Saturday Island

Ridiculous story about a never consummated romance between astonishingly handsome blond teen marine and awesomely gorgeous older woman stranded on a desert island...only to be all heartbroken when she prefers the stodgy pencilmoustached one armed older Pilot who drops from the sky..... this technicolour tease should almost be the BLUE LAGOON of 1952. The idea that she just did not have this peachy hunk's loincloth ripped away within their first half hour alone together defies credibility. There are scenes as revealing as Christopher Atkins romping about in 1980, and incredulously, they remain physically apart for the duration of this hammy but spunky film. Tab Hunter is blindingly handsome and Linda Darnell is every bit as lustworthy as Jane Russell. Astonishingly, in or out of the cheesecloth nappy he half wears, and through her designer rags, somehow they forget to just spend 24-7 licking each other senseless. Visually it is all swoon-worthy but every ten minutes the viewer erupts from a staring stupor to screech "Oh! Come on!" at the screen.

A bit of preposterousness set in the South Seas with beautiful Technicolor scenery. Linda Darnell, incredibly lovely, does what she can with the lackluster script. This was Tab Hunter's first film, he was discovered working on a ranch and had no prior experience acting and it definitely shows but he tries and looks great even saddled with the unfortunate nickname Chicken. He tells some interesting stories about the making of the film in his autobiography and Linda's kindness to him as a raw beginner, the book is worth checking out if you have the chance. The movie is fine for a rainy Saturday morning just don't expect art.

Handsome blond Tab Hunter (as Michael "Mike" Dugan) and desirably beautiful nurse Linda Darnell (as Elizabeth "Lizzie" Smythe) are shipwrecked in the Pacific Ocean during a World War II bombing. They bicker about his being too boyish a "pride of the Marines," and which of the two is top commander. She's a lieutenant. He's a corporal, but pulls rank as the duo's captain. They find a skeleton on "Saturday Island" (known in the US as "Island of Desire") and read the diary of "Grimshaw"…

In a flashback to 1930, John Laurie (as Grimshaw) loses native lover Sheila Chong (as Tukua) and is attacked by a sea serpent…

Back in the present, Mr. Hunter finds himself increasingly aroused by his island mate, but Ms. Darnell plays very hard to get. She calls herself an "old maid," but still looks mighty attractive. Hunter is a young Adonis. As soon as things heat up for the couple, a plane crash lands British pilot Donald Gray (as William "Bill" Peck) on the island. He loses his left arm to the crash, but his heart to Darnell. This is more interesting as a story about loyalty than it is about sex, but it's too awkwardly played.

**** Saturday Island (3/14/52) Stuart Heisler ~ Tab Hunter, Linda Darnell, Donald Gray, John Laurie

Darnell and Hunter are stranded on a deserted island where they spend most of the time arguing.. The characters are so incompatible that any believable romance is out of the question. You must be satisfied just watching the stars to watch this. The good thing is Darnell on the beach looks great in technicolor .The bad thing is the Tab Hunter role is badly written and badly acted he sounds more like a brat on vacation than a marines corporal who has to deal with an emergency situation. The character is pretty annoying ,spends most of the time arguing with the Darnell character who is a female officer,like he was arguing with his older sister. It was Hunters first starring role,they took a chance having him star next to an established star like Darnell,the results are mixed,he looks all-american boyish but the choice to have him star with a mature actress fails miserably..The movie actually spends more time showcasing Hunters half naked physique than it bothers with Darnell. So,basicaly this movie is for hardcore Tab HUnter fans,even more than Darnell fans.

When their ship is sunk from under them during WWII, "Dr. Smythe" (Linda Darnell) is washed ashore with only the hunky "Dugan" (Tab Hunter) for company. Now clearly she must have clunked her head along the way for she appears completely impervious to his scantily clad, boyish, good looks and charms, and to the fact that he quickly manages to construct a civilisation for them that is just - with war raging all around them - idyllic. Anyway, she is particularly pig-headed until he rescues her from a shark (a sort of holographic affair that is quite clearly never anywhere near the water at the same time as Hunter) and things might just start to thaw. At this, stage, though - enter Donald Gray's sophisticated "Peck", whom they rescue from the burning wreckage of his plane and soon poor old "Dugan" has a rival. Now it has to be said, Hunter is not a good actor and there is precisely no chemistry at all as this thunderingly slow romance ebbs and flows, but he is very easy on the eye and this film is clearly only intended as a post-war feel good film that showcases beautiful people delivering a "Blue Lagoon" style story that is there to admire rather than to evaluate. The story is weak, the dialogue is twee and the ending - well that's just plain daft, in an heroic sort of fashion. Enjoy the eye-candy all round and you won't be disappointed. Look for anything more substantial and you're wasting your time!