Obviously somebody thought they had a good idea for a film, where religious beliefs could get in the way of common sense, and "Hero's Island"is that film. Shot entirely in one location, Catalina Island, the story lacks excitement, and quite frankly is pretty boring. The only saving grace is seeing the great character actors in 1962, and what a wonderful cast it is. Rip Torn, Harry Dean Stanton, Neville Brand, James Mason, and Warren Oates. Kate Manx is the Bible thumping woman, who's religion rules her every decision. My thought is that it's just not worth wading through all the uninteresting scenes to finally arrive at the swashbuckling conclusion. For fans of the actors only, unless you need something guaranteed to be sleep inducing. - MERK

Is blacknorth right in his review; is this "probably the finest film of the 60's"? In retrospect, that was a golden age, and Stevens' film was close in time to, for example, Dr. Strangelove, Psycho, Chimes at Midnight, Viridiana, or Jules and Jim. Even so, I agree, Hero's Island is superlatively accomplished. I would like to comment on just one aspect of the film that has been ignored by others: its formal perfection. The story of settlers with legal right to an island, versus fishermen claiming squatter's right, is told with utmost clarity and effect, partly due to the logic of its dramatic construction that takes the form of a series of moves across a shoreline, back and forth, according to the phases of the struggle. In brief:--First, the settlers land on the island, unload their goods and raise a large cross to seal their ownership.--Then, a drunk fisherman kills the settler, who falls out into the water, only his feet on land. He is, however, properly buried in his own soil.--A pirate on a raft is washed ashore. Out of self-interest he helps chase the fishermen back to their boat.--The younger fisherman opposes continued fighting and is thrown overboard. The settlers bring him to land.--With money stolen from the settlers, the fishermen brings a brutal officer and bounty hunter from the mainland. With two soldiers, he takes up position on the beach. Here a sword fight eventually resolves the conflict. The fight carries on, from the sand into the water, and onto a boat; as the officer dies here, evil is exorcised from the island.--The pirate flees the scene in a boat, leaving the widow of the settler and one fisherman as the owners of the land. This elementary scheme may not be noticed by the viewer, but the optimal use of minimal means, nevertheless, contributes to the film's strong impact.

With Catalina standing in for an island off the South Carolina coast in the early 18th century Hero Island according to the Films Of James Mason was shot within three weeks. No sets involved as it was all outdoors and more than likely the weather was cooperative.Hero's Island finds Brendan Dillon, Kate Manx and their two small boys Morgan Mason and Darby Hinton and friend Warren Oates are there to settle the island as a condition of having worked off their indentured servitude. But three nasty fisherman are already there Rip Torn, Harry Dean Stanton and Robert Sampson and they mean to keep their island with no strangers. Dillon is killed right off and the others have to fend for their survival.Help does come the sea in the form of James Mason whose been cast adrift by members of his crew. He proves to be their salvation especially after the fisherman go for help from Neville Brand who is a plantation overseer on the mainland. Hero's Island is a tale of survival and a study of the character of all involved. The mixture of accents is rather weird with only Mason sounding like he truly belonged in the film. Kate Manx is interesting as she is a pious religious woman, but when her family is in danger, mother love overcomes all.James Mason said that the producers had high hopes for the film. But the film did not do well at the box office.Still it's an interesting work.

My primary comment on this movie has to do with the geography. It supposedly takes place in the "Crown Colony of the Carolinas". There is a scene early on where the husband points to the four points of the compass and declares: greenwood (west), ocean (east), Carolina (south), Cape Fear (north). They identify this place as Bull Island but by his description it is really Oak Island. I lived on Oak Island just south of the Cape Fear River and take my word for it - there ain't no rocks there. The terrain must be Hollywood's vision of what this part of the east coast looks like. It is in what is called the Coastal Plain. There are no cliffs, there are no boulders, there are no rocks. There are sand dunes, salt marshes, and swamps. What's more the beaches face south, not east. James Mason's character is identified as Major Bonnett. There was a local pirate named Stede Bonnett whose exploits are well documented in this area, but to my knowledge no one ever referred to him as "Major".Apart from the geographic inaccuracies, the acting is really disappointing. Despite notable performances from James Mason and a promising cast, the amateur, high school performance of Kate Manx (Kate Who?) the female "star" puts a damper on whatever promise this movie might have had. She must have thanked her lucky stars she was married to the director.