The film's title invites the irresistible observation, and convenient movie review, "Krakatoa is West of Java." The movie's story is likewise without direction. For what seems like an interminable length of time, the volcano Krakatoa spurts and sputters -- you are teased by the threatening eruption. During this time, the film should be providing its great characterizations; so, you really care about the people who are soon to be blanketed with volcanic lava and/or tsunami waters. That doesn't exactly happen.

Some of the special effects are explosive. Stars Maximilian Schell (as Captain Hanson) and Diane Baker (as Laura) are fine performers, who seem to be trying their best with the material. Brian Keith (as Connerly) is wasted. Sal Mineo (as Leoncavallo) is the best supporting player; though the director cuts away from him a little too soon following a nice "goodbye" scene with father Rossano Brazzi, it shows the most unused potential. Mr. Mineo resembles Marlon Brando in pensive medium shots -- too bad he didn't get more Brando-caliber scripts.

**** Krakatoa, East of Java (1969) Bernard L. Kowalski ~ Maximilian Schell, Diane Baker, Sal Mineo

Back in the early Fifties, Republic Pictures made a feature film Fair Wind to Java that featured the Krakatoa volcanic eruption and explosion that was a B film and didn't pretend anything else. Too bad the era of B films was at an end when this one came out.

Don't get me wrong, Krakatoa, East of Java had great special effects, but it would have been nice if there had been a story worthy of those effects.

Captain Maximilian Schell is using his tramp steamer to go on a diving expedition to recover lost pearls. He has to locate the ship that they went down in so Max is prepared. He's got a father and son team of balloonists, Rossano Brazzi and Sal Mineo, a deep sea diver Brian Keith and his sweetheart Barbara Werle and Diane Baker who is the widow of the guy who lost the pearls in the first place.

And then the Dutch authorities decide he's to take on a gang of convicts for transportation. Their leader, J.D. Cannon is a former mate on Schell's ship and Schell out of friendship gives him the freedom of the deck.

I'll stop here because this thing gets dumber as it goes along. Why in heaven's name would Schell even take his ship out looking for riches with a group of convicts on is beyond me. If the authorities insisted he take them, I'd have dropped the convicts where they were to go first and then gone for the pearls. Or maybe not taken the thing out at all. And surely not have given Cannon the freedom of the deck. What a moron.

Why Brian Keith has Barbara along also doesn't make sense. Maybe he don't trust her to behave, but his reasons are obscure. And director Bernard Kowalski gives Werle a musical number. Whose decision was that to include it in the film? It's not even that good.

In a recent biography of Sal Mineo, the author recounts that when this film was having its premiere in Honolulu, Mineo walked out of the premiere, proclaiming to one and all what a piece of trash this film was. I probably think Sal knew it, but at the time he needed the dough.

Maximilian Schell is a fine actor, but action adventure hero he's not. Either he did this as an effort to expand his horizons or he too needed the dough.

Maybe one day someone will make a good film about Krakatoa, but this ain't the one. And who knows, maybe that someone will correctly place Krakatoa west of Java.

Yes, there are a few minutes in this piece of convoluted trash where characters suddenly break out in song. It's the story of a passenger ship heading to Java. Maybe the ship was heading east, but the infamous volcanic mountain is east of Java! The mistake in the title wouldn't be so bad had there not been a song with lyrics that insisted that the volcanic island was east.

In between the bad song numbers while waiting for the impending eruption, there's a ton of character development involving the strange captain (Brian Keith) who has sudden hallucinations, the equally handsome Maximilian Schell and Rossano Brazzi, and in fleeting appearances, the much wasted Sal Mineo. The film slowly plods along like the ship, picking up speed here and there, being appropriately cinematic, but never as suspenseful as one would hope.

Barbara Werle and Diane Baker provide the feminine beauty to add to some of the gorgeous scenery, but this is a film that focuses more on the men. A great scene has a balloon flying towards the volcano opening that results in a horrific aftermath. I just wish that they had taken more care to the story and the structure, because at just over two hours, it drags a ton and feels very shallow among such deep waters.