Lively, entertaining reviews of, and essays on, old and newer films and everything relating to them, written by professional author William Schoell.

Thursday, March 17, 2011

UNTAMED WOMEN


UNTAMED WOMEN (1952). Director: W. Merle Connell.

Not to be confused with the even worse Prehistoric Women, this also deals with a primitive all-female society living on an island. The crew of a WW2 bomber plane fly off course, crash-land, take to the life boats, and eventually wind up on an isolated island seemingly inhabited only by a bevy of beauteous women. The leader of the women is named Sandra (Doris Merrick), while the head bomber pilot is named Steve (Mikel Conrad). Ed (Mark Lowell) hates his smothering mother; Andy (Morgan Jones) is the farm boy dreaming of hey rides and home; and Benny (Richard Monahan) is the comic relief and skirt chaser (true to form he's the least attractive of the bunch). Remembering the "hairy men" who once came to the island to kill their men and carry off the rest of the women, Sandra wants to slaughter the pilots, but the other women -- complete with Max Factor make up jobs and heavy lipstick -- want the men for mates. The fellows eventually encounter giant armadillos, big lizards, a rubbery flesh-eating plant, and lots of stock footage from One Million B.C. and other movies. [The composite shots are generally effective.] Lyle Talbot shows up briefly as a medical officer tending to Steve, whose memories form the core of the story. Star Conrad had one more credit after this, the American version of the 1956 Godzilla.

Verdict: Don't say you weren't warned. **.

3 comments:

Neil A Russell said...

I have a real soft spot for crap like this.
Lately I've been discovering a lot of titles (a lot of them via this site) that I'd never heard of.

What a legacy I'll leave behind in a vast collection of awful movies.

William said...

And there's a lot of crap to come, LOL!

And now and then a genuinely good movie! [But how come the crappy ones are often a lot more fun!]

Bill

Neil A Russell said...

Glad to hear it!

Must be some sort of guilty pleasure, either that or there's a range of bad movies that aren't technically awful, just bad in execution but very watchable.

I've just recently discovered the low end George King films from the mid 30s starring Tod Slaughter and have been enjoying them immensely