Strictly average movie

I saw this movie before reading any reviews, and I thought it was very funny. I was very surprised to see the overwhelmingly negative reviews this film received from critics.

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Trigger warning - this film contains the sweetest kissing and the cutest Ray Milland ever! I could watch Dorothy Lamour play with him on the beach for two straight hours, but they had to come up with some plot and soon enough there's this army of extras interrupting their foreplay. And just when you think they spoiled it, Dorothy emerges from all that mess in a spectacular ceremonial outfit and then some horrific action Indian Jones style follows. Photography is like a dream and highlights the beauty of the main protagonists so much so that it can cause serious hyperventilation - be warned.

This silly melodrama starts off o.k. and is pretty cute until the entrance of a despicable villain played by J. Carroll Naish. It all starts when pilot Ray Milland crash lands on a tropical island where Princess Dorothy Lamour rules with the aide of a cute lion cub and a mischievous chimpanzee. She greets Mill and by tossing a knife at him while the chimp tosses coconuts.Romance ensues almost immediately but is threatened by Naish's arrival with a battalion of angry natives. This leads to Lamour, Mill and and his comical sidekick Lynne Overman all being held captive ad approaching alligators prepare for a meal of human flesh by clicking their chops. Silliness abound with Lamour looking fetching in her sarong and wearing lipstick presumably made out of berries.The first half gives way to stereotypical native uprisings with a twist towards the end involving the sudden introduction of Milland's hi- fallutin' fiancée. This just stretches out the plot and takes the action aboard ship to get it off the island. Overman's schtick gets tiresome after a while. Colorful but only slightly camp, this is slightly disappointing considering all the hype I've heard about this over the years.

How well I remember first seeing this movie over 60 years ago, and the climatic scene of the volcanic eruption and the crocodile invasion has stuck with me ever since. It was Dorothy Lamour's third movie in which she spends all her time in a sarong, and does it very well - the second time they put Ray Milland with her also!. The story is fairly hackneyed, but the film looks great in Technicolor, and the visual effects for 1938 are quite good. I enjoyed the principals, along with the supporting cast of Lynne Overman (who apparently had to be in every epic produced by Paramount) , and J. Carrol Naish as the required villain who kidnapped Dorothy as a child, and of course, gets his come-uppance in a spectacular way. A good way to spend and hour and a half, but cannot be taken seriously.