Forbidden Island

Jon Hall was a leading man in many adventure films and he freelanced for several American studios during his lengthy career. When he first started in the 1930's he used his birth name Charles Hall Locher, as his father was Felix Locher, a sometimes character actor in silent films. His cousin was the award winning cinematographer Conrad Hall. Jon's first film using his screen name was John Ford's "The Hurricane" with Dorothy Lamour in 1937.

He made six films with Maria Montez at Universal in the 1940's all of which were made in Technicolor and were very popular. But by 1959, he had definitely slowed down. After the TV show he did, "Ramar of the Jungle", he got into the manufacture of housings for underwater cameras. It was because of this that "Forbidden Island" came to be made.

The movie was primarily noted for its underwater photography and its music by the composer of exotic soundscapes, Martin Denny. In storyline it is actually a rather tired crime drama dealing with the usual band of miscreants trying to retrieve a priceless emerald from a sunken ship. Hall heads up the divers, who mysteriously start to die off after one of them discovers an underwater skeleton. The mayhem continues until the decidedly sunken conclusion.

This picture was his next to the last and that last one has become something of a cult item, "The Beach Girls and the Monster" which tried to cash-in on the beach blanket craze of the 1960's.

Jon Hall will always have a place, actually two places, on the Hollywood Walk of Fame; one for his movies and the other for television. His memory will not fade for those who enjoy his brand of colorful adventure.

Luckily it's short, only one hour and 6 minutes! Because if you have the patience to see it, you will face some stupid characters, engaged in an equally stupid scenario. OK, let's say it's an adventure somewhere near an island somewhere in the Philippines. A few men who think with their feet, because they don't show that they have normal brains, are also manipulated by an idiot, who is also a criminal. Two of the men die very quickly and easily in this hour and 6 minutes, being victims firstly of their own stupidity and secondly due to the intrigues woven by the criminal Edward Stuart Godfrey, played unconvincingly by John Farrow. And the other characters are also played by second-hand actors, totally unrealistic and non-credible. There is also a blonde beauty, not who knows what beauty, Joanne Godfrey, played by Nan Adams. OK, to conclude, if you read the own statement of the actor Jon Hall, the interpreter of the Dave Courtney character, you get a clear impression of his professional level, valid for the entire cast: "I never liked acting. I don't like to be told what to do and what to say and how to say it. I'm grateful to it as it provided me with the money to do other things such as I'm into now, but as a profession, it's a bore." It's the first film directed by Charles B. Griffith. It would have been better not to have made this film! Zero stars!

"Forbidden Island" is a frustrating film. On one hand, it's filmed in vivid color and the diving sequences are really nice...with lovely underwater cinematography AND folks who really know how to scuba dive*. But, despite this, the story and acting are pretty bad...especially the flat acting. Plus, I loved all the fully articulated skeletons they find underwater....and some you can even see screws and wire holding them together!!

A weirdo who obviously is evil contracts with four men to do some diving on some recent wreck. He claims he wants an emerald which is aboard the boat and whatever else the divers find can be theirs. Of course there's much more to it and the emerald is a ruse...and ultimately the baddie does bad things. All the while, his paid pretend wife falls for one of the divers.

The dialog and acting are pretty bad here and the plot is rough. But the diving is really good and the underwater shots are marvelous...so at least it can offer something!

*In so many older films with scuba, the divers obviously have no idea what they are doing...such as flailing their arms about in order to go faster, though the opposite is actually the case. "Thunderball" is one of these films and there are many more where it's just obvious to an experienced diver that the divers in the films are very inexperienced.

one of films who has, at first sigh, one virtue - preserves the flavor of its time. the clichés, the entire story, the romance, the portrait of bad guy. in fact, it is little more than a film from the "50's. the underwater scenes are the basic argument. in same measure, the music. and the work of Jon Hall to give a realistic character, with traces of coherent past, with the virtues of the hero in the shell of the image of brave man. sure, it is far to be a memorable film. but it gives a nice story, not complex but decent made, with Nan Adams in a interesting role of victim - temptation and John Farrow in a role for who he does the best.exoticism, creepy details, fight scenes, the truth known only by the viewer and the tricks of bad guy. a simple recipes. and a film seductive fr its old flavor. that is all.

Adventure movie written and directed by Charles B Griffith.I'am not a true fan of this film,cause I feel like the good potential lost mostly because the characters were very used,and despite the better second half of the film,I never felt this will get that big ending like lot of similar movies of the genre,and lot of similar movies of the decade.But decent acting will satisfy the taste of classic movie lovers.Personally seen this film on television,with lot of commercial breaks,that means,if you will rather rent this film,you can have a better time.I don't know how far was this film successful as business,but probably television,and rental stores will help,but looks like they are also can not see real business in this film.