Fiend of
Dope Island/Pagan Island
Fiend of
Dope Island/Pagan Island |
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Fiend of Dope
Island Starring: Pagan Island Starring: This dvd is a perfect example of why we owe so much to Something Weird Video. They have taken yet two more obscure, crappy-ass, B movies and turned them loose on us in the form of this great dvd package: Something Weird Video - Tropical Double Feature The first of the two films, Fiend of Dope Island - "He took everything he wanted!", stars Bruce Bennet as Charlie Davis, the fiend from the title. Bennet, in his younger years, appeared in over 120 films including at least 15 appearances as Tarzan. The protagonist in the film, David, is played by Robert Bray who appeared in over 70 films as starred on Lassie for several years in the 60's. The other main character, Glory La Verne, is played by former Miss Yugoslavia and Olympic swim team member Tania Velia. The plot of Fiend of Dope Island is pretty complex.... hah! Okay, so Charlie Davis is running a small island in the Caribbean. His operation consists of a small cantina with a sand floor and 2 or 3 drunks as customers, and also his marijuana growing and processing facilities. His partner in these operations is a boat captain who takes the pot off the island, but they never say exactly where to. On his most recent stop at Dope Island, a passenger is brought ashore. This is Glory La Verne who thought she was landing a paying gig ($500) for dancing before a large audience of dignitaries. She quickly figures out that Charlie is the only "dignitary" she is dancing for. Glory and David become friendly and before too long she has all of the locals on the island thinking she is the most wonderful person in the world. She dances, she holds babies, she swims naked, she dances.... After Charlie tries to make the moves on Glory one too many times, the people of the island, along with David and Glory, decide to fight back. Oh yeah, and Charlie likes to whip people who he thinks have wronged him or crossed him. He is also doped up on weed and drinking booze out of the bottle most of the time. Most people would want to take a nap, but not 'ole Charlie. He just gets meaner and tries to whip more people. So there is a little rebellion and an action packed ending. Guess who wins in the end? Well, it's pretty obvious but watching this little gem of an exploitation film is lots of fun. The acting and dialogue are so-so and the sets are minimal, but it was filmed in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico so at least the scenery is authentic. The second feature is called Pagan Island - "One man alone with 30 beautiful native girls!". A sailor and a topless girl are floating in a life raft and picked up by a boat. But unfortunately, the girl is already dead. The movie then becomes a flashback as the sailor, Eddie Dew (William Stanton), recounts his tale to the captain of the boat that picked him up. He was the only survivor of an explosion on the ship he was working on. After nine days of drifting he lands on an island with only women on it. Of course almost all of the girls are around 20 years old or so, and with one exception, curvy and beautiful. On one of his first nights there, he watches a dance as the local girl get him drunk. After he passes out in his bed, they take his knife and gun that he washed ashore with and tie him up. Eddie is now tied up and hanging upside down from a palm tree. He is informed by Queen Kealoha (Trine Hovelsrud) that he must die because is is a white man and therefore evil. She proceeds to tell him the story of how in her grandmother's time, a ship full of white men came to the island. They stayed for months and when they finally left, they took many of the women. Since then, all white men have been considered evil. The only good men are from a nearby island who come once a year and marry some of the girls and take them back to their island. So after an afternoon of hanging upside down, Eddie is befriended by Princess Nani Maka (Nani Maka) who gives him water. While they are flirting, the alarm is sounded and as it turns out, there is yet another island full of men who are warriors and now and again steal girls to take back to their island. Eddie talks Nani Maka into letting him go so he can help with the invaders. Actually all he does is get his gun back and shoot the guys before they even know what hit them. So now he is a hero and in the good graces of the queen. She grants him his freedom and will give him provisions and a sail for his boat and let him leave as soon as he is strong enough. Now what starts to complicate matters, is Princess Nani Maka and Eddie are hitting it off but she is going to be wed (sacrificed) to the Sea God. SHe feels this is an honor and is looking forward to it. Eddie is told all of the girls are there to serve him, except for Nani Maka, who must remain untouched. So here is Eddie living it up of course, with a girl on each arm. The girls come home after spending a day with Eddie and tell Nani Maka about what wonderful things he tells to them. So now enters jealousy, doubt and conflict in poor Nani Maka's universe. After another round of dancing by Nani Maka around the hilariously funny paper mache Sea God idol, Eddie decides to tell her that he loves her. She feels the same about him but after visiting the queen, Nani Maka know that her duty lies with the decision she made to sacrifice herself. After diving in the water where the sacrifice is to take place, Eddie finds an underwater cavern that leads to a large cave with fresh air. He gets the Queen to agree to let him sacrifice himself with Nani Maka and at the appointed time on the day of the full moon, they jump in the water together. But instead of drowning or being taken by the sea god (a giant clam) like they are supposed to, they swim to he cavern. Once there, they find a couple treasure chests full of loot. They have a little personal marriage ceremony and spend one glorious day in the cave. The plan is to that night swim to Eddie's boat and sail to another island. But little do they know, the Sea God has other plans... They are swimming underwater and the giant clam clamps down on Nani Maka and she drowns before he is able to save her. The next scene is Eddie in a cabin of the boat that rescued him. He says he wouldn't believe the story himself, save for the pocket full of jewels he has. Heartbroken and alone, the movie ends. The performances are pretty wooden by all concerned, but it is kind of a fun movie, but not so much as the main feature, Fiend of Dope Island. Pretty hokey stuff but lots of fun watching it! Something Weird did a great job of cleaning up the prints and there was only a little graininess on either movie. The audio Dolby Digital mono and is uneven in parts on both movies, but I am sure it is as good as these movies ever sounded. The extras on the disk are almost as fun as the two feature films. Besides the original trailers and an alternate title sequence for Fiend.., there are 8 shorts! They include: 1. Women of Bali Features 1 and 2 are travelogues that are just an excuse to show breasts. 3 is an actual piece on the conditions of an island in the Pacific. 4 is the oldest looking of the bunch and is almost softcore porn and includes full frontal nudity. 5 is in color and has no nudity, but there is a nice dance. 6 is a girl getting almost full frontal but not quite.... This looks like it was in a penny arcade as a few times throughout you are encouraged to drop in another coin to see more. 7 is a song and dance number that almost looks like it might have been part of a feature film. 8 is a documentary of sorts on the artist Lewis Van Dercar and his work. There is a voice over throughout by one of his models and mostly it is an excuse to show nude women in an artistic fashion. There is also an easter egg on the disk. It can be found on the "Island of Aboriginal Exploitation Extras" menu. Highlight the "Gallery of Drive-In Exploitation Art" and then the right arrow key. A hidded trailer for "I Married a Savage" is shown. The trailer duration is 3:18. If you like B movies and exploitation films from the 50s and 60s, this is a perfect dvd for you. And overall, this is a very satisfying release for me and I am glad I own it. |
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07 Feb 03 (rev. 7 Mar 03) |
