Hell Harbor (1930)
6/10
Lupe never goes out of style
19 January 2016
Henry King who was a contract director later on for 20th Century Fox and turned out some of their best films did this one for an outfit called Inspirational Pictures. The star here is Lupe Velez who by all accounts was one wild child. She plays one here in Hell Harbor.

She's the descendant of the famous pirate Henry Morgan in fact on this obscure Caribbean island everybody's a descendant of those bloodthirsty buccaneers of yore. But Lupe yearns for the big city life to be found in Havana.

Her meal ticket she sees as playboy John Holland who is arriving on his yacht and Lupe has just what he wants. Well one of the two things he wants. The other is pearls and trader Jean Hersholt has those. He also wants Lupe and Lupe's dead Gibson Gowland is quite willing to promote a marriage like that. Hersholt and Gowland have plans for Holland that don't include matrimony.

The location shooting in Tampa and surrounding environs substitute well for the Caribbean. Well it's close enough in any event. You'll also see cowboy sidekick Al St.John in an unusual non-western role as one of the island denizens. But of course there's the seductive Lupe Velez who got everyone's 1930 mojo going. Also unusual to see Jean Hersholt who is best remembered as the kindly Dr. Christian in a villainous part.

What Lupe Velez had never goes out of style.
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