Manfish

John Bromfield is the busted skipper of the ship, with Lon Chaney Jr. His dull but amiable crew. . He finds a map to a pirate treasure, but can't make heads nor tails of it. Beachcomber Victor Jory can, and offers to split. But neither he nor Bromfield figure on splitting with a partner, and dead men tell no tales.

It's another B movie directed by W. Lee Wilder, whom brother Billy called "A dull son of a b***h. Fortunately he has a good underwater cameraman in Scotty Welbourne, who shoots Jamaica footage well, and his wife, Tessa Prendergast, even better. Jory acts up a storm, and that keeps the second half of this movie going.

Supposedly based on two of Edgar Allan Poe's stories ("The Gold Bug" and "The Tell-Tale Heart") this is not a horror movie but a seldom-seen adventure film of particular interest to movie buffs largely because of Lon Chaney, Jr.'s presence as yet another dimwitted "Lenny-esque" character. He plays a lumbering and gullible first mate nicknamed "Swede" to the mean and unlikeable Captain Brannigan (John Bromfield). Taking place in exotic Jamaican locations, these two sailors board their ship, christened the Manfish, and search the waters of the Caribbean for a buried treasure. They gain an unwelcome partner when they cross paths with a cunning professor (Victor Jory, who tends to go off the deep end now and then) who happens to hold part of the key to their fortune.

At first it's evident that MANFISH is not only rather cheap, but also not all that well directed, but much to its credit things gradually escalate to a satisfying and intense last act as murder and foul play kick into gear. If not for the fact that two of its main characters are so despicable (the captain and the professor) this could have been more potent. As it stands, Lon Chaney is the only likable member of the cast and while his old Lenny routine may be very familiar, at least it adds something light to an otherwise loathsome crew. This is definitely worth watching, though it may be hard to come by. Retromedia DVD has helped make it easier with their 16mm print featured on their own LON CHANEY COLLECTION disc. Curiously, the copy I screened was in black and white although the end credits clearly proclaim, "Color by DeLuxe". ** out of ****

Manfish (1956)

* (out of 4)

Incredibly boring film from director W. Lee Wilder who also gave us equally bad films like Killers from Space, The Snow Creature and The Man Without a Body. Based loosely on two stories by Poe, a Captain goes out searching for a sunken treasure but this leads to murder. The underwater scenes are nicely done but everything else is downright boring without the least bit of life in it. At one point I thought I was at least an hour into the film so I checked my counter and it was just the twenty-minute mark. Lon Chaney, Jr. co-stars but doesn't have much to do. The underwater scenes are nice but that's about it.

Captain Brannigan (John Bromfield) and Swede (Lon Chaney Jr.) come across a skeleton on the sea bottom. In its bony hand is a bottle containing half a map. They quickly set sail in search of the other half.

Things get complicated when Brannigan discovers that he needs a mysterious figure known as "The Professor" (Victor Jory) to decipher the map's cryptic language.

Greed, treachery, and death ensue.

MANFISH is loosely based on both The Gold Bug and The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe. It's a well-made reimagining of these tales, with lots of drama, tension, and loads of fantastic island scenery!

There are some nice twists along the way as well. The Tell-Tale Heart is presented in an unexpected, downright ingenious, nautical form.

Though his part is rather small, Chaney Jr. Makes it memorable, with one of his best performances.

Plus, this movie features the stunning island girl, Alita (Tessa Prendergast) to brighten up every scene she's in!

Highly recommended...

Lon Chaney Jr. (the old drunk) scurries around Jamaica trying to raise the money to pay off what he owes on his shabby boat.

There's a lot of riffraff around, enough to complicate things beyond the viewer's comprehension -- if there's anybody who still cares after ten minutes of this low-budget nonsense.

In short, folks, this flick is a bore and a half. Some cool authentic scenery of the 1950s' Caribbean Islands is interesting, but other than that, this tired offering from director Lee Wilder leaves one pining for something -- anything better. Like maybe a Billy Wilder film. That's Lee's real-life brother, by the way.

Tune in if you can't think of anything else to watch, but man, if you can't, you must be really freaking bored.