Port Sinister (1953)

User Rating:

4.0/10   

Director:

Harold Daniels

Writers:

Aubrey Wisberg (written by) and
Jack Pollexfen (written by)

Release Date:

10 April 1953 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Crime | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Adventure on the High Seas...As a Sunken City Rises From Its Watery Grave (original poster)

Plot:

A 17th-century Caribbean port rumored to have frequented by pirates rises from the ocean floor, where...

Plot Keywords:

Ocean | Port | Escape | Schooner | Gangster

Cast

James Warren	...	Tony Ferris
Lynne Roberts	...	Dr. Joan Hunter
Paul Cavanagh	...	John Kolvac
William Schallert	...	Collins
House Peters Jr.	...	Jim Garry
Marjorie Stapp	...	Technician
Helen Winston	...	Florence
Eric Colmar	...	Christie
Norman Budd	...	Akers
Anne Kimbell	...	Nurse (as Anne Kimball)
Robert Bice	...	George Burt
Merritt Stone	...	Nick
Ken Terrell	...	Hollis
Charles Victor	...	Coast Guard Lieutenant
Edward Hearn	...	Capt. Crawley (as E. Guy Hearn)

Also Known As:

Beast of Paradise Isle (UK)

Runtime:

65 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved

Filming Locations:

Marine Studios, Marineland of Florida - 9600 Ocean Shore Boulevard, Marineland, Florida, USA

Company:

American Pictures Company

A nice little programmer if you aren't expecting much

Port Sinister is a nice little b-movie. It's nothing spectacular, but its entertaining.

To me, it has the feel of a movie serial (in fact, there are a few actors in it from the old chapterplays). The story is relatively preposterous even for fifties science fiction: The legendary pirate town of Port Royal is scheduled to rise again from the sea and a scientific expedition to study it is hijacked by a band of criminals who hope to get all the hidden loot of the Governor's mansion.

The only "name" you'll probably recognize in the cast is William Schallert (The Patty Duke Show, The Man From Planet X) who is cast as one of the double-crossing bad guys.

There are some interesting special effects though. The sets are rather involved for a low-budget movie, with a lot of elevation and nooks and crannies for the heroes and baddies to get around. The crab monster that attacks some of the characters is actually one of the better crustacean monsters I've seen, with the only drawback being some stilted puppetry.

I mainly wanted to watch this film because I collect fifties science fiction films. I wasn't expecting anything tremendously brilliant, but was pleasantly surprised at the relative cohesiveness and compactness of this little story.