Isle of Forgotten Sins

This is really only fair, but it does have its moments, and it works all right as light entertainment. The story has plenty of adventure and intrigue, though it has a few too many leaps of logic as it tries to pack an awful lot into a relatively brief running time. Gale Sondergaard, John Carradine, and Sidney Toler give the cast some good leads, and they help keep things going despite some stretches of weak dialogue.

The main part of the story has Carradine, as a diver, and his partner/rival (Frank Fenton) matched in a deadly battle of wits with Toler and his accomplices. Sondergaard plays the owner of a disreputable haven for seafarers, who is close to Carradine's character. The story features a couple of interesting turns, and the approaching monsoon adds some extra drama.

Sondergaard gets a lot of screen time in the earlier scenes, but her character gradually fades into the background, and becomes a spectator for most of the last part. It's unfortunate, since she is easily the most accomplished performer in the cast. Carradine and Toler both give entertaining light performances, exaggerating their characters somewhat. The relationship between the two divers, with its conflicting rivalries and loyalties, could have been made a much more significant part of the movie. Fenton's screen presence isn't strong enough for him to be much of a complement to Carradine, and as a result some of their exchanges are not as sharp as they could have been.

The action sequences and the sense of danger are usually effective enough. Overall, it's a fairly solid B-feature, and would probably be worth seeing for most of those who like the genre.