Cubussoli Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Evengyny Thanks for the memories!

FuzzyTagz If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Gurlyndrobb While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

morrison-dylan-fan Getting set for my 900th IMDb review,I started to look around for a non-Horror title to view from auteur film maker James Whale,and I stumbled across a surprisingly near-forgotten movie with a fantastic cast,which led to me getting ready to enter the jungle.The plot:Learning that a group of explorers have died whilst attempting to find a hidden Incan treasure, archaeologist Keith Brandon decides to hire a crew so that he can complete the mission. Preparing to set off,Brandon is asked by David Richardson if he can join in his search.Warning Richardson that they could be away for at least a year,Brandon sees Richardson display a real determination, which leads to him being invited to join all of the other guys on the mission.As the months start to pass,the group start to break into factions when Richardson's wife Stephanie decides to join them.View on the film:Given a big budget by Universal after The Man in the Iron Mask proved to be a smash hit, (with Universal spending so much on the sets for this movie,that they ended up re-using the sets for years after in order to make up for the box office results!)directing auteur James Whale & cinematographer Karl Freund stylishly place objects around the corner of the screen to give the jungle a real depth of field.Following each footstep in the jungle,Whale and Freund scan the title with gliding tracking shots which basks the heat from the jungle midst onto the audience.Keeping the gang solely consisting of men,Whale smartly uses the arrival of Stephanie Richardson to continue one of his major themes,as each of the explorers tidy's themselves up,and try to hide their original class.Whilst she was never truly comfortable writing for the "talkies",the screenplay by Frances Marion (and an uncredited Harry Hervey) keeps the film moving at a quick pace,thanks to offering a smooth mix of tense Adventure and downcast Melodrama.Although the decision to keep them apart on screen is rather strange,the writers give the Richard's a real sense of longing for each other,whilst trying to get to grips with their haunted memories.Sending the group out into the jungle,the writers offer a delightful mix of quirky character highlights ("Home on the range!") with gripping action scenes,as the group get a less than warm welcome.Despite not being happy with his performance in the movie,Vincent Price actually does very well at showing David Richardson's never truly fitting in with the rest of the adventurers.Joining Price, Joan Bennett smoothly dips the film into moody Melodrama as Stephanie Richardson,whilst George Sanders delivers some heart warming charm,as they all prepare to enter the green hell.

tedg I will propose here that some films have merit, and are worth watching even though they are horrible. I mean to exclude laughing at ineptness from the equation. This is an example. It has three notable items, the first of which is where the allure resides.— It takes itself seriously. Really, the appeal of competence fades in the light of earnestness. As soon as it appeared, the participants realized it was a disaster, but you rarely know that when you are making the thing. It had name talent and a reasonable budget. The narrative stance has no irony or folds. It was intended to hit straight on, and even if the arrow did not score, it was shot with the intent to kill. And that matters.— The film world had long since developed a shorthand for black sexual malevolence by depicting the risky jungle. Two touchstones were "Kongo" and "King Kong" both of which exploited the (then) visceral fear from racism. The same is attempted here, but I do not believe that any of the natives are played by blacks. The effect is startling, a now comic understanding of how transference occurs. You have the deep seated fear of sexual arousal out of control in the American populace. Deep, and strong. That gets transferred to an innocent people, only recently by the time of this film. That in turn gets denoted in unambiguous ways by the jungle and jungle people in film. At each step, there is a trailing disconnect, so that by the time you get to this film, the people in the jungle do not have to remotely look native. (It is not Africa, but that is irrelevant.)— the script has all the elements. Sexual betrayal. Sexual competition (separately). Ancient magic attached to gold. Sexual imagery with phallic structures and blasting through walls to release floods. All the competitors (stereotypes) locked in a small space fighting the inevitability of death. It doesn't work, like "Kongo" does. But there sure as heck are all the parts.Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements.

Brian Ellis Started off promising but got bogged down in the middle with the introduction of Mrs. Richardson (Joan Bennett). Warning, spoilers will most likely be in the rest of the review. It seemed kind of pointless to kill off Vincent Price so early in the movie, a lot was made of how mysterious he was. Also, convenient of George Sanders to kill himself just before they get rescued, this prevents any kind of entanglements there might have been if they all had been rescued. The fun thing to do with this film, is that knowing that director James Whale was gay, is to look at the characters in another light. Isn't it strange that everything was going great with the exploring party made up of just men but once Bennett comes along everything goes to hell? Also what was the deal with John Howard and Douglas Fairbanks Jr.? It sure seemed to me that Howard was carrying a torch for Doug. Oh, the mind reels.

Sleepy-17 Essentially "Lost Patrol with a Girl"; not enough action to be a true adventure. Nice photography and spotty acting are the main features of Whale's last film. Noble Englishmen exploit grateful natives, finding treasure in an Inca temple. They fight over "the girl" and then are surrounded by savages with poison darts. Good battle scenes at the end. A must for Whale fans, for everyone else it's a moderately amusing time-waster.