''Sinners in Paradise'' is a 1938 American
south seas
Today the term South Seas, or South Sea, is used in several contexts. Most commonly it refers to the portion of the Pacific Ocean south of the equator. In 1513, when Spanish conquistador Vasco Núñez de Balboa coined the term ''Mar del Sur' ...
adventure film
An adventure film is a form of adventure fiction, and is a genre of film. Subgenres of adventure films include swashbuckler films, pirate films, and survival films. Adventure films may also be combined with other film genres such as action, a ...
directed by
James Whale
James Whale (22 July 1889 – 29 May 1957) was an English film director, theatre director and actor, who spent the greater part of his career in Hollywood. He is best remembered for several horror films: ''Frankenstein'' (1931), '' The Old ...
and starring
Madge Evans
Madge Evans (born Margherita Evans; July 1, 1909 – April 26, 1981) was an American stage and film actress.Obituary '' Variety'', April 29, 1981. She began her career as a child performer and model.
Biography
Child model and stage actress
...
,
John Boles,
Bruce Cabot
Bruce Cabot (born Étienne de Pelissier Bujac Jr.; April 20, 1904 – May 3, 1972) was an American film actor, best remembered as Jack Driscoll in ''King Kong'' (1933) and for his roles in films such as ''The Last of the Mohicans'' (1936), Fri ...
,
Marion Martin
Marion Suplee (born June 7, 1909 – August 13, 1985) known professionally as Marion Martin was an American film and stage actress.
Biography
Martin was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the daughter of a Bethlehem Steel executive. She became ...
and
Gene Lockhart
Edwin Eugene Lockhart (July 18, 1891 – March 31, 1957)["Gene Lockhart"](_blank)
''The ...
. In 1966, the film entered the
public domain in the United States
Works are in the public domain if they are not covered by intellectual property rights (such as copyright) at all, or if the intellectual property rights to the works have expired.
All works first published or released in the United States b ...
because the claimants did not renew its
copyright registration
The purpose of copyright registration is to place on record a verifiable account of the date and content of the work in question, so that in the event of a legal claim, or case of copyright infringement, infringement or plagiarism, the copyright ...
in the 28th year after publication.
Plot
A passenger aircraft crashes in mid-Pacific and some of the survivors reach an island inhabited only by an American, Jim Taylor, with his Chinese servant, Ping. He declines to help them, telling them to build their own shelter and gather their own food and, though he has a boat and fuel, refusing to take them off. The reason why he wants to remain undisturbed, we learn, is that he is wanted for murder. In time his attitude to the intruders softens as they, despite endless bickering, manage to form a working community and he finds himself increasingly drawn to an attractive young nurse, Anne Wesson, who is running away from her husband. When the boat is prepared for a trip to civilization, two crooked businessmen from the party steal it with Ping on board. In a fight, he kills them both and, fatally wounded, brings the boat back. The rest can then escape.
Cast
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Madge Evans
Madge Evans (born Margherita Evans; July 1, 1909 – April 26, 1981) was an American stage and film actress.Obituary '' Variety'', April 29, 1981. She began her career as a child performer and model.
Biography
Child model and stage actress
...
as Anne Wesson
*
John Boles as Jim Taylor
*
Bruce Cabot
Bruce Cabot (born Étienne de Pelissier Bujac Jr.; April 20, 1904 – May 3, 1972) was an American film actor, best remembered as Jack Driscoll in ''King Kong'' (1933) and for his roles in films such as ''The Last of the Mohicans'' (1936), Fri ...
as Robert Malone aka The Torpedo
*
Marion Martin
Marion Suplee (born June 7, 1909 – August 13, 1985) known professionally as Marion Martin was an American film and stage actress.
Biography
Martin was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the daughter of a Bethlehem Steel executive. She became ...
as Iris Compton
*
Gene Lockhart
Edwin Eugene Lockhart (July 18, 1891 – March 31, 1957)["Gene Lockhart"](_blank)
''The ...
as Sen. Corey
*
Charlotte Wynters
Charlotte Wynters (December 4, 1899 – January 7, 1991) was an American stage and film actress.
Biography
A native of Wheeling, West Virginia, Wynters appeared as a leading lady in a number of B pictures during the 1930s.
During the 1922-19 ...
as Thelma Chase
*
Nana Bryant
Nana Irene Bryant (November 23, 1888 – December 24, 1955) was an American film, stage, and television actress. She appeared in more than 100 films between 1935 and 1955.
Biography
Bryant was born 1888 in Cincinnati, Ohio. She appeared in ...
as Mrs. Franklin Sydney
*
Milburn Stone
Hugh Milburn Stone (July 5, 1904 – June 12, 1980) was an American actor, best known for his role as "Doc" (Dr. Galen Adams) on the CBS Western series ''Gunsmoke''.
Early life
Stone was born in Burrton, Kansas, to Herbert Stone and the form ...
as Honeyman
*
Don 'Red' Barry as Jessup (as Donald Barry)
*
Morgan Conway
Morgan Conway (born Sidney Conway, March 16, 1903 – November 16, 1981) was an American actor, best known for his portrayals of Dick Tracy.
Early life and career
Conway was educated at Columbia University in New York City. He had a bro ...
as Harrison Brand
*
Willie Fung
Willie Fung (3 March 1896 – 16 April 1945) was a Chinese-American film actor who played supporting roles in 125 American films between 1922 and 1944. Like many Chinese actors working in Hollywood during the era, he often played Japanese charac ...
as Ping
See also
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Public domain film
Many films have been released to the public domain intentionally by the film's author, or because the copyright has expired.
Public domain film by country Japan
Many pre-1954 Japanese films have passed into public domain in Japan. See Japanes ...
*
List of American films of 1938
*
List of films in the public domain in the United States
Most films are subject to copyright, but those listed here are believed to be in the public domain in the United States. This means that no government, organization, or individual owns any copyright over the work, and as such it is common propert ...
References
External links
Sinners in Paradise on YouTube
*
*
Southseascinema.org
1938 films
1938 drama films
1930s English-language films
American black-and-white films
Films directed by James Whale
Universal Pictures films
American adventure drama films
1938 adventure films
1930s American films
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