5 Dolls for an August Moon (1970) from Tuna

5 Dolls for an August Moon, or 5 bambole per la luna d'agosto (1970) is a forgotten Mario Bava remake of Agathe Christie's Ten Little Indians that should have remained forgotten.
It is rumored that Bava wanted nothing to do with this film, but was contractually obligated.

NUDITY REPORT

Despite the sexual theme, there is nearly no nudity except some brief breast shots of Egwige Fenech, who has 81 credits at IMDB. 
The entire film takes place on an Island. A scientist invites guests and their wives for a relaxing vacation. The wives are after sex with anyone, male or female, who takes their fancy. The men are after the scientists secret formula. People start dying of knife wounds off camera, and are hung in a freezer. Eventually, nearly all are dead. Beyond that, the plot is nearly entirely impossible to follow, even with dubbed English and English subtitles (which were radically different).  

DVD info from Amazon.

  • Widescreen 

The transfer wasn't very good either, despite the fact that it was done by Image Entertainment. 

Not only did Bava direct and photograph, but he also edited.  

The Critics Vote

  • no reviews.

The People Vote ...

  • With their votes ... IMDB summary: IMDb voters score it 4.5. 
IMDb guideline: 7.5 usually indicates a level of excellence, about like three and a half stars from the critics. 6.0 usually indicates lukewarm watchability, about like two and a half stars from the critics. The fives are generally not worthwhile unless they are really your kind of material, about like two stars from the critics. Films under five are generally awful even if you like that kind of film, equivalent to about one and a half stars from the critics or less, depending on just how far below five the rating is.

My own guideline: A means the movie is so good it will appeal to you even if you hate the genre. B means the movie is not good enough to win you over if you hate the genre, but is good enough to do so if you have an open mind about this type of film. C means it will only appeal to genre addicts, and has no crossover appeal. D means you'll hate it even if you like the genre. E means that you'll hate it even if you love the genre. F means that the film is not only unappealing across-the-board, but technically inept as well.

Based on this description, I am afraid I have to give this my first F ever. (Scoop's note: the rating depends on what genre you choose. If your category is Mario Bava movies, this might be a C+. He sure made some unwatchable films in his day.)

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