Dangerous Paradise (1930)

User Rating:

5.0/10   

Director:

William A. Wellman

Writers:

Joseph Conrad (novel)
William Slavens McNutt (scenario) ...

Release Date:

13 February 1930 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Music | Romance

Tagline:

a Paramount ALL TALKING Picture

Plot:

Heyst, a hermit on his own tropical island, plays unwilling host to red-headed stowaway Alma. Danger looms...

Plot Keywords:

Island | Danger | Escape | Hermit | Stowaway

Cast

Nancy Carroll	...	Alma
Richard Arlen	...	Heyst
Warner Oland	...	Schomberg
Gustav von Seyffertitz	...	Mr. Jones
Francis McDonald	...	Ricardo
George Kotsonaros	...	Pedro
Dorothea Wolbert	...	Mrs. Schomberg
Clarence Wilson	...	Zangiacomo (as Clarence H. Wilson)
Evelyn Selbie	...	Mrs. Zangiacomo
Willie Fung	...	Wang
Mrs. Wong Wing	...	Mrs. Wang

Also Known As:

Two Against Death (USA) (alternative title)

Runtime:

58 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (MovieTone)

Certification:

USA:Passed (National Board of Review)

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

One of over 700 Paramount Productions, filmed between 1929 and 1949, which were sold to MCA/Universal in 1958 for television distribution, and have been owned and controlled by Universal ever since.

Movie Connections:

Alternate language version of Niebezpieczny raj (1930)

Soundtrack:

FRANKIE AND JOHNNY

Tropical trouble for luminous Nancy Carroll

This early talkie, like a pencil sketch of the famous Maurice Tourneur silent, preposterously reduces Conrad's "Victory" to a Nancy Carroll vehicle. But don't blame her: she gives a characteristically warm and nuanced performance, the best in the film, as a downtrodden violin-player in an all-girl band in Surabaya (now, why didn't Joseph Conrad think of that?),

William Wellman directs in rough-and-ready style, emphasizing leering melodrama, yet produces few pre-code thrills. The weakest link here is Wellman favorite Richard Arlen, even more awkward than he was in WINGS; playing Heyst as Joe College in a tropical white suit, who just happens to enjoy living alone on an island, he drains the central role of conflict and complexity.

In this company, the villains have ample room to shine: Warner Oland works hard at threatening the leading lady's virtue (as does most of the cast), but only Gustav von Seyffertitz, in a stylish black cloak and using Bela Lugosi's vowels, suggests the corruption and wit of Conrad's creation.

The tropical flavor of Surabaya comes down to hula dancers and Hawaiian music, but Archie Stout provides some effective lighting and keeps his shaky-cam moving. While the plot resolution will please only fans of routine Hollywood endings, Nancy Carroll at her peak is always worth a look.