Terminal Island

This movie was fine, great, if you're a Tom Selleck fan. Personally, I like Phyllis Davis (who starred later in "Vegas" with the late Robert Urich). The "DVD" version; which is available from Canada, produced by Legacy Entertainment, is a "ripoff" (if you'll pardon an old slang word). It is cut for language, and other material, featuring Ms. Davis, and another actress (separate scenes, not together), involving nudity. I know, because a) I have a book called "The Bare Facts" by Craig Hosada, which reviews these scenes. b.) I have a tape called Famous T & A, I'm not making it up, which features an uncut/uncensored excerpt from the movie which shows what was cut. I am getting a VHS, used, from another place, from a different manufacturer, and hoping it hasn't been "cut". Although rated "R" originally, and even though it says it's been edited (which I didn't look to see, until after I viewed the movie; which if I had done, I'd have returned it) I feel I was cheated. So, this is a warning to any potential buyers. If editing doesn't bother you, then, by all means, buy it. In fact, I'm trying to resell my copy, as it was played once.

After the Supreme Court outlaws the death penalty, California circumvents the ruling by sending murderers to a secluded island, where they are declared 'legally dead' and expected to kill each other off. Four intrepid ladies spend some miserable time in the hierarchical sexist work camp on one side of the island, then run off to join the liberated comrades on the other side. There's some pretty big statements waiting to happen in there, and they come through loud 'n' brassy, but they are made in the firm confines of a rockin' 70s drive-in action movie. This is a co-ed prison flick on a cheaper set, with a great bunch of weirdo characters floating around and future Magnum P. I. cast members sweetening the pot. Smart and well made too.

Selleck (playing a doctor before his stint on "Friends") and Mosley appear in this one seven years before the Magnum, P.I. TV series. (It is amazing how a person can play one character and be so right for so many different roles).

California has abolished the death penalty (before it was reinstated) and the golden state empties death row onto "Terminal Island". Here, the inmates run the show and the only "guard" is a Navy frigate that prevents escape. Basically, this is a standard prison movie without the bars, but since there are no rules, the inmates can do whatever they want from what they can improvise on the Island.

A social order has arisen where a dorky murderer along with his black enforcer(Mosley) force everyone to work while he has his way with the women (other males get their turn, as well).

A "revolutionary" band of renegades (lead by Don Marshall(II) from "Star Trek" and "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century") roam the island and basically steal what they can from the "establishment". They treat their people only slightly better.

A war erupts when some guards delivering a new prisoner are overwhelmed and their machine guns are stolen. All manner of improvised weapons are also used as well.

This movie is a very good allegory for the VietNam war and how determined ingenious under dogs can defeat a militarily superior power.

Also, as expected in seventies exploitation flicks, a lot of chicks go topless and nude--unfortunately not Selleck or Mosley.

The Supreme Court outlawed the death penalty. California created Terminal Island from San Bruno Island to exile the death row inmates. Bobby killed his bank robbery posse. Lee Phillips blew up a bank. A.J. is a cop killer. Bunny Campbell killed her parents with an ice pick. Julian Dylan is a biker. Joy poisoned her husband. Dr. Norman Milford (Tom Selleck) committed a mercy killing. Roy Teale is a serial killer. Carmen is the new inmate sent to Terminal Island. Bobby rules the main camp with an iron fist and Monk (Roger E. Mosley) is his second in command. The women are used as sex slaves.

I wanted to check this out after Selleck mentioned it on a late-night talk show. It's a violent low-budget exploitation T&A B-movie. There is a surprising number of hot babes serving death sentences. It's cheesy bad but it is almost watchable for its badness. The acting is generally weak and the overall filmmaking is poor. Selleck has a full beard. It doesn't keep my interest all the way to the end.

The early 1970s B picture "Terminal Island" has an effective premise with which to work. In the "future", the Supreme Court has declared the death penalty unconstitutional. In its place, criminals are now dumped on an island 40 miles off the American coast. Here they're (mostly) left to fend for themselves. The latest arrival is a young woman, Carmen (Ena Hartman), who's just in time to witness an uprising. Some of the convicts are tired of the tyranny of their "leaders" Bobby (Sean Kenney, "The Corpse Grinders") and Monk (Roger E. Mosley, "The Mack"). So a small group splits off from the main group, and plots revolution.

Co-written by James Barnett, producer Charles S. Swartz, and director Stephanie Rothman ("The Velvet Vampire"), "Terminal Island" is pretty good for this kind of exploitation fare. It fulfils its requirements - violence, sex, nudity - adequately, and is simply beautifully shot (by Daniel Lacambre, "Humanoids from the Deep") on some pretty locations. While it naturally has its trashy moments, it never really wallows in unpleasantness, and it does have a sense of humour, to boot. (Watch how the horny character, Dylan (Clyde Ventura, "'Gator Bait") is dealt with.) The story is a little thin, but is also provocative on occasion. (Dr. Milford, played by a young Tom Selleck, was convicted of the mercy killing of a patient.)

The cast is full of then-stars, stars-to-be, and familiar character faces. Also appearing are Don Marshall ("The Thing with Two Heads"), Phyllis Davis ("Beyond the Valley of the Dolls"), Marta Kristen ('Lost in Space'), Barbara Leigh ("Junior Bonner"), Geoffrey Deuel ("Chisum"), James Whitworth (Papa Jupe in Wes Cravens' "The Hills Have Eyes"), Richard Stahl ("Nine to Five"), Sandy Ward ("Cujo"), and Albert Cole ("The Incredible 2-Headed Transplant"). The film gained newfound attention when Selleck and Mosley found later fame on 'Magnum P.I.'. Kenney and Mosley are particularly fun as the antagonists of the piece.

Full of solid squib action and some satisfying explosions, "Terminal Island" is worthy of discovery by devotees of the B pictures of decades past.

Seven out of 10.