Pagan Island (1961)
4/10
Mostly an excuse for folks back in 1961 to look at young ladies' chests
31 July 2009
Warning: Spoilers
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.
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