Dead Man's Island

I hated this movie. The title and plot description may make it sound interesting, but believe me - it isn't.

The first scene sees our hero, Barbara Eden getting into a boat to go to the island, when an Indian man - who happens to be sat at the dock - tells her, "That was Dead Man's Island. And it will be again.", or words to that effect.

From then on, I could tell what sort of entertainment I was in for. The plot was completely unrealistic - in a bad way. Every cliche in the book was present here - I could predict every twist, including the ending, before it had happened.

To be frank - for a TV thriller - this film didn't thrill me at all. I don't know why Barbara Eden - a fine actress - ever agreed to do this. She probably did it in an attempt to rescue it, but unfortunately, she is beaten by the poor script and talentless cast members, (including William Shatner, who I used to think was talented).

One of the best films I have seen. I can understand people's comments about clichéd themes, but the acting is great. It has beautiful scenery, and a good plot. I have been trying to get it on video, but, obviously, is not available. I believe it is an enigmatic, atmospheric film with great music and attitude. Fabulous!

I enjoyed every minute of this, sure there were cliches, but who cares. The only thing which would have improved it is if (Henri O')Barbara Eden was in danger instead of Chase (Shatner).That would have increased the suspense. Also she should have worn a pink, purple or orchid pant suit instead of green, which would have suited other hypercritical viewers better but that is just an unimportant preference. I felt there was a lot of mystery as to who was trying to kill Chase (Shatner). He wasn't especially likeable. Mystery, suspense, surprise, all the good ingredients for a good movie. Would make any normal viewer happy.

William Shatner is a millionaire convinced someone is trying to kill him and Barbara Eden is a journalist and an old girlfriend of his trying to solve the mystery on a creepy island mansion. Whodunit plows along and some secrets from his past add to confusion. Ending surprises but somewhat disappoints, too. The underemployed stars playing the parts help keep it watchable. An Indian giving boat rides also mentions a little history behind the real Dead Man's Island in Vancouver.

I knew nothing about "Dead Man's Island" when I started watching it, other than the casting of Barbara Eden and William Shatner (whose famous shows aired during the same years on NBC in the '60s), and the setting on an island. As it progressed I noticed a little similarity between the movie and Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None". In the end the movie turned out to be OK, not great. What caught my eye throughout the movie was that Eden's reporter stood out from the rest of the characters: most of them wear neutral colors most of the time, but she almost always wears bright colors, as though she's an anomaly in this group.

What I mainly say about the movie is that the casting of Barbara Eden, William Shatner, Roddy McDowall, Olivia Hussey and Don Most means that a beautiful genie meets a captain traveling through space meets an intelligent ape meets drama's most famous lover meets a 1950s goof-ball.