Terminal Island, released theatrically in the U.K. as Knuckle Men is a 1973, American action–drama thriller film directed by Stephanie Rothman.[1] It features early screen performances by Tom Selleck and Roger E. Mosley. Although an exploitation film, it has been treated with much serious discussion by critics and academics over the years.[2] It is regarded as a cult film.[3]

Terminal Island
Directed by	Stephanie Rothman
Written by	Stephanie Rothman Charles S. Swartz Jack Barrett
Produced by	Charles S. Swartz
Starring	Phyllis Davis Marta Kristen Ena Hartman Don Marshall Barbara Leigh Randy Boone Tom Selleck
Cinematography	Daniel Lacambre
Music by	Michael Andres
Distributed by	Dimension Pictures
Release date	June 1973 (1973-06)
Running time	88 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Plot

A TV news program does a segment on Terminal Island, an off-shore island established after the abolition of the death penalty. First degree murderers are shipped off to the island to spend the rest of their days fending for themselves.

Carmen is dropped off at Terminal Island. The first prisoner she meets is a former doctor. She comes to realize that there are two main factions on the island. A civil war breaks out.

Cast

• Phyllis Davis as Joy
• Ena Hartman [de] as Carmen
• Don Marshall as A.J.
• Marta Kristen as Lee Phillips
• Barbara Leigh as Bunny
• Randy Boone as Easy
• Sean Kenney as Bobby
• Tom Selleck as Dr. Milford
• Roger E. Mosley as Monk
• Geoffrey Deuel as Chino

Release

Rothman later said that she was asked to have a rape scene in the film but could not bring herself to shoot it. "I would not want to be responsible in any way for showing how it could be done", she said.[4]

She elaborated:

in a film like Terminal Island [1973], practically the whole film involves violence because the subject matter is violent people. I accepted that. I recognized that if I was going to make films, and I was going to make them for the market, I was making them for it. I wanted to make films very much and that's what I needed to do. What I needed to do was try to refine that and give it some meaning beyond the violence itself, or beyond the nudity itself. In that sense, I tried very hard to not make it exploitative.[5]

The film was originally more violent, but scenes had to be cut out. Rothman was uncomfortable with the violence that she did show. "I was unhappy with the movie and still continue to feel so", she said in 1981.[6]

Film critic Roger Ebert rated Terminal Island one star out of four, dismissing it as "the kind of movie that can almost be reviewed by watching the trailer."[7]

See also

• List of American films of 1973
• No Escape

References

External links

• Terminal Island at IMDb
• DVD Drive In.com: Review of Terminal Island film