Island of Lost Women

I have to admit that I was looking forward to watching "Island of Lost Women". The 1950s and 1960 were full of movies about lost women missing male companionship (like "Queen of Outer Space"), and a lot of them were frequently and unintentionally hilarious. I thought I would be in store for more of the same. Also, the fact that a major Hollywood studio picked up this independently made feature interested me. But after watching the movie, I wonder why the studio in question thought this was worthy. The low budget is pretty evident throughout, for one thing. As for if the movie is unintentionally funny, for the most part it isn't. There are some chuckles here and there, but the characters are somewhat smarter and less dopey than usual, so they don't do many things that would be considered unintentionally funny. And the story unfolds not only at a pretty uneventful pace for the most part, what happens in the climax is telegraphed early on, so there is no surprise when it happens. A pretty disappointing quickie.

Two men are forced to crash-land their plane on an uncharted island in the Pacific. They soon discover an atomic scientist and his three pretty daughters live on the island. The three girls have never seen a man besides their father. To say they're excited would be an understatement. When the men threaten to expose the scientist upon returning to civilization, he takes steps to ensure they never leave the island.

Weak film that bears a few similarities to Forbidden Planet but, make no mistake, this cheapie isn't in that film's league. Jeff Richards and John Smith are the bland leads. Alan Napier is good as the scientist, easily the meatiest part in the movie. Venetia Stevenson, Diane Jergens, and former Playmate June Blair are the girls. All three are nice to look at but ultimately forgettable. I admit I was rooting for Napier in this one. The 'good guys' were pushy jerks. Richards wants to force the scientist to go back and build more bombs, even if that's not what Napier wants. The only reason Napier decides to prevent their leaving is because Richards threatens him. So I had a fundamental problem with the premise and found the protagonists unlikable. Also nothing much happens that's exciting. There's no real action, like most movies of this type. Usually there are wild animals or monsters to fight off. But not here. It's all pretty dull without even the obligatory camp value these things usually have.

"Joe Walker" (John Smith) is a pilot who is flying a radio commentator named "Mark Bradley" (Jeff Richards) to a conference in Australia. Unfortunately, a typhoon blows them off course and when one engine goes out they decide to land the airplane close to a nearby island. Upon landing they are greeted by a man who only wants to be known as "Mr. Paul" (Alan Napier) and his three lovely daughters, "Mercuria" (June Blair), Venus (Venetia Stevenson) and "Urana" (Diane Jergens). Although Mr. Paul initially wants them to leave he changes his mind when Joe and Mark realize who he really is and decides to destroy the airplane so that they have to stay. This pleases all 3 young ladies but Mark is still determined to leave while Mr. Paul is determined that they will not. Now rather than reveal any more of this film and risk spoiling it for those who haven't seen it I will just say that this was an enjoyable Grade-B movie from the 1950's. Although there were some dull parts here and there I must say that the 3 attractive women certainly brightened the scenery. Be that as it may, overall I rate it as about average.

This movie is one of the B&W semi-horror films of the 50's and early 60's. Granted, the premise is totally absurd.....2 hunka hunka's running around an island with 3 babe-a-licious honeys and not one case of hanky-panky? The guys seemed more interested in each other and themselves -- swimming in those horrid 1950's spandex trunks (is that a potato in your swimwear or are you just happy to see me?), rubbing lotion on each other's backs, reminiscing about close friendships, --- hmmm --- maybe this should have been called "BROKEBACK ISLAND?" I liked the movie although it is totally predictable. I DID keep waiting for Godzilla or some other camera enlarged creature to come around and scare the swimwear off the guys, (looks like the girls would have defended the island against the killer beast while the boys were screaming little pansies scampering off into the forest), but no monster. Heck, enjoy it for what it's worth, a piece of B&W film history.

What a strange film from director Frank Tuttle, his final movie.... It is not a disgrace, no, let's not exagerate, but just strange. I would have bet on a director as Richard Cunha, Roger Corman or any psychotronic film maker, but certainly not Frank Tuttle. It is funny, light hearted. Plus, it is a short film, so it can't be boring. This stuff is destined to teen audiences I guess, because of those bunnies presence. It is impossible to take it seriously, it is just entertaining, that's all. I don't know any of those second rate actors, chosen I guess, only because they are handsome, good looking. Watch it just by curiosity.