Fair Wind To Java (1953)

In 1883, the captain (Fred MacMurray) of an American merchant ship sailing the Dutch East Indies is told of a dancing girl (Vera Ralston) sold into slavery that knows the location of a cache of diamonds. He buys her and brings her on board but pirates are aware of his plans and pursue his ship to retrieve the girl. Based on a novel by Garland Roark (WAKE OF THE RED WITCH), this is a diverting if mindless adventure film. We've seen it all before so there are no surprises and if the stoic MacMurray is no Errol Flynn or John Wayne, he tries hard though the best you can say about him is that he's robust. The less said about Ralston's (a former ice skater) acting skills the better. Malibu stands in for Indonesia and the paltry special effects don't do the legendary eruption of the Krakatoa volcano justice. If this kind of Saturday matinee adventure is to your taste, you should have a good time. Directed by Joseph Kane. With Victor McLaglen doing his usual gruff Irishman bit again, Robert Douglas, John Russell, a grown up Claude Jarman Jr. (THE YEARLING) and Paul Fix, channeling Walter Brennan.