BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment

Lightdeossk Captivating movie !

Dorathen Better Late Then Never

Voxitype Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

Rainey Dawn 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

kevin olzak 1941's "Horror Island," double-billed with Lon Chaney's "Man Made Monster," was a quota quickie from Universal, shot and directed at breakneck speed by George Waggner, who graduated to "The Wolf Man" by the end of the year. A search for buried treasure at a remote island castle, which gives it a slightly different flavor than "The Cat and the Canary," punctuated by three murders adding to the fun. Reunited after "The Mummy's Hand" are likable Dick Foran and perky Peggy Moran, as vivacious and beautiful as one could expect (not unlike Paulette Goddard). Comic relief in capable hands, Leo Carrillo and Fuzzy Knight old hands at the game, Ralf Harolde and Iris Adrian also cast to type as a gangster on the lam and his flirtatious moll. John Eldredge was becoming a fixture at Universal that year- "The Black Cat," "The Mad Doctor of Market Street," and Hitchcock's "Saboteur." Included in the popular SHOCK! television package from the late 50s, "Horror Island" made five appearances on Pittsburgh's Chiller Theater- June 25 1966 (following 1958's "House on Haunted Hill"), May 31 1969 (followed by 1943's "The Mad Ghoul"), Mar 22 1975 (following 1942's "The Ghost of Frankenstein" and second feature 1939's "The House of Fear"), Aug 6 1977 (following 1963's "Castle of Blood"), and May 21 1983 (solo).

AaronCapenBanner 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!

MARIO GAUCI 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).