When the film begins, an idiot sailor is way too talkative about some gigantic pearls he's found on a far off island. Now you'd THINK he'd keep this to himself...especially since he has found a captain and crew to take him back to where he got the pearls so that they can all become rich men. Instead, however, he's swayed by the blackhearted Captain Larson (Victor McLaglen) and his vicious femme fatale, Ruby (Frances Farmer). In fact, they are so evil that when they near the island with the pearls, they murder the poor sailor. Then, when they land, they behave like they love the locals and only want what's in their best interest. But when their pearl diving natives try to find pearls, all they find are tiny ones....making their trip a waste of time. But when they try diving in much deeper places, they hit pay dirt...gigantic pearls. But there is a major problem....it's so deep that the divers risk death and one does die from the bends. So, the local kahuna, Kehane (Jon Hall), orders the divers to stop. So, it's time for Ruby to use her sexy wiles and get Kehane to change his mind...and he does so because he's head over heels for this heel! What's next?
So is this any good? Well, it's pretty good...though it would have been nice if more parts had actually been played by Polynesian actors and if the sea battle late in the film hadn't been so cheesy. Jon Hall at least was in real life half-Tahitian....which makes this better than many similar films of the era. My assumption is that there just weren't that many Polynesian actors available on and around Catalina Island, California, where the film was made! As for the story, it's an interesting little parable about the evils of 'civilization' and its impact on innocents...and the impact this has on the scoundrels who invaded their paradise.
By the way, this film stars Frances Farmer, a woman whose life story, "Frances", is mostly fiction. She never was labotomized and much of the IMDB biography from her is based on a book that completely fabricated much of her life and experiences.
