Adventure Island

Sam Newfield, here working under the nom de plume of Peter Stewart, actually has a good cast and decent script this time out. All those involved acquit themselves well. For any of you familiar with Mr. Newfield, who'd shoot a movie in 3 days and frequently have lots of people standing around talking for indefinite periods of time, this is a welcome surprise. The film moves fast, the actors are all good (OK, Rory Calhoun is a little stiff, but he's the good guy, so get over it)and there's actually some character development (former drunk skipper Kelly who finds redemption). They don't get to the island of the title till two-thirds of the way through, but that won't bother you. Alan Napier then appears and steals the show in a sinister performance. It's a lot of fun and doesn't betray its low budget origins.