Wed 27 Jan 2016
A Sci-Fi Movie Review by Dan Stumpf: UNTAMED WOMEN (1952).
Posted by Steve under Reviews , SF & Fantasy films[5] Comments
UNTAMED WOMEN. United Artists, 1952. Mikel Conrad, Lyle Talbot, and a lot of people whose names would mean nothing to you. Look ’em up at IMDb if you want to satisfy your morbid curiosity; do I have to do all the work around here? Written by George Wallace Sayre. Directed by W. Merle Connell.
An adolescent-dream film, written by a B-movie veteran and directed by a maker of early Nudie Flicks.
The story opens with a military doctor of some sort (played by that bad-movie stalwart Lyle Talbot) explaining Mikel Conrad’s case to an Archaeologist (?!) then shifts to a hospital room where the kindly Doc shoots Conrad full of some kind of drug that triggers a flashback to the rest of the film: Four men from a WWII bomber crew shot down and cast up on an uncharted island that turns out to be populated by beautiful women in skimpy outfits — why can’t I have flashbacks like that?
All is not sweetness and spice here, however; it seems the High Priestess of the nubiles is mistrustful of our lucky heroes, although the rest of the tribe can’t wait to get their hands on them. Complications ensue, including mild bondage of the sort you used to see on the covers of All Man magazine, dinosaurs, invasive hairy cavemen, earthquakes and an Oedipus complex. There’s also a “comic relief†who will remind you irresistibly of that irritating guy in your barracks who never shut up.
The Dinosaurs in this film are “borrowed†from One Million B.C. (1940) using the same stock footage that appeared in so much low-budget film and TV of the 1950s, from Jungle Jim to Rin Tin Tin. Indeed, it cropped up so often in those days that I feel I grew up with it; the lizard monsters have become like old friends for me, the caves and cliffs as familiar as the scenes of my childhood, and the volcano erupting has assumed the status of a perennial treat. Untamed Women thus became for me not just another silly movie, but a nostalgic revisit to my tawdry youth.
Be that as it may, I would estimate that of Untamed Women’s 70-minute running time, 20 minutes are courtesy of One Million B.C. The sad part is that they constitute the most interesting parts of the movie. The rest is taken up in talk, a long walk around Bronson Canyon, more talk, a bit of cheesecake and a lot of plain damn silliness.
The acting… well my first impression was that it seemed pretty bad, but on reflection, it may be the only dramatically valid response to a script that includes lines like “The strange-tongued one speaketh in riddles.†And “Shoot anything with hair that moves!â€
Okay, Untamed Women may not be quite as enjoyably bad as some other films I could name, but I’d have to say it has a solid place in the ranks, and fans of this sort of thing should put it on their lists.
January 27th, 2016 at 6:09 pm
Dan,
I don’t think we have thanked you enough for the sacrifices you have made watching these films for us. As of this one you have gone above and beyond, and I recommend you for the Joe Bob Briggs Memorial Z Movie Award for conspicuous criticism in the face of absolute banality.
January 27th, 2016 at 8:04 pm
The same goes for me as well, David. I can’t add anything to such a most eloquently spoken statement of appreciation, and so well deserved, too.
I may be wrong, but Dan, didn’t you say earlier that there is one more film report like this one coming?
Yes, here it is:
https://mysteryfile.com/blog/?p=37986
Next up: LOVE SLAVES OF THE AMAZON. That’s another one I know I’ve missed.
January 28th, 2016 at 10:05 am
I look forward to the review of LOVE SLAVES OF THE AMAZON!
As for the reference to Lyle Talbot I recall hearing an interview with his daughter on the radio awhile back promoting a biography of him. I leave it to others to look this up and report on it.
January 28th, 2016 at 10:56 am
What a trooper! You’re a better man than I am, Goodold Dan.
July 19th, 2022 at 11:58 pm
Untamed Women was remade as Dinosaur Island and it includes some nudity and an explicit nude love scene.
dE