Unknown Island (1948) (USA)

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Adventurer Ted Osborne convinces his fiancée to fund an expedition to an uncharted island in the South Pacific. Not only is the allure of unknown land calling to him, rumors of prehistoric monsters roaming the Pacific place is one hell of a beckoning call to any human with the inclination for exploration. The idea of getting his hands on some specimens helps as well. Along for the trip is a tough, alcoholic steamer captain by the name of Tarnowski whose malaria is causing bouts of insanity (never good for a ship’s captain) but his big-ass boat is perfect for the transportation of wild animals, especially ones as big as Osborne saw during his time in the war when he accidentally came across the mysterious island. Osborne’s interest is science. Tarnowski’s interest is money. Carole Lane’s interest is financing her soon-to-be husband’s dreams. The addition of a man who has actually survived the island, John Fairbanks (Creature from the Black Lagoon’s Richard Denning), gives them a leg up on the expedition. He may be an alcoholic mess thanks to the PTSD of his misadventure (something ate all his friends) with no interest of returning but Tarnowski can be very convincing when he needs to be. Adding on to the issues of navigating to an uncharted island based on the memory of one man and the monstrous trouble that awaits, the crew of locals are not happy about the mythical location that is there destination and plans of mutiny begin to boil over. They attempt it but it’s squashed almost immediately… almost as if it was an unnecessary subplot. Soon after, they arrive at the island and immediately witness a brontosaurus just chillin’. Off to explore they go and as dangerous as colossal monsters may be, the hairy beast hanging around harnesses a bit more intelligence and a bit of a savage streak. After some rubbery dinos eat one of the crew, those talks of mutiny stir up again. Osborne’s zeal turns a little obsessive, Fairbanks proves a better hero than initially expected, Carol realizes this dangerous adventure shit may not be for her and Tarnowski’s mind starts slipping deeper into a lunatic fog. Incredibly fun monster adventure features a game cast and some wonderfully cheesy creatures without wasting almost any time on melodramatics.