Thunder Island

Gene Nelson did everything well. Very cool that his career overlapped Nicholson on some level. Still prefer to see Gene dance, but this is an entertaining little movie that prompted me to find more Gene Nelson movies...including some where we get to see his killer, athletic dancing style.

Great story about an assassination plot in Puerto Rico. A lot of the climax scenes were shot at El Moro Castillo where we see most of the layout as the gun battle ensues. Unfortunately FAY SPAIN died at the early age of only 50. Such a beautiful actress taken from us far too soon. Larry Anderson.

Notable mainly for being Jack Nicholson's maiden attempt at writing screenplays, Thunder Island tells the tale of clean-cut American day-tripper captain Vincent Dodge (Brian Kelly), blackmailed into helping hired killer Billy Poole (Gene Nelson) assassinate a South American ex-dictator now settled on an anonymous Caribbean island. Token wife and annoyingly upbeat child are provided by Faye Spain (who went on in later years to play a bit-part in The Godfather: Part II) and Evelyn Kaufman (who went on to do precisely nothing else, which was probably wise). Unfortunately, wooden acting throughout and a rather predictable "Boy's Own" adventure comic storyline make this something of a plodding and instantly forgettable affair, and the 65 minutes running time is mercifully short. Not much to see here.

Way back in the early 60s before Jack Nicholson had any kind of box office he co-wrote the screenplay for Thunder Island which is shot in black and white on Puerto Rico. It concerns charter boat skipper Brian Kelly who has his wife Fay Spain and daughter captured while he's forced to aid an assassination of an exiled dictator from some Latin American country. Gene Nelson does a nice job as a deadly professional hitman who uses a diver's spear gun as his weapon and he's deadly and good at it. Musicals were over so Nelson was trying to extend his career in dramatic roles and directing. This totally lacked any real production values, but taking that into account the story wasn't bad. Now why do I think that had this been done in 1983 instead of 1963 we would have gotten all the budget needed for Jack Nicholson.

The most interesting thing about the black and white cheapie THUNDER ISLAND is that it was filmed in Puerto Rico, a setting that gives it an appropriately hot and exotic look. The production values are also pretty decent by genre standards, with crisp photography throughout enhancing the look of the characters and placing them into their landscapes very well. Another interesting element of the film is the story, written by none other than Jack Nicholson at the very outset of his career. It sees a professional assassin tasked with taking down a political despot. The despot lives in his own island zoo so there's a lot of scene-setting stuff and material involving caged creatures. The acting is fine and the characters are well drawn, but the story never grabs you as it should and as a result this is strictly by-the-numbers.

This tiny feature happens to be the first fruit of Jack Nicholson's brief screenwriting career. It's a surprisingly effective and well written story of political intrigue and suspense, with outstanding Puerto Rico location work and a talented cast headed by Miriam Colon (Lone Star) and renowned TV director Gene Nelson as a professional assassin who watches what he eats. The film peters to a predictable conclusion but the first 50 plus minutes are outstanding.