The Roger Corman Puerto Rico Trilogy
Producer-director Roger Corman shot three very different low-budget films back to back in Puerto Rico over a period of a few weeks in 1960; ordinarily, this feat would be nothing short of astonishing, but Corman's reputation as a fast and frugal filmmaker was legendary. What is surprising about the three pictures--The Last Woman on Earth,Creature from the Haunted Sea, andBattle on Blood Island--is that they're all entertaining and irreverent pictures (more so the latter in the case ofCreature), and possess the independent spark that Corman has brought to all of his productions over the last 40-plus years.Last Womanis an intriguing reworking ofThe World, the Flesh, and the Devil, with a gangster (Anthony Carbone), his wife (Betsy Jones-Moreland), and his lawyer (Chinatownscreenwriter Robert Towne, who appears here under the name Edward Wain) struggling to survive after a mysterious holocaust has left them the apparent last people alive on an island.Creatureis the silliest of the trio, a comedic sort-of remake ofBeast from Haunted Cave, with Carbone again as a gangster dealing with Cuban soldiers and a monster on a remote island. The picture is most notable for its ludicrous title fiend, but the kitchen-sink humor (very reminiscent ofMadmagazine) retains a certain lowbrow charm.Battle for Blood Island(based on a short story by Phillip Roth) is the only film on the disc not directed by Corman; Joel M. Rapp d a moderately tense WWII actioner about a pair of American soldiers pinned down in a cave by the Japanese. Obviously, fans of Corman's oeuvre will receive the biggest thrill from this disc, which offers the best presentation of these films (all long in the public domain) to date--WomanandCreatureare both widescreen, with Woman also benefiting from an Eastmancolor print--and the extras, which include introductions by Corman, commentaries by Carbone, Jones-Moreland, and Rapp, a gallery of lobby cards, and a trailer reel for other Corman creature features, includingThe Little Shop of HorrorsandAttack of the Crab Monsters, are the icing on this budget-conscious cake.--Paul Gaita