The Wild Women of Wongo

Front Row at the Movies by Shirrel Rhoades

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Every actor or actress has to start somewhere. And it’s not usually in a lead role of a mainstream blockbuster.

Even Sylvester Stallone started in a softcore porn movie later titled “The Italian Stallion.” And Harrison Ford played the uncredited role of a bellhop in “Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round.”

So what about Joyce Nizzari? You may not recognize her name, but the 78-year-old Floridian had a nice little career as an actress and model. She co-starred in a handful of movies and appeared as Playboy’s Playmate of the Month in December 1958.

The movies ranged from “A Hole in the Head” and “Come Blow Your Horn” with Frank Sinatra to a bit part in “The Great Race” with Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon.

She was discovered at 15 by Miami photographer Bunny Yeager, and won an award by the Florida Photographers Association. After her Playboy appearance, she dated Hugh Hefner, worked as a Playboy bunny, and later joined the staff at the Playboy mansion.

But in 1958, she appeared in her first movie, “The Wild Women of Wongo.”

You can see it this weekend as part of Tropic Cinema’s Attack of the Bs series.

You’ll have to look pretty hard to spot Joyce Nizzari. She’s cast as one of the unnamed Women of Wongo. Her thespian skills are not called on. She mainly has to dance around a lot.

You’ll recognize the movie’s other stars even less.

Jean Hawkshaw as Omoo. Mary Ann Webb as Mona. Cande Gerrard as Ahtee. And Adrienne Bourbeau (not to be confused with Adrienne Barbeau of TV’s “Maude”) as Wana.

See, I told you.

The film starts off with a conversation between Mother Nature and Father Time about an experiment that has gone wrong. It may has well have been a conversation between the Producer (George R. Black) and Director (James L. Wolcott).

It seems that Mother Nature created a tribe of beautiful women and ugly men on an island called Wongo. And on a nearby island she created a tribe of handsome men and repulsive women. War exists between the two tribes after they discover each other, but a prince from Goona visits Wongo to broker peace, and the women see that men can be un-brutish and fall for him. Needless to say, the Wongo men plot to kill the prince.

Throw in a crocodile god, lots of stock footage of tropical isles, a rubber reptile, and plenty of bad acting … and you have the B-movie that’s so terrible you’ll love it.

Part of “The Wild Women of Wongo” was filmed at Coral Castle in Homestead, Florida. You’ll recognize it as the dragon-god’s temple. It says a lot to know you’ll be able to identify the scenery more than you’ll know the stars.

Some of the stock music in the film was also used in “Plan 9 From Outer Space,” often acclaimed as the worst movie ever made.

Need we say more?

Email Shirrel: srhoades@aol.com