merklekranz Obviously somebody thought they had a good idea for a film, where religious beliefs could get in the way of common sense, and "Hero's Island"is that film. Shot entirely in one location, Catalina Island, the story lacks excitement, and quite frankly is pretty boring. The only saving grace is seeing the great character actors in 1962, and what a wonderful cast it is. Rip Torn, Harry Dean Stanton, Neville Brand, James Mason, and Warren Oates. Kate Manx is the Bible thumping woman, who's religion rules her every decision. My thought is that it's just not worth wading through all the uninteresting scenes to finally arrive at the swashbuckling conclusion. For fans of the actors only, unless you need something guaranteed to be sleep inducing. - MERK

phillip_hrdy This offbeat film plays like an early indie movie; but is well acted and entertaining. The film move largely shot on Catalina Island in 1961 and benefits from California sunshine while avoiding the phony appearance of the studio back lot. James Mason is excellent in the role of Blackbeard the Pirate's ex-first mate Major Stede Bonnett, managing an understated cool machismo throughout the story. Kate Manx is earnest and lovely in the leading lady role, while talent like Warren Oates, Rip Torn and Harry Dean Stanton demonstrated early in their careers why they all became stellar character players. The regional dialect is authentic to early 18th century New England with a solid script to match.

blacknorth James Mason & Leslie Stevens' beautiful and obscure rendering of one family's escape from indentured slavery through the entreprenurial violence of pirate Major Steed Bonnett, AKA Sailormaster to Captain Teach (Blackbeard), AKA The Devil.Manx, upon gaining her freedom, is granted title to Bull Island, off the coast of Carolina. Upon arrival with her husband she finds a family of fisherman in residence who claim the island for their own - in the ensuing struggle her husband is killed and she is ordered to leave under threat of death. By sheer providence, stranger James Mason is washed up on shore unconscious, a floater reading 'Dead Man' around his neck. The mysterious Mason joins her struggle...The morality of the film is fine, tracking a passage from the sureties of slavery in the old Empire to the anarchy of a land-grab in the new World - Manx has the deeds to the island, but none of the fishermen can read worth a damn. The script is refracted through sunlight into blood, most violence happening in superb colour, and mixing colour into those insane words...-He knows how to use that axe. Would you fight a man with a axe?-You tore up her books, killed her birds.-My father told me he was the king of the moon. He was the king of the moon.In one extraordinary scene, film in a ten minute take with no cuts of any kind, Manx explains the mechanics of slavery to Mason, shows him her indenture and the two parts of paper representing her whole person - the reason why the scene was filmed without cuts, its narrative integrity intact.-One person, undivided and whole.Nicolas (Rip Torn) is tempted into the New World, wanting to learn to read, and deserts his fisherman brothers to throw his lot in with Manx. The remaining fishermen send to the mainland for help from the brutal Kingstree (Neville Brand) and the scene is set for a confrontation between land and sea, life and death...Only Cimino's Heaven's Gate shares the same canvas as Hero's Island, both showing an interior landscape, a projected journey, an intellectual sword-fight. The sheer physicality of the final clash between Mason & Brand birthing the notion of everything we have seen and heard.A stunning, stunning film, a masterpiece, and probably the finest film of the 60's. There is a letterboxed print which occasionally shows on TCM - see Hero's Island in all its glory and all its obscure and forgotten pain.

dbdumonteil Offbeat work which pits a pious family against a bench of violent weirdoes on an Island .The main problem for the virtuous ones is that they shall not kill or hurt anyone.In 1956,the Quakers in William Wyler's wonderful classic "Friendly persuasion " had the same problems.The best part is the first one,with the family's arrival,the father's death and the omnipresence of biblical references.But as soon as James Mason 's character shows himself a fierce pirate,but a big-hearted one,the plot peters out,and it's nothing but routine action movie.The mother is akin to Grace Kelly's character in Fred Zinneman's "high moon"(1952),and like her,she will have to do what she 's very loath to.The main characters have backgrounds that could have provided many other movies with a subject.All this does not hang together well and ,all in all, it remains a poor man's "friendly persuasion"