Beyond Atlantis

I wonder what it must have been like in the Duke's house when his eldest son poured him a huge Bourbon and said "Hey daaad, let's watch my new movie...". Now that could have been a fine subject for short, but illuminating fly-on-the-wall documentary! A motley quartet descend on a small island determined to seek out a legendary treasure of pearls and quite happily tread over any/all of the traditional beliefs of the rather bizarre natives. We've got the usual mix of sun-tanned hammy romance, clumsy avarice; a really awful performance from Vic Diaz and a script/plot that you could paddle in. There is a surfeit of rather dull underwater photography, save for at the end when Brits amongst us will recognise the music from ITN's "News at Ten" without the bongs from "Big Ben".

_**Gem-hunting adventure on an isolated isle in the East Indies with Patrick Wayne**_ In the Philippines some Americans learn of valuable pearls on a remote island and form an alliance to get the treasure, but they have to deal with the inbred tribe that inhabits the isle. John Ashley, Sid Haig and Patrick Wayne star as the venal team members along with Lenore Stevens as a scientist. Leigh Christian plays an alluring blonde member of the remote society. “Beyond Atlantis” (1973) is an oceanic adventure that combines “City Beneath the Sea” (1953) with the women-in-skin-bikinis of Hammer’s “When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth” (1970). Like the latter, it has a barely-a-B-movie vibe, but it’s more entertaining due to the superb location shooting and quality cast. The director knows how to tastefully shoot women (no pun intended) and it’s one of the flick’s highlights. This could've been as good as "City Beneath the Sea" or "Mysterious Island" (1961), but more time needed spent on strengthening the (obviously) loose script. That takes time and time means money, which the producers regrettably didn't have. While this is a "bad movie," it's entertaining enough to check out. The film runs 1 hour, 31 minutes, and was shot in the Philippines. GRADE: C/C-