ThiefHott Too much of everything

Supelice Dreadfully Boring

Matylda Swan It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

Michelle Ridley The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity

ksf-2 Right from the start, we can tell that this DVD from TCM.com is a good quality production... it has menu options and appears to have been restored professionally. Madge Evans and John Boles star in this south sea thriller about people being shipwrecked on an island. According to Evans, director James Whale was NOT happy about having to make this film, and it was near the end of his career. Universal packed a lot of story into this 65 minute shortie, so things move right along. Similar plot to Gilligan's Island... bigshots, rich folks, and assorted characters (a tarot card reader! ) crash-land on an inhabited south sea island, and try to make a deal with the resident "Malone" (Bruce Cabot) to get back to civilization. Gene Lockhart is in here as "the Senator"... who huffs and puffs his nasty outbursts every couple minutes. Malone is clearly on the run from "something", but no-one knows what. He always seems to have clean, ironed shirts, in spite of his being on a south sea island for years! Fistfights, gun fights, people are shot, people try to steal a boat...This one kind of loses steam about halfway through. After they meet Malone, it kinds of falls apart. Will anyone get off the island? A big chunk of the script is just silly and doesn't really progress in the last third of the film. The last few minutes kind of ties up a lot of loose ends, but it could have been so much better. I blame it on a weak script. It's okay. One of those fun, exotic south sea adventures, but it got silly right around the middle. Original story by Harold Buckley, who had several films made from his books in the 1930s. We were right in the heart of the film production code, so much of this story is predictable...

mfnmbessert-224-279128 I really want to like 'Sinners In Paradise' more than I actually did, just because the premise is so big, so juicy, it could be so much more than it is, and because what James Whale actually left us with feels like just a teaser of what he could have done. The film could easily have been twice as long as it is, and even to those who viewed it in 1938, it probably came off as very entertaining and thrilling at times, but some were probably left feeling disappointed, as the idea is really half-baked.Part 'Lord Of The Flies', part 'Gilligan's Island', I was wishing that 'Sinners In Paradise' would be just more... sinister the entire time. I kept hoping for these people to die off Agatha Christie murder mystery style, and I waited and waited for it to happen. But it never did. Alas, there are quite a few enjoyable characters here, but certain characters are just pure filler, and its a shame that their characters weren't more well developed, because there is certainly the time for it. Madge Evans and John Boles are basically pretty forgettable as our leads, and they are overshadowed by more likable characters like Gene Lockhart and Willie Fung.All in all, 'Sinners In Paradise' comes off as an enjoyable, watchable film, from the man who brought us 'Frankenstein' in 1931, but it feels like Whale was just looking more to have fun with making this film, rather than having it be a serious endeavor. I hope this film makes it to the screen again one day, perhaps as a remake, but more in the vein of films like 'Identity' instead of 'Six Days, Seven Nights'.SINNERS IN PARADISE -----7/10.

elainesantello The opening scenes, especially on the plane, were far better than any of the rest of the movie. I have to give points for the exotic island setting, too. I'm pretty sure, though, that Ping wasn't speaking Cantonese or Mandarin.Just another reminder of the acceptable racism of the film's time. And I can't even use the word anti-climatic for the ending. Talk about insipid. "I-I have a little matter to clear up." "Whatever it is, Jim, we'll face it together." Does that need a spoiler alert? If you're into classic b-&-w jungle flicks you might enjoy this film, otherwise you may want to bring your knitting, or a book. Good picture and sound quality, with wooden acting.

mark.waltz A group of totally different people on a plane to China are stranded on a desert Island during a storm, where they meet the Island's only two inhabitants, handsome Jim Boles ("Stella Dallas") and the as-always comical Willie Fung. They include slimy politician Gene Lockhart, tough-as-nails Marion Martin, tarot card reader Nana Bryant, rich business woman Charlotte Wynters, and nurse Madge Evans, as well as several business men of a rather shady nature. Boles doesn't want them there, and forces them to make their own way. Several of the men finally make their way off the Island on Boles' boat with the reluctant (but formidable) Mr. Fung, who may seem like he may not have what it takes to stand up to them, but ultimately he does. Boles, in the meantime, falls for nurse Madge, while tough-as-nails Ms. Martin lets her guard down with an ex-con who isn't all that bad, either. It turns out that Boles has a reason for being away from society, which ties in with another one of the castaways.James Whale was one of the best directors at Universal in the 30's. He had an eye for detail and could always be counted on to add a lavishness to his films not usually found at Universal during its day as one of the lower "A" studios. By 1936, Universal was prospering thanks to the Deanna Durbin musicals, although the horror genre of the early 30's was beginning to fade thanks to the legion of decency and the production code. While there may be some cheap special effects in this film, there are some riveting action sequences, particularly the plane crash and the ship fight between two men and Mr. Fung at sea. Like "Gilligan's Island", there are constant jokes about "fish for dinner again?". This is a handsome "B" film to look at, if one can get past the story flaws that aren't quite plausible.As far as the cast is concerned, Boles is a bland hero, and Evans does best as she can with her not well defined character. She has a great scene at the beginning telling her husband (Alan Edwards) at the airport that she is leaving him, but after that, her spunk all but disappears. Ironically, Ms. Wynters resembles Tina Louise ("Gilligan Island's" Ginger) to some degree, but doesn't get anything really substantial to do but act snooty and above the rest of the riffraff she is unfortunately stuck with. Gene Lockhart is insufferable, as usual, typecast as he was in many films, as a shady politician and businessman. He would be doing roles like this well into the 40's. I always confuse him with another similar character actor of the era, Grant Mitchell. They were never given the chance to expand their portrayal of these characters by making them more sympathetic or understandable like a Charles Coburn or Edward Arnold would. I'd hate to think that people like Lockhart's character are being elected into public office today, let alone when this movie was made.The one actor who stands out to me is Marion Martin, who is so lovably tough that I bet it would be fun to try and melt the exterior to find the warmth inside hidden by years of disappointments. Actors like Ms. Martin, Barbara Pepper and Iris Adrian (the lower class Joan Blondells and Ann Sheridans of their era) were delightful even with their bit parts in films of the 30's and 40's, and deserved better than what they got. Audiences had to wait until the 50's when Shelley Winters made these type of characters the focus of films like "South Sea Woman" and "Larceny". I didn't care much for the ruthless businessmen (particularly the one carrying a satchel of cash). Having pompous Reynolds representing the seedy side of high society was enough for me. Some people are quite offended today by the typecasting of Willie Fung, but he is probably more well defined and consistent in his actions here, making him more believable than his characters in other films I've seen him in. I wish there was more of the always lovable Nana Bryant, playing a role similar to Elisabeth Risdon's in "Five Came Back" and Beaulah Bondi in "Back From Eternity".In conclusion, at 63 minutes, "Sinners in Paradise" is the perfect 30's double bill fare that audiences clamored for in the late depression years, but would forget about seeing until it popped up on TV years later. It is fun to watch for some campy lines, a few memorable performances, and some attractive Island scenery. I'm glad to find that it is on DVD after seeing it at the Film Forum in New York as part of a James Whale triple bill.