Hero's Island (1962)

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Better Late Then Never

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Obviously somebody thought they had a good idea for a film, where religious beliefs could get in the way of common sense, and "Hero's Island"is that film. Shot entirely in one location, Catalina Island, the story lacks excitement, and quite frankly is pretty boring. The only saving grace is seeing the great character actors in 1962, and what a wonderful cast it is. Rip Torn, Harry Dean Stanton, Neville Brand, James Mason, and Warren Oates. Kate Manx is the Bible thumping woman, who's religion rules her every decision. My thought is that it's just not worth wading through all the uninteresting scenes to finally arrive at the swashbuckling conclusion. For fans of the actors only, unless you need something guaranteed to be sleep inducing. - MERK

There really was a Stede Bonnet,and,yes,indeed,he was a retired British Army major.Infantry,I believe.This was in the days when officers bought their commissions,and,the second son of a wealthy merchant could rise through the ranks easily and quickly.Consequently,one could achieve status with a minimal degree of competance,and,in his case,ability.Bonnet was described as a short,plump,pudgy,and rather epicene man,Certainly,he was nobody's physical ideal of a pirate.He had retired at a rather early age,married a woman of vicious temper,and became a planter in the West Indies.The marriage was unhappy,and,as divorce was almost impossible during that period,Bonnet decided to run away from home,piracy being the most logical option,given the location and the period.Unfortunatly,he had NO idea as to how to sail or navigate,knew nothing about commanding a gang of psychopaths,and went so far as to buy his own ship(the usual practice was to STEAL one),outfit it via the usual legal channels,and advertise for a crew,openl stating that they were going to be pirates.They then set sail.Needing advice,he fell into league with Edward Teach,the notorious Blackbeard.Teach invited Bonnet aboard,ostensibly for a sociable drink and to impart some fatherly advice.No sooner was Bonnet on deck,however,when Blackbeard placed him under house arrest,had his own men take over Bonnet's ship,and sailed off for further adventures.Needless to say,Bonnet was humiliated.However,he took advantage of this period,nad became proficient as a sailor and navigator.Blackbeard,eventually tiring of his joke,released the hapless Major.Bonnet started his own career as a pirate,and,while lacking Teach's ferocity,had his own streak of viciousness.Consequently,he became a noted crininal in his own right.It seems,by the way,that he was the only pirate who is reocorded as using the legendary from of execution "Walking the Plank."In 1716,Bonnet,along with many of his cohorts,received a pardon,but,after returning to piracy,was eventually captured and hanged.

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"

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).