Monday, February 05, 2024

Movie review - "Saturday Island" (1952) **

 The film that launched Tab Hunter as a leading man.  Its kind of a sexy story - a Blue Lagoon tale of a hunky young marine and older woman doctor who are in a ship that's sunk and wind up on a deserted island.

Hunter and Darnell should'e been ideal - a young good looking naive guy and a Woman of the World. But the film doesn't lean into this. He should've been in love with her from the start, she resists him... or vice versa... it just needed more sex.

Actually this film throws away drama chances wholesale. No threat no the island, no Japanese, no natives, no natural spookiness. It threatens to get interesting when Tab Hunter becomes pathologically jealous but then just as he goes nuts they all get rescued.

Lots of whining from Hunter. Oh, he's so poor... he looks terrific, he is the role but that high pitched voice. You can't help laughing at him.

Linda Darnell can be great but she needs to be energised. She's bored here, disconnected.  Donald Gray is better. He tries.

What a missed opportunity. Nice colour and location filming in Jamaica.

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