''Port Sinister'' (a.k.a. ''Beast of Paradise Isle'' in the UK) is a 1953 American independently made

black-and-white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...

adventure science fiction film, produced by

Jack Pollexfen Jack Pollexfen (1908–2003) was an American writer, director and producer. He collaborated with Aubrey Wisberg on several science fiction and monster movies of the 1950s. Before entering the film industry he worked as a journalist. Selected f ...

and

Albert Zugsmith Albert Zugsmith (April 24, 1910 – October 26, 1993) was an American film producer, film director and screenwriter who specialized in low-budget exploitation films through the 1950s and 1960s. With a background in music promotion (Ted Weems, P ...

, and directed by

Harold Daniels Harold Daniels was an actor and then a director of American films. He directed about 14 films. The 1958 ''Terror in the Haunted House'' he directed was the first to use the technique known as '' Psychorama''. Filmography Director *'' They Met in ...

. The film was written by

and Aubrey Wisberg and stars James Warren, Lynne Roberts, and

Paul Cavanagh William Grigs Atkinson (8 December 1888 – 15 March 1964), known professionally as Paul Cavanagh, was an English film and stage actor. He appeared in more than 100 films between 1928 and 1959. Life and career Cavanagh was born in Felling, ...

. ''Port Sinister'' was theatrically distributed by

RKO Radio Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orph ...

. The film's storyline involves the 17th-century Caribbean city of Port Royal in the mid-20th century.

Plot

The sunken Caribbean city of Port Royal had been long rumored to have been visited by pirates who rise from the ocean floor. In the mid-17th century, the port was a thriving seaport, but it was heavily damaged in 1692 and by an earthquake and had suffered numerous hurricanes which had prevented the port from regaining its former glory. A 1907 earthquake caused the city to sink beneath the waves. A scientist (Tony) believes that the older portions of the city will soon become visible due to predicted volcanic activity, and after obtaining grant funding, wants to investigate. Before arriving on the island, thugs local to the area plan to steal all the gold when Port Royal becomes visible. They attack Tony, leaving him hospitalized and steal his research material in their quest to find the rumored pirate's gold. Tony escapes the hospital, and arranges passage to the island. He is forced to take Joan with him, and she is disgruntled having been forced to accompany an exhibition whose theory she finds unlikely. The ruins are now visible as predicted and the criminals obtain the treasure. The two groups happen to meet and are suddenly attacked by giant crabs. Volcanoes begin to erupt as the two groups fight for the treasure and to escape the now sinking city.

Production

Pollexfen and Wisberg had already made ''

Captive Women ''Captive Women'' is a 1952 American black-and-white post-apocalyptic science-fiction film. It stars Robert Clarke and Margaret Field. The film has a running time of 64 minutes. It deals with the effects of a nuclear war and how life would be af ...

'' and '' Sword of Venus'' for RKO. ''Port Sinister'' was filmed at the RKO studios with location work at

Palos Verdes The Palos Verdes Peninsula (''Palos Verdes'', Spanish for "Green Sticks") is a landform and a geographic sub-region of the Los Angeles metropolitan area, within southwestern Los Angeles County in the U.S. state of California. Located in the S ...

California. Third and final film made by American Pictures Company by these producers. The movie had the working titles of Port Royal-Ghost City Beneath the Sea, Sunken City and City Beneath the Sea. It was based on the real city of Port Royal.

Reception

Variety found the film to be a very mediocre melodrama. In the book RKO Radio Pictures, the movie was found to have dark filming, the lead acting insufficient and the movie otherwise boring, but it did find the villains of the movie of interest. Leonard Maltin gave the movie two of four stars, liking the premise of the movie, but finding the acting and the crab effects lacking.

References

Bibliography

* Warren, Bill. ''Keep Watching the Skies! American Science Fiction Movies of the Fifties'', 21st Century Edition. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2009 (First Edition 1982). .

External links

* {{Albert Zugsmith 1953 films American science fiction adventure films 1950s science fiction adventure films Films scored by Albert Glasser American black-and-white films RKO Pictures films Films produced by Aubrey Wisberg Films set in Jamaica Port Royal Films with screenplays by Aubrey Wisberg 1950s English-language films Films directed by Harold Daniels 1950s American films