L'île de la violence

Here's an underappreciated gem from the early 60s. Apparently a labour of love for co-producers James Mason and Leslie Stevens (who also wrote and directed), Hero's Island details the scramble for survival in the newly settled colony of Carolina. It raises interesting issues of ownership and propriety without sacrificing an exciting and realistic story. The cast is simply outstanding, particularly Warren Oates and (Harry) Dean Stanton in one of his earliest roles. Neville Brand is second billed but actually has quite a small role; future Andy Sidaris 'star' Darby Hinton gets a bigger chunk of screen time as a settler's son. The Panavision photography is uniformly outstanding, and frequently ravishingly beautiful as lensed by Ted McCord (Sound of Music, East of Eden, and many others).

With Catalina standing in for an island off the South Carolina coast in the early 18th century Hero Island according to the Films Of James Mason was shot within three weeks. No sets involved as it was all outdoors and more than likely the weather was cooperative.

Hero's Island finds Brendan Dillon, Kate Manx and their two small boys Morgan Mason and Darby Hinton and friend Warren Oates are there to settle the island as a condition of having worked off their indentured servitude. But three nasty fisherman are already there Rip Torn, Harry Dean Stanton and Robert Sampson and they mean to keep their island with no strangers. Dillon is killed right off and the others have to fend for their survival.

Help does come the sea in the form of James Mason whose been cast adrift by members of his crew. He proves to be their salvation especially after the fisherman go for help from Neville Brand who is a plantation overseer on the mainland.

Hero's Island is a tale of survival and a study of the character of all involved. The mixture of accents is rather weird with only Mason sounding like he truly belonged in the film. Kate Manx is interesting as she is a pious religious woman, but when her family is in danger, mother love overcomes all.

James Mason said that the producers had high hopes for the film. But the film did not do well at the box office.

Still it's an interesting work.

This offbeat film plays like an early indie movie; but is well acted and entertaining. The film move largely shot on Catalina Island in 1961 and benefits from California sunshine while avoiding the phony appearance of the studio back lot. James Mason is excellent in the role of Blackbeard the Pirate's ex-first mate Major Stede Bonnett, managing an understated cool machismo throughout the story. Kate Manx is earnest and lovely in the leading lady role, while talent like Warren Oates, Rip Torn and Harry Dean Stanton demonstrated early in their careers why they all became stellar character players. The regional dialect is authentic to early 18th century New England with a solid script to match.

Offbeat work which pits a pious family against a bench of violent weirdoes on an Island .The main problem for the virtuous ones is that they shall not kill or hurt anyone.In 1956,the Quakers in William Wyler's wonderful classic "Friendly persuasion " had the same problems.The best part is the first one,with the family's arrival,the father's death and the omnipresence of biblical references.But as soon as James Mason 's character shows himself a fierce pirate,but a big-hearted one,the plot peters out,and it's nothing but routine action movie.The mother is akin to Grace Kelly's character in Fred Zinneman's "high moon"(1952),and like her,she will have to do what she 's very loath to.The main characters have backgrounds that could have provided many other movies with a subject.All this does not hang together well and ,all in all, it remains a poor man's "friendly persuasion"

Is blacknorth right in his review; is this "probably the finest film of the 60's"? In retrospect, that was a golden age, and Stevens' film was close in time to, for example, Dr. Strangelove, Psycho, Chimes at Midnight, Viridiana, or Jules and Jim. Even so, I agree, Hero's Island is superlatively accomplished. I would like to comment on just one aspect of the film that has been ignored by others: its formal perfection. The story of settlers with legal right to an island, versus fishermen claiming squatter's right, is told with utmost clarity and effect, partly due to the logic of its dramatic construction that takes the form of a series of moves across a shoreline, back and forth, according to the phases of the struggle. In brief:

--First, the settlers land on the island, unload their goods and raise a large cross to seal their ownership.

--Then, a drunk fisherman kills the settler, who falls out into the water, only his feet on land. He is, however, properly buried in his own soil.

--A pirate on a raft is washed ashore. Out of self-interest he helps chase the fishermen back to their boat.

--The younger fisherman opposes continued fighting and is thrown overboard. The settlers bring him to land.

--With money stolen from the settlers, the fishermen brings a brutal officer and bounty hunter from the mainland. With two soldiers, he takes up position on the beach. Here a sword fight eventually resolves the conflict. The fight carries on, from the sand into the water, and onto a boat; as the officer dies here, evil is exorcised from the island.

--The pirate flees the scene in a boat, leaving the widow of the settler and one fisherman as the owners of the land. This elementary scheme may not be noticed by the viewer, but the optimal use of minimal means, nevertheless, contributes to the film's strong impact.