Terminal Island (1973) on Netflix
R19731h 28mActionDramaThriller
After the death penalty is abolished, California exiles its murder convicts to San Bruno island. Carmen Simms arrives at a camp ruled by Bobby and Monk, where the women serve the men.
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- Netflix2.7/5
- IMDb5.3/101,963 votes
- Rotten TomatoesNot available
Trailer
Plot summary
When the U.S. Supreme Court abolishes the death penalty, California sets up the island of San Bruno as a place of exile for first-degree murder convicts, who are left there to fend for themselves. Guards deliver Carmen Simms by boat and leave. She meets Milford, a former doctor sent to the island for a mercy killing, then joins the main camp, where Bobby and Monk hold power and the men fight among themselves. Monk attacks her, and no one helps. Three other women, Lee, Bunny and Joy, tell Carmen that her duties will be field work and servicing the male prisoners. A second faction of convicts lives apart from the camp.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Terminal Island (1973)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- The original script for Terminal Island was by Jim Barnett, whom Rothman and Swartz knew and who had written prison films. Unhappy with his draft's passive, empty women, they hired Henry Rosenbaum to rewrite it; he did not take credit, and Rothman and Swartz wrote another draft.
- Stephanie Rothman was asked to include a rape scene in Terminal Island but refused to shoot it, saying she would not want to be responsible for showing how it could be done.
- Ena Hartman sprained her ankle early during filming of Terminal Island, so her role had to be shortened because she was unable to do action scenes.
- Terminal Island was originally more violent, but scenes had to be cut out. Rothman was uncomfortable with the violence she did show, saying in 1981 she was unhappy with the movie and still felt so.
- Rothman said most of Terminal Island was shot in the rain, which made production more difficult than normal but gave the Southern California land an uncharacteristically verdant look.
