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.

Edward Dew is shipwrecked on an island populated by topless beauties that pray and sacrifice to a big fish-like sea god. They first want to kill Dew because the "white man is bad." Soon; however, Dew changes their minds by an act of heroism and promises to not make advances toward the one girl promised to the sea god for sacrifice. Naturally, Dew, with a bevy of bra-less beauties abounding, chooses the one girl he can't have and that plot strand begins a quick resolution to his and her problem. Sounds fishy, but true! Pagan Island is one of those so-bad-it's-good movies that really surprised me. The acting is God awful, the action almost non-existent, and the dialog does not get any more inane then in this one. The girls are primarily "white" so it is somewhat odd that such a fuss is made at Dew as he could easily be most of the girls' brother. The top non-acting award must go to Trine Hovelsrud(she is just brimming with Polynesian flair right? Yeah you bet!)as the queen of the island with the worst dialog. She made me wince a time or two, but have no fear as most male viewers will never give their full attention as they are probably trying to see what hangs and sways under all the leis that the girls wear. Maybe that is why I am a little lenient on this film, but it was funny and therefore entertaining, and as an added bonus very short. As for the sea god, the statue looks ridiculous - I wouldn't want to blow the big surprise at the end. I really was surprised with the sea god at the end. The director, producers, and all accountable really went all out with it.