Powerful

Absolutely the worst movie.

A Major Disappointment

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

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

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.

Filmed most efficiently by George Waggner on a small budget and in record time, this little movie was such an audience-pleaser that Waggner was immediately promoted to Universal's "A" unit, where he directed Maria Montez in "South of Tahiti" and Lon Chaney in "The Wolf Man" (both 1941).Although lensed on a piffling (for Universal) budget of only $93,000 on a tight twelve days' shooting schedule, there is no sense of rush or poverty on the screen. I'm told that many of the players were often ill-at-ease, but this of course adds rather than detracts from the movie's over-all atmosphere. In fact, the film can be enjoyed on several levels, thus enhancing its appeal to a wide spectrum of moviegoers from kids to adults, from sophisticated to uncultured, from cosmopolitan to backwoods, from know-alls to know-nothings. Whatever the audiences, Waggner delivers fun, thrills, suspense and above all, identification. Unless an audiences identifies with the actors on the screen, their interest in the proceedings is minimal. But when they do identify – as here – you have a blockbuster movie on your hands, no matter whether the budget was $93 thousand or $9.3 million!The movie wrapped on March 15, 1941 and was actually in theatres on March 28 – so fast that it was actually released before it was copyrighted!

A motley assortment of people go to Sir Henry Morgan's island for a treasure hunt. The group runs afoul of a creepy killer known as "The Phantom." Director George Waggner, working from an eventful and surprisingly witty script by Victor McLeod, relates the blithely dippy story at a constant snappy pace and maintains a breezy lighthearted tone throughout. Moreover, the cast have a ball with their colorful roles: Dick Doran as amiable down-on-his luck boat captain Bill Martin and Fuzzy Knight as Martin's oafish stuttering partner Stuff Oliver make for engaging leads, the pretty Peggy Moran brings a sweetly spunky charm to her role as the sassy Wendy Creighton, Leo Carrillo is a hale'n'hearty delight as jolly peg-legged skipper Tobias Clump, plus there are nice turns by John Eldridge as the shifty Cousin George, Lewis Howard as dour sourpuss Thurman Coldwater, Hobart Cavanaugh as the timid Professor Jasper Quinley, Walter Catlett as the pesky Sergeant McGoon, and Iris Adrian as brassy moll Arleen Grady. With his gaunt face, deep gravel voice, lean build, and flowing black cape, Foy Van Dolsen makes for a nifty villain as the Phantom. Elwood Bredell's crisp black and white cinematography makes inspired use of light and shadow. The lively film library score likewise does the trick. The revelation of the real bad guy's identity is a genuine surprise. Moreover, there's a good-natured sensibility evident throughout which makes this admittedly slight hour long quickie a lot of fun to watch. A pleasingly inane and immaterial diversion.