Wednesday, April 06, 2022

Movie review - "On the Isle of Samoa" (1950) **1/2

 Jon Hall rarely played a villain but it did him the world of good. Opening scene is set in Sydney (!) with a moustached Hall robbing a business partner whose wife he was rooting. He leaves them both to get on a plane and takes off... and crashes on an island. There he discovers a paternalistic former doctor who has dropped out and is a kindly old protective man (another thief would've been better dramatically) and a dopey-eyed island girl, played by a very young Susan Cabot.

It's in black and white which is a shame though that does suit the noir opening. (They could've gone to colour once he landed on Samoa).

It's one of Hall's best ever roles - a crim who gets redeemed. He takes his shirt off in lagoon scene and looks out of shape, ducking into the shade.

This probably lacks another criminal character to cause trouble for Hall (and be extra heroic). I did like the convenient volcano. At the end when he hands himself in, isn't he going to prison forever?

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