A bit of preposterousness set in the South Seas with beautiful Technicolor scenery. Linda Darnell, incredibly lovely, does what she can with the lackluster script. This was Tab Hunter's first film, he was discovered working on a ranch and had no prior experience acting and it definitely shows but he tries and looks great even saddled with the unfortunate nickname Chicken. He tells some interesting stories about the making of the film in his autobiography and Linda's kindness to him as a raw beginner, the book is worth checking out if you have the chance. The movie is fine for a rainy Saturday morning just don't expect art.
14 Reviews
Hot for 1952
garywduncan19 October 2005
I remembered this films ads. I must have been 10 or 12. It was Linda Darnell & Tab Hunter (a new Hollywood discovery) standing near naked on an island. Well I wanted to see it. I didn't. Years later I finally acquired a VCR tape. It was enjoyable. Great acting. Hardly. The script was all but ridiculous, and no actor could make it into a Shakespearean TEMPEST. They don't try.It does look as tho the actors were having a good time though. This was the movie that made Tab Hunter a star. Linda Darnel was a beauty. And for 1952, this was a hot rendition of look but barely touch. Wonder what the Legion of Decency thought of this film back then?
only for diehard Linda Darnell and Tab Hunter fans
jimakros19 April 2021
Darnell and Hunter are stranded on a deserted island where they spend most of the time arguing.. The characters are so incompatible that any believable romance is out of the question. You must be satisfied just watching the stars to watch this. The good thing is Darnell on the beach looks great in technicolor .The bad thing is the Tab Hunter role is badly written and badly acted he sounds more like a brat on vacation than a marines corporal who has to deal with an emergency situation. The character is pretty annoying ,spends most of the time arguing with the Darnell character who is a female officer,like he was arguing with his older sister. It was Hunters first starring role,they took a chance having him star next to an established star like Darnell,the results are mixed,he looks all-american boyish but the choice to have him star with a mature actress fails miserably..The movie actually spends more time showcasing Hunters half naked physique than it bothers with Darnell. So,basicaly this movie is for hardcore Tab HUnter fans,even more than Darnell fans.
weak sentimental story panned by critics
trev-113 March 2001
BBC radio actor Donald Gray was selected to play one of the leads as a Pilot Officer and the story was manipulated around the actor only having one arm having lost it in combat in the War. The story concerned Linda Darnell playing a Canadian Nurse to Tab Hunter playing a US Marine who are stranded during wartime on a Desert Island. A romance develops between the two until Gray is shot down over the Island and Darnell uses her nursing skills to save him. A triangle developes there is a film fight described by Director Henry Hathaway " he intended to make cinema history by staging the toughest and most earthy battle between two love struck beasts for a woman that had ever been filmed.
Hunter and Gray took all day to rehearse clout by clout and fall by fall. It came out very hammy with both actors bruised. It was most unlikely a 19 year old ex Life Guard losing to a 37 year old Gray supposedly recently having had his arm amputated. In the end Darnell chooses Gray but only thing about film described as any good was Darnell appearing sultry dressed in rags revealing more flesh than the censor would then have considered decent. The filming set in Jamaica won prizes and Gray's acting was praised. Otherwise it was a flop but did raise money for limbless ex servicemans association. Gray commented that cast were in a 5 star hotel with all expenses paid with warm twilights soft calypso music and the unbelievable beauty of caribbean beaches. Palms waved, frogs whistled and dressing for dinner in a white tuxedo. Gray was rather sad when weather broke and film completed in Elstree Studios. Gray went on to become a Newsreader and then Mark Saber whereas Darnell and Hunter made a name for themselves in Westerns. Unfortunately film shot in technicolour is now sadly not available on video but though dire outdoor locations were breathtaking.
