The Golden Mistress takes place in the tropical paradise of Haiti ('Papa Doc' Duvalier wouldn't be elected president for another three years). Bill Buchanan (John Agar) owns a boat and spends his days diving for treasure; he is approached by voluptuous Ann Dexter (Rosemarie Stack), whose father, unscrupulous treasure hunter Carl (Abner Biberman), wants to charter Bill's boat for an expedition, the man having stolen a voodoo idol that can show the way to a secret island where there is a fortune in gold and jewels.
When in proto-Indiana Jones mode, this low-budget B-movie is quite a bit of fun: Bill teams up with islander Iznard (André Narcisse) to locate the second half of the idol, which, when assembled, reveals the location of the treasure and, together with Ann, Bill swims through an underwater cave that leads to the centre of the otherwise impenetrable island, which is home to a savage tribe known as 'The Untamed'. The adventurers find the riches they are looking for at the bottom of a lake, but must escape the island in a hurry, sans treasure, pursued by the natives.
Unfortunately, the film is as much a travelogue as it is an adventure, the runtime padded out by lots of local colour, visits to historical sites, underwater photography, and plenty of voodoo rituals and ceremonies that outstay their welcome. There's also a fair amount of Stack in skimpy attire (Stack by name, stacked by nature), which compensates somewhat for the more tedious moments.
5/10.
