Trucolored Hokum Which Builds Up to a Volcanic Climax
Barnstorming South Seas hokum in chewy Trucolor of the type Republic Pictures was churning out by the yard at this time, full of plot elements that had earlier done service in their westerns & serials, such as diamonds being sought by a plummy-voiced villain in a carnival mask, endless fisticuffs, and of course Vera Hruba Ralston, wife of Republic's president, Herbert J. Yates.On this occasion she pays Kim Kim, a dusky Eurasion exotic dancer with extraordinary eyebrows whose mere presence aboard McMurray's rigger the 'Gerrymander' soon has men fighting over her, and is later flogged to reveal the location of the diamonds.
The phoniness of the studio scenes on board the deck of the 'Gerrymander' is complimented by the usual overacting by Republic stalwarts Victor McLaglen and Paul Fix, in marked contrast to superb model work by the Lydecker brothers depicting the 'Gerrymander' battling pirates at sea and climaxing in the 1883 eruption of the volcano Krakatau and the resulting tidal wave.
score 7/10
richardchatten 12 February 2017
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw3638701/36035
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