review for Ellis Island on AllMovie

Ellis Island (1936)
by Hans J. Wollstein review

A sense of humor saves this obscure action-melodrama from the doldrums caused by the too complicated story and a particularly stingy budget. Adding to the overall sense of satire are Johnny Arthur and Joyce Compton, as the comic sidekick and his dumbbell girlfriend, and an exhumation scene is properly eerie. Ellis Island, alas, has very little to do with the famous landmark and was filmed in its entirety at the former Tec-Art studios in Hollywood.