Forbidden Women (1948)
* 1/2 (out of 4)
After studying in America, Prince Singor (Fernando Poe) returns to the South Islands where he plans to become King. The only problem is his evil sister-in-law who plots to have him killed but it doesn't go as planned.
This film was shot in the Philippines and it's pretty hard to judge. It was meant to be an epic tale but I'm not sure if the original film ever got released. It was brought over to America where a producer added a new title as well as a few new scenes and sold it as a roadshow attraction. It was pushed as an exploitation movie with a terrific poster but there's very little shocking material here.
For the most part, as it stands in its current version, the film is pretty bad. It clocks in at just 61-minutes and for an epic film it certainly doesn't feel that way. The biggest problem with the original scenes are the fact that the performances are rather bad and there's certainly nothing fresh or original with the story. How many times have we seen something like this? With nothing new being done there's just not too much here to really hold your attention.
I will say that the costume design and some of the sets are terrific. The actual locations are also a plus but none of this makes the film worth watching. Then we get to the "new" scenes, which include some belly dancing and a torture chamber. Both are so pathetic that you can't help but feel bad for the people who paid to see this back in the day expecting something naughty and instead getting a turkey.
