It was one of several 1980s films designed to capitalize on the popularity of Indiana Jones, but Savage Islands was a flop at the box office.
Plot
The film tells the story of missionary Nathaniel "Nate" Williamson, taken to an island mission with his fiancée Sophie. Their ship, the Rona, is captained by the roguish William "Bully" Hayes, who also takes a liking to Sophie. When Sophie is kidnapped by slave trader Ben Pease, "Nate" teams with Hayes in order to find her. The two men enjoy a friendly rivalry for Sophie's affections, and she is to some extent torn between them, though committed to Nate.
The story was based on the adventures of real-life blackbirdersBully Hayes and Ben Pease. The character of Hayes was much softened in the film and Pease turned into a villain. The script was rewritten by John Hughes.[2]
The director was Ferdinand Fairfax, an Englishman most recently notable for his direction of the television series, Churchill — The Wilderness Years. Fairfax described the film as a tongue-in-cheek adventure in the style of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. "I'm not making Carry on Pirates or anything like that, but I think it will be a very funny film", he said.[1]
The film was entirely financed with New Zealand money but achieved distribution in the US. Producer Phillips raised money in part on the back of the success of his short film, Dollar Bottom.[1]
The film has a cult following which seems to have encouraged the release of the film on Region 1 and Region 2DVD, in June and November 2006 respectively.[3]
Reception
In his review, Roger Ebert gave the film one star and called it 'inexplicable', criticizing the tone and plot.[4] The New York Times gave plaudits to the performances, but felt the film was 'no fun at all', criticizing the inconsistent action and production values.[5]
Colin Greenland reviewed Savage Islands for Imagine magazine, and stated that "Savage Islands doesn't have quite the pace or panache of Raiders of the Lost Ark, but it is first-class nonsense."[6]
