This does not have much of a reputation, despite a number of interesting/reliable presences – George Zucco, Lionel Atwill, Ian Keith and Jerome Cowan – and, having watched it now, I can see why! Of the quartet, Zucco (the nominal protagonist, despite expiring well before the end!) and Keith (who, at one point, engages in a vigorous and amusingly speeded-up scuffle with the hero) come off best: on the other hand, Atwill is wasted in one of his last roles, whereas Cowan barely even registers!
Anyway, the film is not really horror, more a thriller on the lines of Agatha Christie's AND THEN THERE WERE NONE – whose best screen rendition actually came out the same year as this! The narrative, in fact, deals with framed ex-con Zucco inviting those responsible for his going 'up the river' to the titular abode in order to exact revenge: as bait, he uses the fact that the island is supposed to hide a fortune, while another motive has to do with his beloved wife (called Karma!)'s death. However, the plot details are so sketchy (the muffled audio and occasional splices do not help in this regard) as to make for a thoroughly dreary ride...especially in view of the fact that Zucco has arranged things so that the majority of the characters are eliminated en masse (by way of that standard device, the water-logged room) when, in this type of fare, one looks forward to as many ingenious murder methods as possible!
There is also the inevitable romance (which runs hot and cold this time around) between the young folk: one is Zucco's stepdaughter, naturally, and the other the likewise innocent son of a deceased guest (it comes as no surprise at all, then, that they emerge the sole survivors). For the rest, we get such clichéd 'old dark house' trappings as a secret passage (activated by a button on the no-less-obligatory pipe-organ and which virtually the entire cast contrives to try out – again, a distinct sign of laziness!) and a seance (held at Atwill's behest but which he then fails to attend!). Though not particularly remarkable, atmosphere is serviceably rendered throughout yet, all things considered, the film is certainly no great shakes.
Anyway, the film is not really horror, more a thriller on the lines of Agatha Christie's AND THEN THERE WERE NONE – whose best screen rendition actually came out the same year as this! The narrative, in fact, deals with framed ex-con Zucco inviting those responsible for his going 'up the river' to the titular abode in order to exact revenge: as bait, he uses the fact that the island is supposed to hide a fortune, while another motive has to do with his beloved wife (called Karma!)'s death. However, the plot details are so sketchy (the muffled audio and occasional splices do not help in this regard) as to make for a thoroughly dreary ride...especially in view of the fact that Zucco has arranged things so that the majority of the characters are eliminated en masse (by way of that standard device, the water-logged room) when, in this type of fare, one looks forward to as many ingenious murder methods as possible!
There is also the inevitable romance (which runs hot and cold this time around) between the young folk: one is Zucco's stepdaughter, naturally, and the other the likewise innocent son of a deceased guest (it comes as no surprise at all, then, that they emerge the sole survivors). For the rest, we get such clichéd 'old dark house' trappings as a secret passage (activated by a button on the no-less-obligatory pipe-organ and which virtually the entire cast contrives to try out – again, a distinct sign of laziness!) and a seance (held at Atwill's behest but which he then fails to attend!). Though not particularly remarkable, atmosphere is serviceably rendered throughout yet, all things considered, the film is certainly no great shakes.