Hunter and Gray took all day to rehearse clout by clout and fall by fall. It came out very hammy with both actors bruised. It was most unlikely a 19 year old ex Life Guard losing to a 37 year old Gray supposedly recently having had his arm amputated. In the end Darnell chooses Gray but only thing about film described as any good was Darnell appearing sultry dressed in rags revealing more flesh than the censor would then have considered decent. The filming set in Jamaica won prizes and Gray's acting was praised. Otherwise it was a flop but did raise money for limbless ex servicemans association. Gray commented that cast were in a 5 star hotel with all expenses paid with warm twilights soft calypso music and the unbelievable beauty of caribbean beaches. Palms waved, frogs whistled and dressing for dinner in a white tuxedo. Gray was rather sad when weather broke and film completed in Elstree Studios. Gray went on to become a Newsreader and then Mark Saber whereas Darnell and Hunter made a name for themselves in Westerns. Unfortunately film shot in technicolour is now sadly not available on video but though dire outdoor locations were breathtaking.
Beautiful Colour Photography!
andrew1211121126 August 2022
Warning: Spoilers
The photography of this film is excellent and the island appears heavenly on the screen. The storyline is good but at times a little odd. For example, when they first end up on the island the find the remains of another castaway from years earlier who apparently had vision of a 'sea monster' (although it was never revealed whether these were just visions or real life). Nonetheless, I wish they had spent more time exploring the island and its history. Towards the end of the film, a British pilot crashlands on the island and it suddenly becomes a contest for the girl between the pilot and the US Marine. No doubt because this is a British film, the pilot ends up with the girl at the end. This felt highly unrealistic given the audience has spent almost the entire film with the (much more hansome) Marine and the girl and was somewhat unsatisfying. Overall, I wish they had kept the British pilot out of the story and instead focused on a romance purely between Darnell and Hunter's characters. A pretty good film nonetheless. 7/10.
Island of Desire
CinemaSerf1 April 2023
When their ship is sunk from under them during WWII, "Dr. Smythe" (Linda Darnell) is washed ashore with only the hunky "Dugan" (Tab Hunter) for company. Now clearly she must have clunked her head along the way for she appears completely impervious to his scantily clad, boyish, good looks and charms, and to the fact that he quickly manages to construct a civilisation for them that is just - with war raging all around them - idyllic. Anyway, she is particularly pig-headed until he rescues her from a shark (a sort of holographic affair that is quite clearly never anywhere near the water at the same time as Hunter) and things might just start to thaw. At this, stage, though - enter Donald Gray's sophisticated "Peck", whom they rescue from the burning wreckage of his plane and soon poor old "Dugan" has a rival. Now it has to be said, Hunter is not a good actor and there is precisely no chemistry at all as this thunderingly slow romance ebbs and flows, but he is very easy on the eye and this film is clearly only intended as a post-war feel good film that showcases beautiful people delivering a "Blue Lagoon style story that is there to admire rather than to evaluate. The story is weak, the dialogue is twee and the ending - well that's just plain daft, in an heroic sort of fashion. Enjoy the eye-candy all round and you won't be disappointed. Look for anything more substantial and you're wasting your time!
Tab Hunter has a Desert Island Desire for Linda Darnell
wes-connors30 October 2010
Handsome blond Tab Hunter (as Michael "Mike" Dugan) and desirably beautiful nurse Linda Darnell (as Elizabeth "Lizzie" Smythe) are shipwrecked in the Pacific Ocean during a World War II bombing. They bicker about his being too boyish a "pride of the Marines," and which of the two is top commander. She's a lieutenant. He's a corporal, but pulls rank as the duo's captain. They find a skeleton on "Saturday Island" (known in the US as "Island of Desire") and read the diary of "Grimshaw"
In a flashback to 1930, John Laurie (as Grimshaw) loses native lover Sheila Chong (as Tukua) and is attacked by a sea serpent
Back in the present, Mr. Hunter finds himself increasingly aroused by his island mate, but Ms. Darnell plays very hard to get. She calls herself an "old maid," but still looks mighty attractive. Hunter is a young Adonis. As soon as things heat up for the couple, a plane crash lands British pilot Donald Gray (as William "Bill" Peck) on the island. He loses his left arm to the crash, but his heart to Darnell. This is more interesting as a story about loyalty than it is about sex, but it's too awkwardly played.
