Call of the South Seas

Allan Lane washes up on a small French Polynesian island. After he sobers up, he goes to work for Roy Barcroft, who runs most of the economy, thanks to his generosity towards the islanders and the goodwill of Janet Martin. She's the half-French princess of the island -- she'll become queen when she marries -- who sings in the local saloon. She develops a yen for Lane. Then one day, there's a ship in port, and off walks US government official William Henry. He wants Lane for embezzlement.

It sounds pretty awful, and it's a rather silly example of the South Seas Romance, but the performances are pretty guide, even if Miss Martin walks around with a showgirl smile. It's directed by John English, one of Republic's cohort of western directors, given a chance to operate outside his usual venue. In truth, it looks like a Western script, with some adjectives crossed out and replaced; change the location to a Mexican border town and it rewrites itself except for the underwater volcano. Thanks to an amiable cast and a quick running time (less than an hour) it ends up a decent time-waster.