Michael_Elliott 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.

zardoz-13 "Pagan Island" qualifies as a low-budget, black & white, tropical exploitation schlocker about a modern-day Robinson Crusoe type seaman who washes up on a sun-drenched island inhabited by attractive, scantily-clad dames in their twenties. The gals are basically the same ages and are all slim and sexy. Schlockmeister Barry Mahon produced and directed this lame, one-dimensional, exotic, outdoor adventure. This straight-faced travesty of sex comedy contains some grim, realistic moments that appear out of place. Our hero guns down four unarmed black guys. Some of the lensing, particularly in the Miami Seaquarium in Key Biscayne, Florida,looks terrific, but nothing else in the shallow script redeems this harmless film. The most unusual thing is the tragic ending to an otherwise frivolous plot. William Stanton (Eddie Drew of "Them!") manages to survive the sinking of tanker ship and his inflatable life raft beaches him on an island of bare-breasted babes who wear leis over their bared breasts. They live alone on the island. Initially, they treat Stanton like royalty as if he were checking in to five-star motel. They have a room ready for him, a meal prepared for him, and they even stage an evening dance where they ply him with jungle juice. Actually, these gals have other ideas that involve punishing the evil white man. They hang him up by his heels to roast in the sun. Good riddance summarizes their attitude toward Stanton. Things change suddenly when a canoe of blacks land on the island. The gals fear the blacks because these obsidian invaders have come to kidnap them. Stanton convinces a girl that likes him to cut him down. She gives him his snub-nosed revolver and our hero kills the invaders. Eventually, Stanton and his girlfriend, gorgeous Princess Nani Maka (one-time only actress Nani Maka) who is to be sacrificed to sea god take the plunge. They find a buried treasure and they are about to swim away to safety when a couch latches onto our heroine and she dies. Stanton frees her from the couch and they reach his life raft. Actually, "Pagan Island" opens as a ship picks up our hero and heroine in a life raft and Stanton tells his tall tale to two seamen. The tale comes full circle and Stanton's girlfriend is consigned to the deep. The acting, except for Stanton, is terribly wooden. Director Barry Mahon favors long takes and single set-ups. He also loves to show the curve of breasts that his nubile actresses show under their leis. These ladies are the worst actresses in the world. They appear to be reading their forgettable, broken English dialogue off cue cards. Okay, some of the dialogue in the context will make you smirk. One gal tells two others: "White man say I built like small brick house." The seduction scene is amusing and everything about "Pagan Island" is completely cheesy. Indeed, this movie belongs in the 'it-is-so-bad-it-is-good' category.

MartinHafer 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.

Squashpants I rented the DVD to get "Fiend of Dope Island", but "Pagan Island" turned out to be more fun.The best part of the "action" is the plethora of lovely island girls running around topless but covered by numerous huge leis. I can hear Barry Mahon directing them "okay, girls, we don't wanna go too far here, so whenever you move, I want you to hold on to them leis, okay?".And, darned if they don't.And what a surprise -- Nani Maka is played by -- Nani Maka!!! What are the odds?Too cute even if the acting is God awful.