**** Saturday Island (3/14/52) Stuart Heisler ~ Tab Hunter, Linda Darnell, Donald Gray, John Laurie
In a flashback to 1930, John Laurie (as Grimshaw) loses native lover Sheila Chong (as Tukua) and is attacked by a sea serpent
Back in the present, Mr. Hunter finds himself increasingly aroused by his island mate, but Ms. Darnell plays very hard to get. She calls herself an "old maid," but still looks mighty attractive. Hunter is a young Adonis. As soon as things heat up for the couple, a plane crash lands British pilot Donald Gray (as William "Bill" Peck) on the island. He loses his left arm to the crash, but his heart to Darnell. This is more interesting as a story about loyalty than it is about sex, but it's too awkwardly played.
**** Saturday Island (3/14/52) Stuart Heisler ~ Tab Hunter, Linda Darnell, Donald Gray, John Laurie
Great phography,poor acting silly story
malcolmgsw-0186331 March 2019
This is a sort of Admirable Crichton but with the lack of any of its class.The acting of Tab Hunter is substandard.Donald Gray is as stiff as a board.Darrell is pretty but is obviously on her way down in the pecking order.One of the many contract actors left adrift by the end of her studio contract.The story,which has been recounted by other reviewers,is so silly it is unintentionally funny.The arrival of Donald Gray on the hour mark sets the film on a downward course from which it never recovers
Good film for it's time
guilfisher-117 November 2005
I enjoyed this 1952 movie. It never tried to be anything but what it was. Shipwreck, stranded on an island, beautiful Linda Darnell and handsome young Tab Hunter in his first film. The star never looked better and the story was not difficult to understand. Enter Donald Gray as the other part of the triangle and you have conflict amongst the natives.
Linda Darnell, every inch a movie star, graced the screen with her alluring and dark looks. She never gives you the idea of anything else but what she is. True better films came her way, but listen, just watching the glamor of the star system was enough in those days. See her in LETTER TO THREE WIVES or UNFAITHFULLY YOURS, ANNA AND THE KING OF SIAM, even that clinker FOREVER AMBER for more meaty roles. But sometimes it's refreshing to see that stars as themselves in romantic and sometimes far fetched plots. Remember in the 40s and 50s the studios ruled the films and the stars. It was their mission to expose their glamor and popularity. How many films did it take for Elizabeth Taylor to turn into a decent actress?
Tab Hunter took a lot of slack for this film from the critics. But the studios had other thoughts in mind and thankfully they took him under their wings and turned him into a top teen aged heart throb. He too learned his craft along the way. Watch him in GUNMAN'S WALK, BATTLE CRY, THE AROUSERS and LUST IN THE DUST. He again was just a pleasure to watch on the screen with his blonde hair good looks and well toned physique.
It was the time of the stars. It was their films, their popularity and faithful fans that kept the movies alive in those days. Now days it's the violence and spectacle that hold court in films. Sadly, the days of glamor have long gone. And the stars with them.
Linda Darnell, every inch a movie star, graced the screen with her alluring and dark looks. She never gives you the idea of anything else but what she is. True better films came her way, but listen, just watching the glamor of the star system was enough in those days. See her in LETTER TO THREE WIVES or UNFAITHFULLY YOURS, ANNA AND THE KING OF SIAM, even that clinker FOREVER AMBER for more meaty roles. But sometimes it's refreshing to see that stars as themselves in romantic and sometimes far fetched plots. Remember in the 40s and 50s the studios ruled the films and the stars. It was their mission to expose their glamor and popularity. How many films did it take for Elizabeth Taylor to turn into a decent actress?
Tab Hunter took a lot of slack for this film from the critics. But the studios had other thoughts in mind and thankfully they took him under their wings and turned him into a top teen aged heart throb. He too learned his craft along the way. Watch him in GUNMAN'S WALK, BATTLE CRY, THE AROUSERS and LUST IN THE DUST. He again was just a pleasure to watch on the screen with his blonde hair good looks and well toned physique.
It was the time of the stars. It was their films, their popularity and faithful fans that kept the movies alive in those days. Now days it's the violence and spectacle that hold court in films. Sadly, the days of glamor have long gone. And the stars with them.
