Action adventure with a splattering of voodoo thrown in. John Agar and Rose Marie Stack searching for lost treasure on the island of Haiti. It has just about enough action to fill a 10 minute short. The rest is padded out with travelogue style scenes of historical sites, and both land or ocean wild life. Boring 4 out of 10
4 Reviews
Bill Buchanan and the Island of the Untamed.
BA_Harrison20 May 2023
The Golden Mistress takes place in the tropical paradise of Haiti ('Papa Doc' Duvalier wouldn't be elected president for another three years). Bill Buchanan (John Agar) owns a boat and spends his days diving for treasure; he is approached by voluptuous Ann Dexter (Rosemarie Stack), whose father, unscrupulous treasure hunter Carl (Abner Biberman), wants to charter Bill's boat for an expedition, the man having stolen a voodoo idol that can show the way to a secret island where there is a fortune in gold and jewels.
When in proto-Indiana Jones mode, this low-budget B-movie is quite a bit of fun: Bill teams up with islander Iznard (André Narcisse) to locate the second half of the idol, which, when assembled, reveals the location of the treasure and, together with Ann, Bill swims through an underwater cave that leads to the centre of the otherwise impenetrable island, which is home to a savage tribe known as 'The Untamed'. The adventurers find the riches they are looking for at the bottom of a lake, but must escape the island in a hurry, sans treasure, pursued by the natives.
Unfortunately, the film is as much a travelogue as it is an adventure, the runtime padded out by lots of local colour, visits to historical sites, underwater photography, and plenty of voodoo rituals and ceremonies that outstay their welcome. There's also a fair amount of Stack in skimpy attire (Stack by name, stacked by nature), which compensates somewhat for the more tedious moments.
5/10.
When in proto-Indiana Jones mode, this low-budget B-movie is quite a bit of fun: Bill teams up with islander Iznard (André Narcisse) to locate the second half of the idol, which, when assembled, reveals the location of the treasure and, together with Ann, Bill swims through an underwater cave that leads to the centre of the otherwise impenetrable island, which is home to a savage tribe known as 'The Untamed'. The adventurers find the riches they are looking for at the bottom of a lake, but must escape the island in a hurry, sans treasure, pursued by the natives.
Unfortunately, the film is as much a travelogue as it is an adventure, the runtime padded out by lots of local colour, visits to historical sites, underwater photography, and plenty of voodoo rituals and ceremonies that outstay their welcome. There's also a fair amount of Stack in skimpy attire (Stack by name, stacked by nature), which compensates somewhat for the more tedious moments.
5/10.
Padded hokum
Leofwine_draca12 December 2021
Warning: Spoilers
A dull adventure set in Haiti, just before the troubles took over that country. John Agar is your usual shipowner and adventurer tasked with tracking down some voodoo treasure by pretty Rose Stack. A bit like THE AFRICAN QUEEN in terms of the bickering and sexism on display, but the adventure content is near zero and instead this turns out to be a dated travelogue with the usual hokum in terms of voodoo and local colour.
Rosemary Bow is breathtaking
Atlantin28 February 2002
After seeing The Golden Mistress, I can not understand why she did not become a really big star!
The story line is totally politically incorrect but the movie is a vehicle to show the photogenic actress in various stages of undress.
Really, worth a viewing.
The story line is totally politically incorrect but the movie is a vehicle to show the photogenic actress in various stages of undress.
Really, worth a viewing.
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