ISLAND OF LOST MEN (1939)

In Singapore, nightclub singer China Lily (Anna May Wong) is noticed by Gregory Prin (J. Carroll Naish), a Malaysian plantation manager. He invites her to join him on a trip upriver to visit his digs. His interest, most likely, is sexual, though nothing seems to happen between them; for her part, she notices that he wears a medallion that belonged to her missing father. We eventually learn that her real name is Kim Ling and she is looking for her disgraced father Ahn Ling who is assumed to have embezzled $300,000 from the Chinese government meant to purchase arms. She finds out that Prin hires mostly outlaws and men on the run from their pasts to work as overseers along the river, and she thinks she might find her father there, though she doesn't tell Prin her motive. At the main outpost, we meet Prin's primary overseers: the Chinese Chang Tai (Anthony Quinn) looks young and healthy, but the middle-aged white men Frobenius and Prof. Senn seem a little the worse for wear. We also meet Prin's valet Herbert (and his annoying pet monkey Egbert), who may be a bit obsequious but also maybe smarter than he comes off. Kim and Chang recognize each other; he is a secret service member who is also looking for Kim's father. As they secretly work together, another man, Ballister (Broderick Crawford), shows up, oozing slime that he tries to pass off as charm, and, knowing the situation, is looking to engage in a little blackmail of Prin, keeping quiet in exchange for a chunk of the stolen money. Signs of native uprisings begin to appear. The man in charge of a large trading post at Tenwek quits; Prin lets him, but then has him killed on the river. Chang Tai, suspecting that Ling is being held there, gets himself sent up to Tenwek to investigate. Soon Prin learns Kim's real identity and seems to have the upper hand against Ballister, but Kim finds the stolen money, Chang finds Lin, and when Prin cruelly shoots and kills Herbert's beloved pet monkey, the tables turn.

This B-melodrama (no, dear fellow bloggers, it's not noir) is a remake of 1933's WHITE WOMAN, following the main plot beats with lesser stars in the lead parts, but the supporting cast in particular here makes this one worth seeing. Wong is weak and wooden as usual, and practically disappears into the background, both as an actor and a character. Naish, usually an asset, overacts and uses an outrageous accent that sounds exactly like the one Peter Sellers adopted satirically years later when he lampooned Charlie Chan in MURDER BY DEATH. But the movie is saved by others. Anthony Quinn is young and sleekly handsome and in control as the initially mysterious Chang Tai; Eric Blore gets a little more to do than usual as the valet Herbert—he is mild comic relief but also plays an important role in the climax. Ernest Truex (Frobenius) and Rudolf Forster (Senn) underplay their roles while still bringing their characters to life just enough to make us care a little bit about them. Best of all is Broderick Crawford, pictured, as Ballister. For starters, he's far more appealing looking than he usually was; he's beefy but not yet obese, and in some shots is almost handsome. His character is interesting; he appears as a spoiler to Prin's plans but he has to fight to keep the upper hand. The exciting climax plays out between Ballister and Prin, and we're not really sure who we want to win. It's sort of fun to realize about a third of the way in that none of the characters like each other, except Kim and Chang, and they seem more bonded by circumstance than anything else. This comes fairly close to being as good as the original; the presence of Charles Laughton and Carole Lombard in the 1933 film gives it the edge. Not to be confused with Island of Doomed Men or Island of Lost Women or Island of Lost Souls or Isle of Missing Men. [YouTube]