Unbelievably Bad
dougandwin2 August 2004
What a stinkeroo this turned out to be!!! At one time, much earlier in her career, Linda Darnell was one of my favorites - no great shakes as an Actress, but very beautiful and pleasant (particularly in films like "The Mark of Zorro" and "Blood and Sand") but when I saw this monstrosity, the memories of her golden days faded quickly. The story is unbelievable and farcical, the acting second-rate, the supporting cast insufferable. I cannot think of a more immature performance by anyone when compared to Tab Hunter, and Donald Gray had to be the most boring leading man they could have picked. Added to this, was the terrible photography (and I am not just referring to the color!) Everyone associated with this, must have shuddered whenever it was shown.
Saturday Island
cnickc1 August 2006
I first saw this movie when it came out in 1952 and for years have looked for it for my collection. It is sad that Hollywood has not tried to save this film and others like it. Tab Hunter was exciting to young women at that time because he was young and had a great body. Ms. Darnell was a sexy nurse that Tab (a young U. S. Marine) saves after their ship is torpedoed by the Japanese. They make it to a lush tropical island where a budding romance begins. The scenes are beautiful and so are the suggestive scenes of their attraction for each other. Their romance is interrupted when Mr. Laurie crashes his plane in the water off their island and is rescued by Tab. Darnell and Laurie are closer in age and their love grows. I loved this movie and hope that someday technology will allow the distribution on DVD this film.
Visually beautiful.
fedor87 February 2007
Warning: Spoilers
Underrated little obscurity that's almost a minor gem. Sure, dramatically it's a bit naive, and the pro-British ending in which the Brit gets the girl - not the American (after all, the movie is British) - is rather "off". The American kid is supposedly much too young for the gal (who's around 30 only) but the one-armed slimy British character who's already 38 steals the gal! This is a happy ending only for other British one-armed, slimy guys. To makes things even more absurd, this gal was frigid to begin with: she barely had interest in men before she got stranded, but suddenly she falls in love with a slimy British officer who isn't half as good-looking as the blond American kid. However, the location is terrific, and the movie was filmed in (more-or-less) early colour which gives it a very special sort of feel. It's very much worth seeing alone for its visuals.
Romance novel put to film
alfrneuman4 March 2021
Beautiful nurse Linda Darnell is shipwrecked on a tropical island with teen hunk marine Tab Hunter; months later an older handsome pilot, Donald Gray, crash lands to complete the triangle. Stephanie Nordlie wrote the script and was instrumental in casting unknown Hunter. In his book Tab says when he showed up for the casting call, Nordlie's eyes lit up, then she proclaimed: "That's the boy I want."
The script allows director Stuart Heisler to craft a touching story about two people's growing attraction. Darnell does most of the heavy lifting as her character is the most complex of the three being an 'old maid' focused exclusively on her career to the detriment of her love life. Hunter's teen hormones and unrequited love drive him to build a boat and plan to sail alone to seek help. The only thing that can stop him from leaving is....The love scenes are tame by today's standards and tastefully done.
Saturday Island was filmed in Jamaica near the famous Dunn's Waterfall on the beach (it was later used in the Bond film Dr. No). The cinematography is above par and the actors are as pleasant to watch as the scenery. This movie took 5 months to compete and you can actually see Hunter growing from a teen into a young man. Darnell was still in her physical prime and Gray was very popular in Britain.
Every time I see this movie it makes me want to vacation on a tropical isle.
Boola Goon
ptb-812 March 2005
Ridiculous story about a never consummated romance between astonishingly handsome blond teen marine and awesomely gorgeous older woman stranded on a desert island...only to be all heartbroken when she prefers the stodgy pencilmoustached one armed older Pilot who drops from the sky..... this technicolour tease should almost be the BLUE LAGOON of 1952. The idea that she just did not have this peachy hunk's loincloth ripped away within their first half hour alone together defies credibility. There are scenes as revealing as Christopher Atkins romping about in 1980, and incredulously, they remain physically apart for the duration of this hammy but spunky film. Tab Hunter is blindingly handsome and Linda Darnell is every bit as lustworthy as Jane Russell. Astonishingly, in or out of the cheesecloth nappy he half wears, and through her designer rags, somehow they forget to just spend 24-7 licking each other senseless. Visually it is all swoon-worthy but every ten minutes the viewer erupts from a staring stupor to screech "Oh! Come on!" at the screen.
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