FIEND OF DOPE ISLAND (1961)/PAGAN ISLAND (1960)
Directors: Nate Watt/Barry Mahon
Something Weird Video/Image Entertainment

The package of this Something Weird DVD reads, "Gilligan's Island this ain't..." No, it may not be, but the features match the ludicrously of that beloved show. The first feature is FIEND OF DOPE ISLAND, which stars Bruce Bennet. Back in the 30s, Bennet--under his real name Herman Brix--had the distinction of being handpicked by Edgar Rice Burroughs too play Tarzan for his own production company when MGM didn't appropriately for his tastes.

Here, the middle-aged Bennet plays a whip-yielding, dope-smuggling tyrant of a small Caribbean island. Soon things heat up as a Ginger Grant wannabe shows up (Yugoslavian blonde Tania Vella, who's very reminiscent of Greta Thyssen), strutting her stuff and romancing hero Robert Bray. There's an implied rape, a revolt by the locals, and Vella even flashes her chest to the audience a couple of times.

The other feature on the disc, PAGAN ISLAND is from Barry Mahon. Now for those who still insist that Ed Wood was the worst director of all time, just remember that Mahon is also responsible for THE DEAD ONE, THE BEAST THAT KILLED WOMEN, and CUBAN REBEL GIRLS (Errol Flynn's final film). In PAGAN ISLAND, William Stanton plays a sailor who finds himself shipwrecked on a native island. The women there claim to hate the "white man," and refer to Stanton as such, even though all the gals all look typically Anglo Saxon. Stanton has his choice of luscious ladies (all topless but for the lays that embrace their necks), but he falls in love with Princess Nani Maka who is to be sacrificed to the Angry Sea God. The Angry Sea God is a toothy giant idol that looks like the monster plant in PLEASE DON'T EAT MY MOTHER.

FIEND OF DOPE ISLAND and PAGAN ISLAND are perfectly matched here as a double bill. Both films are pretty tame exploitation, but are more risqué than most from the same period. They're not for all tastes-- I would've been more pleased if a giant spider, a mad scientist, or even the aging Three Stooges had been thrown in the mix of either film. Both features are full frame and have been transferred from nice-looking, clean prints and appear very sharp with hardly any blemishes, and the audio on both are more than adequate.

The extras are not as juicy as on most Something Weird DVDs, but they nicely suit the "island" theme of this package. There are short subjects from different time periods. Most of them are black & white and of the "stag party" dancing/striping variety: "Women of Bali," "Virgins of Bali," "Perilous Paradise," "The Shipwrecked Sailor and the Hula Girl," "The Exotic Fire Dance," "Pagan Love," "The Moon of Manakoora." Another short (in beautiful color) has artist Lewis Van Dercar sculpting some willing nude models. Also included is the alternate credit sequence for FIEND under the title "Whiplash," trailers for the two features, and the staple "Gallery of Drive-In Exploitation Art with Trash-O-Rama Radio Spot Rarities." A hidden extra you can search for is the trailer for I MARRIED A SAVAGE. (George R. Reis)

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