I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Bill Martin(Dick Foran)has been a failure at almost every small business he has started, his pal, Stuff(Fuzzy Knight), always wondering when the two would find real jobs so that they could get themselves out of debt. Martin has the deed to an island and castle, deciding to try his hand at a new business venture, inspired by a peg-leg "pirate", who discovered a treasure map found in a corked bottle floating in the ocean. The mysterious "The Phantom", a shadowy man in a black top hat and cape, attacks Peg-Leg and takes a part of the map. Martin accidentally crashes into the car of Wendy Creighton(Peggy Moran), owner of a yacht club, sweet-talking her into coming on board his boat, the Skiddoo along with other customers who fork over 50 bucks for the treasure hunt trip to his "ghost castle" for "adventure and thrills". Also along for the ride is Bill's cousin George(John Eldredge), who wants to purchase the island, Professor Jasper Quinley(Hobart Cavanaugh), who authenticates maps(calling the one in Martin's possession a fake)and walks in his sleep, Thurman Coldwater(Lewis Howard), a friend of Wendy's(bored almost immediately, seemingly only on the trip as a favor to Wendy), Sergeant McGoon(Walter Catlett; a policeman who charges Martin of false advertising in regards to ghosts being on his island), Rod Grady(Ralf Harolde; actually a criminal on the lam)and Rod's wife, Arleen(Iris Adrian; with eyes for George). The Phantom(Foy Van Dolsen)immediately attempts to harm members of this expedition using a crossbow and suit of armor, while also speaking across an intercom set up by Martin and Stuff to spook the customers as to frighten them off the island so he could get his hands on actual treasure possibly inside the castle. Like in other Universal features, the castle has secret passages and members of the treasure hunt fall prey to a killer. A terrific cast(Moran and Foran were together in the best Mummy sequel, THE MUMMY'S HAND)works wonders and the treasure hunt, not to mention the whodunit that develops when one among the group starts picking off individuals(after each murder, the killer uses chalk on a wall to decrease the number still remaining), is entertaining. HORROR ISLAND is over before you know it and benefits from the wonderful chemistry between Foran, Moran, and Knight. I consider HORROR ISLAND the kind of enjoyable B-movie fare perfect for a Saturday afternoon when you have some time to kill, but it's more of an adventure than a horror film. I think HORROR ISLAND would team very well with the other Foran vehicle, THE MUMMY'S HAND..I just wish he had made a few more for Universal studios, he is quite charming and has a nice presence on screen, as does the lovely and vivacious Foran. Probably the most pleasant surprise in the Universal Movie Archives set released not long ago.

A motley assortment of people go to Sir Henry Morgan's island for a treasure hunt. The group runs afoul of a creepy killer known as "The Phantom." Director George Waggner, working from an eventful and surprisingly witty script by Victor McLeod, relates the blithely dippy story at a constant snappy pace and maintains a breezy lighthearted tone throughout. Moreover, the cast have a ball with their colorful roles: Dick Doran as amiable down-on-his luck boat captain Bill Martin and Fuzzy Knight as Martin's oafish stuttering partner Stuff Oliver make for engaging leads, the pretty Peggy Moran brings a sweetly spunky charm to her role as the sassy Wendy Creighton, Leo Carrillo is a hale'n'hearty delight as jolly peg-legged skipper Tobias Clump, plus there are nice turns by John Eldridge as the shifty Cousin George, Lewis Howard as dour sourpuss Thurman Coldwater, Hobart Cavanaugh as the timid Professor Jasper Quinley, Walter Catlett as the pesky Sergeant McGoon, and Iris Adrian as brassy moll Arleen Grady. With his gaunt face, deep gravel voice, lean build, and flowing black cape, Foy Van Dolsen makes for a nifty villain as the Phantom. Elwood Bredell's crisp black and white cinematography makes inspired use of light and shadow. The lively film library score likewise does the trick. The revelation of the real bad guy's identity is a genuine surprise. Moreover, there's a good-natured sensibility evident throughout which makes this admittedly slight hour long quickie a lot of fun to watch. A pleasingly inane and immaterial diversion.

Horror Island was obviously made on a shoestring budget to accompany some bigger Universal film. I wasn't surprised it took only twelve days to shoot. In spite of this, however, Horror Island is an entertaining little flick that never really has time to get boring. The first half of the film is the best; and this is mostly thanks to Dick Foran. He plays a 'wheeling and dealing' businessman who has a lot of creditors on his back. This leads him to begin offering trips to a haunted island where his punters can look for buried treasure. After getting together a party of people through various means, they set off to the island...and the film goes downhill from there. There's some subplot about a mysterious phantom wanting the treasure for himself; but it seems like the writer didn't really know what to do once we get to the main bulk of the film and a lot of the early momentum is lost. Still, the film is always at least amusing and at only sixty minutes, there's not enough time for it to outstay its welcome. The whole thing is rather jokey and silly and I'm not surprised it hasn't endured as one of Universal's classics. Still, it's worth a look if you have an hour to spare.

Dick Foran stars as a very broke captain of a ship. Leo Carillo, playing a one legged sailor, turns up claiming to have a map of a treasure on an island that Foran owns. As dark robed phantoms flit in and out and bill collectors come calling, Foran is forced to go and take a look for the treasure himself, which means that it isn't long before everyone is wandering the halls of an old dark house...er castle. More amusing romp then straight out horror film, this is a delightful little movie that just drives to its conclusion once it gets started. Starting on the docks of an unnamed city this movie has a nice atmospheric feel to it that get it points for not being your typical old dark house story. I never expected it to play out the way it did since where it starts doesn't really give any clue as to where it ends up, I thought it was going to be a more nautical story than it is.. While the plot line doesn't completely make sense, it really doesn't matter since the cast is having such a good time that you're willing to follow them anywhere. I had a blast. Highly recommended for a dark and stormy night of late night movie watching.