Island of Lost Women

"Island of Lost Women" is a bit silly...I won't deny that. But, surprisingly, it's very watchable and entertaining.

The story begins with a TV newsman and his pilot flying from the USA to Australia. The plane begins having engine problems and is in the middle of the Pacific and they appear to be totally screwed. However, a lone island is ahead and they'll try to land there. But then something weird happens....a loud voice booms out (not over the radio) telling them NOT to land...or else. Well, considering they either land or die, the plane, naturally, lands.

Upon landing, they are met by an odd older man (Alan Napier) and his three very sexy daughters. It seems long ago, the man and his now deceased wife left civilization and moved to this island....and the guy has created a neat futuristic cave-home. Eventually, they realize the guy is the famed Professor Lujan...a man who is a top atomic researcher who disappeared years ago. The Professor begs the men to keep his location a secret...but the newsman insists that not only will he leave the island but he'll report about everything he's seen! What a jerk!! In response, the Professor uses his cool flamethrower pistol to destroy the plane and stand them there. Now his hot to trot daughters don't mind this at all...they LIKE the two guys and want them to stay. But this island paradise is about to have bad things happen...see the film to see what's next.

While the film is cheap and a bit cheesy, it is entertaining...and the pretty women make viewing even easier. Overall, a decent film...made a bit better by Napier's excellent (as usual) acting.

By the way, the film seems to portray the Professor as a bit of a jerk. But I felt the opposite...the guy deserved his privacy and the reporter was the jerk. See the film...see if you agree.

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.

With a title like "Island of Lost Women", this has to be a B movie. But the cheesy melodrama one would expect from such a title is absent.

Two men have to make an emergency landing on an unknown island, where they discover a scientist and his three beautiful daughters. The girls have never seen another man before and they are intrigued by any information about the outside world.

The two men want to leave the island, because they have lives to recover. The three girls want the men to spend time with them. The scientist only knows he wants his island to remain an unspoiled secret.

The dialogue is very straightforward. This allows the viewer to concentrate on the motivations of the characters, without the usual overacting. Most of the conversations center around ideas, not passion. But the film never takes advantage of that. Instead--like there's a clock ticking down the running time--the plot wraps up in an improbable way.

The cast is interesting, if not celebrated. In their combined filmographies, these actors weave in and out of the lives and professions of numerous celebrities. If only this script had given them more to work with. The final result is somewhat pleasant, if short and simple.

"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.

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.