Virgin Island

For those that enjoy pure escapism like Field of Dreams, Blue Lagoon, etc., this film is a "must." Poitier and Cassavettes are great, as are the rest of the British cast. Actually filmed in the BVI, who wouldn't enjoy a delightful tale of a "boy meets girl," "girl leaves boy on cruise ship," and then "boy convinces girl to jump overboard and marry him to live on island he just purchased?" Wow!! With "Man Friday" Poitier and his girlfriend as able assistants, really well done picture of what living life on an actual island would be like. Even to the point of mother-in-law coming to visit. A must see picture!

Filmed in the beautiful British Virgin Islands, a charming fairy-tale type story of guy who meets girl, seemingly loses her, then gets her to literally jump overboard and marry him! After buying a small, uninhabited island, Cassavetes and his "Man-Friday" (Poitier) build a dream house for???? The newlyweds? Their family? Poitier? Really a truly enjoyable little picture: you buy the premise, you "buy" the island--and the story!

While traveling with her mother Mrs. Lomax (Isabel Dean) in a cruise in the Virgin Island, the young Tina (Virginia Maskell) meets the treasure hunter and aspiring writer Evan (John Cassavetes) and they immediately fall in love with each other. Evan buys a small island and they get married and move to the place. Evan's friend Marcus (Sidney Poitier) helps the couple to build their house in the island until the day that they are completely broken. They receive an ice box from Mrs. Lomax but they do not have how to pay for the transportation; however Captain Jason (Edric Connor) tells that it would not be a problem provided they lighted a lamp every night to give directions to his boat. Soon Tina finds a box of champagne on the beach and they conclude that it might be a compliment from the captain. Out of the blue, a publishing house buys Evan's novel and they celebrate the received money. But they are also informed that Mrs. Lomax will visit them. She misses the comfort of a modern life and when the Commissioner (Colin Gordon) pays a visit to the couple, she speaks too much and tells the story of the lamp and the champagne. The Commissioner tells that he shall report the story to the British authorities and Tina and Evan will certainly lose their house. What will they do to keep their paradise on Earth?

"Virgin Island" is a naive but delightful romance and adventure. The feel-good story is appropriate for a matinée, and the dramatic part is shallow with the troubled situations easily resolved like in a fairytale. The chemistry between John Cassavetes and the lovely Virginia Maskell is impressive and Sidney Poitier has also an important participation in the role of a friend of the young couple. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "A Ilha do Pecado" ("The Sin Island")

This a delightful film. I saw this some years ago, and found it quite entertaining. The plot is a story of two people who find love and happiness when meeting in the British Virgin Islands. The film shows a time when life seemed less hectic and complex then the world we live in today. I guess that is part of its charm. The cast did a good job. I was quite shocked and sad to hear that Virginia Maskell (the girl who played "Tina" in the film) committed suicide later in her life, although she had a promising career from what I could see.

This overlooked film is a tiny, charmingly-told story of an unlikely couple who get married and set up housekeeping on an uninhabited Virgin Island. I don't know how they got Poitier and Cassavetes with what it obviously a minimal budget, but get them they did, and both turn in delightful performances.