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Horror Island

  • 1941
  • Approved
  • 1h
IMDb RATING
5.9/10
1.1K
YOUR RATING
Leo Carrillo, Dick Foran, Fuzzy Knight, and Peggy Moran in Horror Island (1941)
ComedyCrimeHorrorMysteryThriller

A down-on-his-luck businessman organizes an excursion to Sir Henry Morgan's Island for a treasure hunt only to encounter a mysterious phantom and murder.A down-on-his-luck businessman organizes an excursion to Sir Henry Morgan's Island for a treasure hunt only to encounter a mysterious phantom and murder.A down-on-his-luck businessman organizes an excursion to Sir Henry Morgan's Island for a treasure hunt only to encounter a mysterious phantom and murder.

  • Director
    • George Waggner
  • Writers
    • Maurice Tombragel
    • Victor McLeod
    • Alex Gottlieb
  • Stars
    • Dick Foran
    • Leo Carrillo
    • Peggy Moran
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    5.9/10
    1.1K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • George Waggner
    • Writers
      • Maurice Tombragel
      • Victor McLeod
      • Alex Gottlieb
    • Stars
      • Dick Foran
      • Leo Carrillo
      • Peggy Moran
    • 30User reviews
    • 27Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Photos41

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    Top cast17

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    Dick Foran
    Dick Foran
    • Bill Martin
    Leo Carrillo
    Leo Carrillo
    • Tobias Clump
    Peggy Moran
    Peggy Moran
    • Wendy Creighton
    Fuzzy Knight
    Fuzzy Knight
    • Stuff Oliver
    John Eldredge
    John Eldredge
    • Cousin George
    Lewis Howard
    Lewis Howard
    • Thurman Coldwater
    Hobart Cavanaugh
    Hobart Cavanaugh
    • Professor Jasper Quinley
    Walter Catlett
    Walter Catlett
    • Sergeant McGoon
    Ralf Harolde
    Ralf Harolde
    • Rod Grady
    Iris Adrian
    Iris Adrian
    • Arleen Grady
    Foy Van Dolsen
    • The Phantom
    Emmett Vogan
    Emmett Vogan
    • The Stranger
    Robert Barron
    Robert Barron
    • Wreck Spectator
    • (uncredited)
    Ted Billings
    • Wreck Spectator
    • (uncredited)
    Eddy Chandler
    Eddy Chandler
    • Police Officer
    • (uncredited)
    Don Dillaway
    Don Dillaway
    • Sailor
    • (uncredited)
    Walter Tetley
    • Delivery Boy
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • George Waggner
    • Writers
      • Maurice Tombragel
      • Victor McLeod
      • Alex Gottlieb
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews30

    5.91.1K
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    Featured reviews

    6AaronCapenBanner

    Leave The Castle!

    Dick Foran plays Bill Martin, an unemployed man who lives on the waterfront who inherits an old castle on a remote island. He gets the idea of charging boat rides to the island for a ghost & treasure hunt excursion, helped by his best friend Stuff Oliver(played by Fuzzy Knight) Peggy Moran plays heiress(and love interest) Wendy Creighton who goes to the island along with several others, where they encounter a caped and mysterious figure known as "The Phantom", who has half of a pirate treasure map, while Bill's associate The Captain has the other. Who will find it first, and survive the night, since someone is also a killer? Fun movie is oddly little-known, but amusing to think how this may have influenced "Scooby Doo, Where Are You?" since plot elements and characters are identical! A rushed production though, since this has a big goof: about 26 minutes in, as the group enters the library, a stage hand with portable spotlights can be clearly seen backing out of the scene!
    6planktonrules

    A variation on the old dark house genre.

    Bill Martin (Dick Foran) is a man who is one step ahead of his creditors when he inherits something odd--a castle on a lonely island in the Caribbean. He decides to use this to his advantage and offers to take people on a treasure hunting expedition there...if they can afford the fare on his boat. However, once there it becomes obvious that there's already a treasure hunter there...and they seem willing to kill the boat load of people if necessary. As for the visitors, they are a motley crew...with everyone from a wanted man to a cousin wanting to buy the mansion to another crook! What's to come of all this?

    This is a slick little B-mystery film from Universal...and the studio was excellent at making these wonderful atmospheric cheap pictures. While never brilliant in any way, it is reasonably well made and entertaining.

