In 1883, the captain (Maximilian Schell, who passed away today) of a salvage ship is looking for a sunken ship that contains a shipment of rare pearls worth a fortune. Unfortunately, the volcano on the island of Krakatoa (which is actually west of Java) is about to explode so it's a race against time to find the ship and get out of the treacherous waters before all Hell breaks loose. This rather bloated disaster film feels unnecessarily padded out. It was originally released as a prestigious "Roadshow" presentation (shot in 70 millimeter, overture and intermission etc.) so I suppose the producers felt they had to justify its status by extending its length. So we get unnecessary time wasting scenes like Barbara Werle singing and stripping for Brian Keith or nuns and children singing little ditties as the volcano makes loud ominous noises in the distance. What should have been a fun "popcorn" movie slogs along and doesn't really kick in till the film's last forty minutes. No one is at their best here and some, like Diane Baker, are at their worst and that includes Frank De Vol whose score is shameless. Directed by Bernard L. Kowalski. With Sal Mineo, Rossano Brazzi, J.D. Cannon, Marc Lawrence, John Leyton, Jaqui Chan and Geoffrey Holder and Niall MacGinnis whose parts seem to have been cut as they have no dialogue.
No comments:
Post a Comment