

Joseph couldn't buy Lupe until he sold some pearls to an American sailor named Bob Wade (John Holland). If Lupe could prevent that sale, then she could avoid marrying Joseph. She was going to kill Bob until she laid eyes on him. She faltered because in her words, "He is too beautiful to kill." It's a shallow thought, but you knew she would fall in love with him.

The editing and the lighting in this movie was horrendous. I actually wonder if I missed anything of importance; it was so bad. The plot, however, was good. The only part of the plot I found lacking was the age old story: small town, small Island, small locale beauty can't find a single eligible bachelor in her area until the man of her dreams visits from a far off place. Barring that overplayed piece of the story it was good.

Free on YouTube.

Sleazy and fascinating

[Sleepy-17 · 11 December 2001]

Early talkie boasts of the degenerate barfly Gibson Gowland (from "GREED") and the lovely Lupe Velez (the Mexican Spitfire)as his daughter. Luminous location photography and distinctive sound recording overshadow the stodgy dialogue. The acting is good but overstated. Lupe is beautiful but overdoes the cuteness, like a 30's version of Sandra Bullock.

Not The Sort Of Small Town Henry King Excelled In Showing

[boblipton · 6/10 · 15 December 2023]

Lupe Velez hopes ot leave the ugly little town and escape to big, bustling Havana. However, father Gibson Gowland has sold her to slovenly merchant Jean Hersholt, nominally as a bride. In sails handsome John Holland on his yacht.

The copy that survives isn't particularly beautiful visually, and while there's lots implied, nothing very pre-code happens. Fifteen missing minutes may indicate the censors' scissor, either locally at the time of release, or perhaps later. Miss Velez is cute as a button, moving between terror and comedy, While there are hints of very interesting things going on, the poor print, primitive outdoor sound recording, and Miss Velez' deshabile are too distracting to make this a great movie.

A Few Interesting Aspects

[Michael_Elliott · 11 May 2011]

Hell Harbor (1930)

** (out of 4)

Anita (Lupe Velez) dreams of reaching Havana and being "free" but her sadistic father (Gibson Gowland) trades her to a pawn seller (Jean Hersholt) but her one chance of escape comes from an American trader (John Holland) who shows up on the island. This pre-code has a reputation of being fairly dirty but I think most of the elements are rather weak or at least not as strong as some previous films. Sure, most of what we see here would be a major no no within a couple years but there are still much better and much dirtier pre-codes out there. In a lot of ways the story reminded me somewhat of D.W. Griffith's BROKEN BLOSSOMS because both films deal with a sweet girl being abused both mentally and physically by their father. King was a follower of Griffith so I do wonder if certain scenes in that 1919 classic were in his mind while filming this. The biggest problem I had with the film was the direction, which was quite weak from the start and things never really picked up until the very end. The current DVD offers the film up in an "uncut" 84-minute version and a shorter, wider released 63-minute version. I elected to watch the shorter version because several reviews I read said it was the better one and it isn't missing any of the "pre-code" stuff. From what I've read, the studio realized they had a pretty weak film so they took out a lot of the dialogue and released it with everything else in tact. I briefly jumped through the longer version and the majority of the uncut footage is just dialogue scenes that really add up to nothing. The pacing in the shorter version is pretty bad and it's even worse in the longer one because it never seems obvious what the director or screenwriter were trying to do. Velez dances around constantly trying to sell her innocence while the men look dirty and act like slime. Nothing ever really happens because the characters just talk, talk and talk some more and quite often these scenes just go no where as if they were just made up on the spot and the actors didn't know when to quit talking. Velez is pretty good in her role but the screenplay doesn't do her character much justice. The same is true with Holland who pretty much just stands around waiting to rescue the girl. Fans of GREED will enjoy seeing Hersholt and Gowland working together again and Universal horror fans will see a young Rondo Hatton in his first film. HELL HARBOR is a pretty weak movie all around and there's certainly not enough to make it worth sitting through unless you're a fan of one of the stars and must see everything they've done.

Velez best role in one of the best

[lvovacampos · 25 September 2021]

I want to thank the reviewer who called it sleazy and fascinating. That's exactly what I want to hear and what I call a great review! Spare me the psychoanalysis people and tell me the brass tacks like he did, ok?

So I therefore watched it based on the word 'sleazy', and what do ya know? Heck, this movie is one of sleaziest ever, so hot, not a dull moment from beginning to end.

Simply one of the greatest ever made!!