Pagan Island (1961)

How sad is this?

Excellent adaptation.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Pagan Island (1961) * 1/2 (out of 4) William Stanton (Edward Dew) is rescued from a lifeboat with a dead body. Once on the ship he talks about how he was on board another ship that went down in the ocean but he managed to wash up on a mysterious island ran by women.PAGAN ISLAND comes from director Barry Mahon and if you've seen any of his movies then you already know that he messed around in various genres but the one thing they all had in common was the fact that they didn't have much of a budget. I really, really wanted to like this film more than I actually did and it's really too bad that a little more excitement wasn't thrown into this because it should have been much better.The main reason this movie was made was to show off the island of beautiful women. Yes, that's right, there aren't any uglies on this island but instead they're all beautiful women and once in a while we even get a quick flash of nudity. There were several films that dealt with men landing on a planet/island/any location that was ran by women so story-wise there's nothing new or original here.At just 58 minutes the film has some entertaining moments but for the most part way too much time is devoted to nothing. I say that because there are countless scenes here that just drag along for no reason other than to build up the running time. Check out the sequence where Stanton slowly loads his gun and we have to slowly watch ever bullet go in. I really wish some of these scenes had been cut down and replaced with a little more action or even a little more nudity.

After his tanker catches fire and sinks somewhere in the Pacific Ocean, "William Stanton" (Eddie Dew) drifts for days in a lifeboat until he finds himself on an island populated entirely by women. At first the women plan to kill him but after he saves them from some male warriors from another island they agree to let him stay long enough for him to gather his strength and eventually return to the sea in his boat. However, his stay is complicated by the fact that he has fallen in love with a Polynesian woman named "Nani Maka" (Nani Maka) who is pledged to be sacrificed soon to the "Sea God". Anyway, rather than spoil the film for someone who hasn't seen it I will refrain from revealing what happens next. I will say, however, that this is a short movie (67 minutes) that features some beautiful tropical scenery and attractive native women wearing sexy attire. Unfortunately, the movie is filmed in black and white which fails to take full advantage of the situation . Not only that but the acting was very basic and the overall story was quite predictable due in large part to the opening sequence. All things considered, I rate the film as slightly below average.

The reason I rented this DVD from NetFlix was because it was directed by Barry Mahon--one of the worst directors of the 1960s. I must be a masochist because I recently have watched a bunch of grade-z movies by Mahon, Al Adamson, Ray Dennis Steckler, Ted Mikels and many other horrible film directors of the era. Believe it or not, many of the films these folks made make the Ed Wood films look amazingly good! Surprisingly, PAGAN ISLAND was not that bad a film, though it became obvious the real reason this film was made was to get away with showing sexy women's breasts back in 1961. That's because the film was set on a Polynesian island (even though the women looked very European in descent). But, to get by local censors, Mahon had the ladies wear leis over their boobs. Of course they occasionally "accidentally" showed a boobie here and there--though it was also funny watching some of the more prudish ladies holding the leis across their chests! As far as the plot goes, it's about a guy who is shipwrecked and happens upon an island entirely inhabited by bare-chested women all under age 25. While they explained that the men are on another island, I don't know why there are no kids or oldsters--one of those mysteries in life you'll just need to accept, otherwise you'll stay up all night.At first, the man is taken prisoner as the women have long believed that white men are bad. But, when he gets free and saves the ladies, he's given anything...ANYTHING he wants. I think you are supposed to use your imagination here, as the guy does seem amazingly chaste. He also seems really stupid, as he can have any woman on the island except for one who is to be sacrificed to their god--so naturally you can guess which one he wants! If you really care about what happens next, give it a look--but it certainly isn't a "must-see".Overall, watchable and with decent acting from the male lead and a few of the women. Oddly, the queen (one of the important roles) seemed to have the most difficulty reading her lines. For Mr. Mahon, this is one of his better and more watchable films.

"White man no good" replies one of the thirty (curiously enough, anglo saxon) island sea girls, upon the arrival of a ship wrecked boat boy. And, wouldn't you know it, he falls in love with beautiful Princess Nani Maka only days before she is to be sacraficed to the Angry Sea God. What will Queen Kealoha say? Not much, as most of her horribly read dialouge is from a cue card.One man alone with thirty native island girls does sound inviting, but this schlock-ridden island safari is for cheesey movie fans only. "White man say I built like small brick house" is one of the many hilarious lines delivered by the island beauties, (handpicked by Betty Page photographer, Bunny Yeager!) which despite a low budget, managed to be scored with gorgeous Les Baxter inspired music.