Mercy Island

"Mercy Island" is a cheap B-movie from Republic Pictures. Surprisingly, it WAS Oscar-nominated...for Best Musical Score. Don't take this to mean that it's an especially good movie!

The story is supposedly set in the Florida Keys on the island of Mercy...a fictional island (I checked). However, it was mostly filmed in Hollywood, though some of the stock footage did appear to be on Islamorada, Florida in the Keys. And, laughably, the actors did most of their roaming about on the 'island' by having the island on a rear projected screen!

An obnoxious lawyer, Warren Ramsey, hires a fishing boat...and it soon becomes apparent that he thinks he knows far more than the experienced captain. As a result, they end up going aground on the island and are temporarily stuck there. Once on this seemingly abandoned island, they meet up with Dr. Sanderson...a man who disappeared to this island after unjustly being accused of murder. Everyone likes him...except for Ramsey, who hates and suspects everyone. So, Ramsey plans on telling authorities about the Doctor...and bosses everyone around like he's Il Duce! What's next? See the film.

This is not a terrible film...it's watchable and reasonably entertaining for an ultra-low budget movie from a third-tier studio. The best thing about it is Otto Kruger, a fine actor, playing the poor doctor. The worst is the one-dimensional and over the top acting by Ray Middleton (Ramsey) and the overuse of stock footage.