Terminal Island

1973

90 Min

Currently 2.7/5 Stars.
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DIR Stephanie Rothman

CAST Tom Selleck, Barbara Leigh, Phyllis Davis, Marta Kristen, Roger E. Mosley

Synopsis

After being convicted of a crime she didn’t commit, a woman is sentenced to life on the aptly named Terminal Island, where murderous men make the rules and frequently kill for female flesh. Tom Selleck and Roger E. Mosley of “Magnum, P.I.” fame co-star in this classic piece of exploitation cinema from the 1970s. This edited-for-television version lacks the language, nudity and violence found in the original film.

Director

Stephanie Rothman

Writer/director Stephanie Rothman was one of the few female filmmakers who specialized in low-budget drive-in exploitation fare in the ‘60s and ’70s. Her movies are distinguished by gutsy, strong-willed and sympathetic women main characters and a radical libertarian feminist point of view. Stephanie was born on November 9, 1936 in Paterson, New Jersey (made famous by Lou Costello, who mentioned it in every one of his movies). She was the first lady to be awarded the Directors Guild of America fellowship. Rothman served as an associate producer on Queen of Blood (1966), Beach Ball (1965) and Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet (1965). She co-wrote and co-directed the fright flick Blood Bath (1966) and made her solo directorial debut with the frothy “Beach Party”-type romp It’s a Bikini World (1967). Stephanie made two features for Roger Corman’s New World Pictures: the excellent The Student Nurses (1970) — which was the first and best of the popular nurse comedy cycle — and the offbeat… read more