Vashirdfel Simply A Masterpiece

Kien Navarro Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Kaydan Christian A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Philippa All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

dougdoepke As I recall this little slice of b&w exotica got quite a bit of buzz back then. No doubt, that was because of the naughty innuendo and unusual locale. 1954 was before Hawaii became a state or showed up on weekly TV, so the backgrounds and people were still foreign to American living rooms. Anyway, the plot's anything but tight, running two or three threads at the same time. There's no need to recap what others have already done in detail. What carries the film are the Hawaiian 'mise-en-scene', colorful characters, and good acting. Honolulu's Half Acre amounts to a hellish maze of rickety stairs, balconies, and walkways, all used to good effect by director Auer. Couple that with a noir character like Chester (Corey), a bosomy slut like Rose (Windsor, of course), and a slimy yucko like Ippy (Strong), along with other shady types, and who cares about plot logic. As a result, the visuals and characters rivet even when the narrative doesn't. Still, what's with Tubby (White) who gets bloodlessly shot in the shoulder and seconds later pulls a Tarzan escape with perfect coordination. Even cowboy matinees are more realistic than that, and who knew matinees better than Republic. All in all, it looks like a feature length appeal was aimed at, including something of a 'name' cast and a spicy story. Still, I'd like to know how the results actually performed dollar-wise. Nonetheless, the movie's not without points of interest, along with an ending that is not predictable, plus a Hawaii that sure doesn't show up on tourist brochures.

MartinHafer I guy was supposedly killed during the attack on Pearl Harbor. However, his wife of only a week insists that he might still be alive and cannot get on with her life (a pretty dumb cliché). So, she goes to the island to investigate and finds that the man who MIGHT be her husband is in police custody--held on a murder rap. Can this all get sorted out by the end and niceness once again be restored to pretty Oahu? I noticed that some of the other reviews saw some plot holes in this one. I would agree--several times the plot SHOULD have been worked out better in order to make logical sense. However, despite these shortcomings, the film is pretty good--a nice example of a B noir film with a strange locale. I say strange because it's set in Hawaii--and it gives some lesser actors and Asian-Americans a chance to act. For example, Philip Ahn played mostly one-dimensional Japanese soldiers in WWII-era films. Here, he's a wonderful villain--with some personality. The same goes for Keye Luke. Here he's no longer #1 Son (from the Charlie Chan movies) but plays a cop in his own right. As for the rest, Wendell Corey (a dependable supporting actor) is in lead along with support from the likes of Evelyn Keyes, Marie Windsor and Jesse White. Together, this ensemble case does a very nice job. Not a great film but an enjoyable time-passer.

Carolyn Paetow This flat-footed, full-of-holes feature is nonetheless fascinating because of its Honolulu locale and exotic characters. Marie Windsor as Jesse White's wife and Philip Ahn's mistress? Film noir nirvana! And the Production Code vision of a hellish den of iniquity? A crisply clean framework of lumber and whitewash enclosing gambling parlors and taxi-dancehalls!

madbomber03 This little gem of a film noir B movie is about a woman trying to track down her long lost husband in Hawaii after the War (WWII) where he was supposed to have died. In the process she finds herself in the middle of an underworld power struggle. Beautifully filmed in Hawaii with Ms. Keyes really working those facial expressions, as she tended to do. The film is tight, cynical and at times redeeming. Just a good little film.