Siren of Atlantis1949

This is the kind of romantic, fantasy-adventure the studios had a lock on in the 1930’s. “Lost Horizon” and “Thief of Bagdad” come to mind, as well as the wartime movie diversions Maria Montez made with Jon Hall at Universal. Here, in 1949, the genre seems a little lost and out of date in the post-war reality of the Iron Curtain and the Atomic Bomb. The romance has been contaminated with suspicion and paranoia lurking in the shadows of Karl Struss’ experessionistic cinematography. The film cannot find it’s way back to the magic of the good old days. Instead, it seems fated, like Jean-Pierre Aumont, to wander in the desert searching for a lost idyll that will never be found again.

Great classic stuff. Don't want to spoil the movie set up so you'll have to see the queen for yourself.

"Siren" is defined as:

1: an acoustical instrument for producing musical tones

2: a seductively beautiful or charming woman

This film, of course, is referring to the latter, and Maria Montez does an adequate job of filling in the description. Somehow the lost continent of Atlantis ends up being discovered in the Sahara dessert (after being lost at sea). Even more miraculous is the case that the buildings are all in tact and that the natives are still flourishing. How is sustenance provided for such a large city? The subject is not addressed.

A team of men never returns from their search (for Atlantis) in the African mountains, and another team is sent after them. This second group soon learns of the former's fate, but by then the siren's charms have begun to take hold (at least for one of the men). Morhange will do anything for the queen, but he must pass one test first.

Although this is a fantasy film, the plot holes require a huge suspension of disbelief. One redeeming quality of the film is the ending which is completely unexpected and helped to bring the motion picture to a logical conclusion.

Fun pulp romp. Kind of like "The Most Dangerous Game," but the prey is men's hearts. Also reminiscent of the H. Rider Haggard "She" stories. The ending is great--a bit of a surprise for a film like this. The lead female has such a compelling look.

I remember Maria Montez from her films with John Hall and she was made for technicolor. I liked her very much. I liked Jean-Pierre Aumont too, but this movie did not have the same quality as some of the other similar movies. For example, it could not compare with "Lost Horizon."