    By the way, Foran's sidekick in the film is Fuzzy Knight...and fortunately Knight does NOT use his stuttering schtick at all in the movie...thank goodness!
    6Bunuel1976

    HORROR ISLAND (George Waggner, 1941) **1/2

    I had first known about this through a still in the Halliwell Film Guide, though the noted late critic usually dismissed similar programmers: it turned out to be a fun horror comedy (from a story by Curt Siodmak) whose 60-minute length zips by – providing plenty of characters (even if the gangster-on-the-lam and his moll don't really work here), action, old-fashioned thrills (a caped maniac after hidden loot is loose in a remote castle), chuckles – and a surprise villain; the film is a shade overbalanced by the comedy, but the typical Universal atmosphere (and a few of its more notable sets!) are certainly present throughout. It also features a good second-tier cast: likable Dick Foran and cute Peggy Moran – re-united after the superior THE MUMMY'S HAND (1940) – are the leads and they're ably supported by the likes of Leo Carrillo, Fuzzy Knight, Hobart Cavanaugh and Walter Catlett; however, it's Lewis Howard who steals the film as Moran's chronically tired companion – even though he's absent through most of the second half!

    Michael Elliott had rated this a *** and I almost did myself – but, in the long run, I don't think the film has quite the same draw as even some of the lesser titles in the Universal monster cycle; still, for an 'old dark house' type of film – of which the studio did their fair share – it's well up to par. Incidentally, I had acquired another copy of this on DVD-R last year, but the disc froze several times during playback and I had to give up after a while; I'm glad I caught up with it eventually, as the film deserves to have a legitimate DVD release along with some of the other rare/lesser-known Universal horrors, like MAN-MADE MONSTER (1941) – which I've never watched! – and NIGHT MONSTER (1942).
    6Tera-Jones

    Funny Film

    The film starts out a little slow but once they get to the island (about 30 minutes into the film) the movie gets good - funny. There are some suspenseful moments, a neat mystery to solve and plenty of comedy to kept it interesting.

    Panama Pete (The Phantom)is played by Foy Van Dolsen but I could easily see John Carradine in this role for some reason. But The Phantom is not the only reason to watch this one - the rest of the cast/characters are likable in a neat plot - so this movie is worth watching if you like a pretty good comedy-mystery story.

    I would not say this is Universal's best film of the time era but it certainly is a joyful watch.

    6.5/10
    7utgard14

    Fun Time-Killer

    Old dark house comedy thriller from Universal with a nice cast of eclectic characters. Dick Foran plays a financially-strapped boat captain who comes up with a phony treasure hunt scam. He takes a group of suckers out to Morgan's Island to hunt for Sir Henry Morgan's treasure. They stay in an old castle and that night strange things start to happen. The group finds itself menaced by a mysterious man in a cape. In addition to Foran, there's Fuzzy Knight, Leo Carrillo, John Eldredge, Hobart Cavanaugh, and other faces familiar to classic film fans. Peggy Moran reunites with her Mummy's Hand love interest, Dick Foran. It's diverting, escapist fun. Quick little B movie that is a pleasant way to pass the time.

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    Related interests

    Will Ferrell in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)
    Comedy
    James Gandolfini, Edie Falco, Sharon Angela, Max Casella, Dan Grimaldi, Joe Perrino, Donna Pescow, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Tony Sirico, and Michael Drayer in The Sopranos (1999)
    Crime
    Mia Farrow in Rosemary's Baby (1968)
    Horror
    Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway in Chinatown (1974)
    Mystery
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    Thriller

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      "Universal" released this film only 25 days after shooting began on March 3, 1941, finishing on the 15th.
    • Goofs
      Upon arriving at the Island Castle, the group of treasure seekers walk from the foyer to the study. A very visible crew member is in frame holding a spotlight on lead man Dick Foran. As the camera pans right, the crew member turns and walks out of frame.
    • Quotes

      Professor Jasper Quinley: [examining the treasure map] It's amazing, positively amazing!

      Bill Martin: You mean, it's on the level?

      Professor Jasper Quinley: On the level? Oh, you mean "authentic?"

      Stuff Oliver: Oh, what we want to know - is it real?

    • Connections
      Featured in Nightmare!: Horror Island (1958)

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    FAQ14

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • March 28, 1941 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Languages
      • Spanish
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Остров ужасов
    • Filming locations
      • Backlot, Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA
    • Production company
      • Universal Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $93,000 (estimated)
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h(60 min)
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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