Friday, January 3, 2020

THE GOLDEN MISTRESS 1954 (REEL VAULT)

A very rare film that I had no idea was even available.

I found this DVD by accident while searching for another title, and knew I had to have this. It's hard to see and only has one review on line as far as I can find.

This is a simple film about a man named Bill Buchanan (John Agar) who is a treasure hunter and expatriate living in Haiti. He stumbles upon a key to a long missing treasure when a friend of his, Carl Dexter (Abner Biberman) is killed and leaves the clue behind.

Carl's stunningly beautiful daughter Ann (Rosemarie Bowe) accompanies Bill to find the treasure and they are almost killed for their efforts. This is not too bad of an adventure film with hints of voodoo magic thrown in. The technicolor print on this DVD looks very good, but the backstory of some of the people in this film is also very interesting.

The actor who played Carl Dexter was also the director who used a pseudonym of Joel Judge. Biberman also directed many other movies and TV shows.

The gorgeous Butte, Montana born Rosemarie Bowe made a few other films of note including "The Big Bluff" and she married actor Robert Stack. They were married for 47 years until he passed away in 2003. Rosemarie died in January 2019 at the age of 86 in Mexico.

The most interesting or shocking piece of trivia with this film depending on your point of view was that the on set doctor for this film was none other than a man named Francois Duvalier, who would be elected as President of Haiti the very next year and rule the country until 1971. His regime was one of the most corrupt and bloodthirsty the world has ever known.

Yes, you never know who worked on certain films until you do some research. Anyway, I liked this film a lot and have wanted to see it since I first read about it in the "Psychotronic Encyclopedia" many years ago. Recommended!!

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