Fiend of Dope Island (1961)
1h 16m | PG-13
Charlie is a dope smuggler who lives on his own private desert island and rules over the natives with an iron fist. When the native stooges get out of line, Charlie literally cracks the whip on his insubordinate subordinates. When a sexpot named Glory comes to the island, he holds her prisoner and makes her go-go dance for him.
Director: Nate Watt
Studio: Essanjay Films
Genre: Crime, Drama, Adventure
Video: 720p
Cast
Bruce Bennett
as Charlie Davis
Robert Bray
as David
Tania Velia
as Glory La Verne
Ralph A. Rodriguez
as Naru
Milton Steifel
as Doc
Miguel Ángel Álvarez
as Captain Fred
Reviews
If you're expecting something akin to "Dr. Moreau" here, then think again. It's not that kind of fiend. It's actually co-writer and star Bruce Bennett whose whip-wielding "Charlie" rules his remote tropical island like a dictator. He has designs on visiting dancer "Glory La Verne" (Tania Velia) but she's not remotely interested, and when his attentions become a little more persistent she decides to ally with his henchman "David" (Robert Bray) to put a stop to his ruthless behaviour. At times Bennett delivers his maniacal character quite effectively at the start - a sort of depraved lunatic with an autocratic bent, but once that is truly established the rest of the cast really can't quite match his larger-than-life personality and the story just falls into a rather drab, no-budget, soap opera with little to redeem it or make it stand out for an overlong seventy five minutes. There's some lovely photography of their idyllic location (aka the Florida Keys) but otherwise this is a really only a chance for Bennett to have his moment in the sun before it all just fizzles out.