Low-budget cinema is a strange beast. Sometimes you get a masterpiece of accidental genius, and sometimes you get Gold of the Amazon Women. Released in 1979, this made-for-TV movie didn't just fade into the background of late-seventies television; it became a cult artifact. Why? Mostly because it tries so hard to be an epic adventure while clearly lacking the budget to buy a decent sandwich for the crew.
If you’ve ever stayed up too late scrolling through a classic movie channel, you’ve probably seen the grainy, sun-bleached footage of tall women in leopard-print tunics. That’s this movie. It’s a bizarre cocktail of 1970s exploitation aesthetics, Indiana Jones ambitions (pre-dating Raiders by two years, mind you), and some of the most baffling dialogue ever put to film.
Honestly, the story behind it is almost more interesting than the plot itself.
What Actually Happens in Gold of the Amazon Women
The plot is... well, it’s a choice. We follow a treasure hunter named Jeff Blane, played by Bo Svenson. If you don't know Svenson, he was the guy they called when they couldn't get Clint Eastwood or someone with a more emotive face. He’s searching for a legendary "lost" tribe of Amazons in South America. Not because he's a historian. He just wants the gold.
Naturally, he finds them. But these aren't your Greek myth Amazons. They are the descendants of a 16th-century Spanish expedition that somehow became a matriarchal society of blonde and brunette warriors who look like they stepped straight out of a shampoo commercial.
The conflict kicks in when a rival treasure hunter, played by the late Donald Pleasence, shows up. Pleasence is the only person in this movie who seems to know what kind of movie he's in. He chews the scenery like his life depends on it. There are traps. There are spears. There is a "death race" that involves people running through the jungle in what looks like very uncomfortable footwear.
The Weird Reality of 1970s TV Movies
Television in 1979 was a wild west. You had three major networks—ABC, CBS, NBC—competing for eyeballs, and they discovered that "exploitation-lite" worked. Gold of the Amazon Women was an NBC production. It was designed to pull in viewers with the promise of exotic locations and beautiful women, but it had to stay within the strict broadcast standards of the time.
This creates a weird tension. The movie wants to be edgy, but it’s fundamentally "family-friendly" in a way that feels totally unnatural. The fight scenes are choreographed with the urgency of a high school theater production. You see a spear fly, and then you see a guy fall over five seconds later. It’s glorious.
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Why the Critics (and the Audience) Can’t Look Away
Let’s talk about the acting. Anita Ekberg is in this. Yes, that Anita Ekberg from Fellini’s La Dolce Vita. Seeing a screen icon like her in a jungle epic with Bo Svenson is like seeing a Ferrari parked in a muddy ditch. It’s out of place, slightly tragic, but you can’t stop staring. She plays the Queen of the Amazons, and she carries herself with a dignity that the script absolutely does not deserve.
Then there’s the dialogue. It’s wooden.
"The gold belongs to the Amazons!"
"But I must have it for my museum!"
It's basically that for 90 minutes. Yet, there’s a sincerity to it. Director Mark L. Lester—who would go on to direct the Arnold Schwarzenegger classic Commando—wasn't trying to make a joke. He was trying to make a hit. When you watch it now, you’re seeing the birth of the 80s action aesthetic, just without the budget or the self-awareness.
The Mystery of the Location
People often ask where this was filmed. It looks like the Amazon, right? Sort of. A lot of it was shot in the Philippines. This was a common tactic for low-budget productions because the labor was cheap and the jungles looked "generic enough" to pass for South America, Southeast Asia, or even an alien planet.
The problem is that the "Amazon" in this movie looks suspiciously like a well-manicured botanical garden in some shots. In others, you can see the actors sweating through their makeup in a way that suggests the humidity was 100%. There’s a scene where they’re supposed to be in a deep, dark cave, but you can clearly see the studio lights reflecting off the "ancient" stone walls.
The Feminist Subtext (Or Lack Thereof)
You’d think a movie called Gold of the Amazon Women might have something to say about female empowerment.
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It doesn't.
The Amazons are essentially there to be rescued, fought over, or used as set dressing. It’s a very 1979 perspective on "strong women." They are strong until a guy with a mustache shows up, and then they suddenly need help navigating their own jungle. It’s a fascinating time capsule of what Hollywood thought "warrior women" looked like before Xena or Wonder Woman redefined the trope.
Even the way they fight is stylized. There’s a lot of pushing and graceful falling. It’s less "vicious warrior" and more "interpretive dance."
The Donald Pleasence Factor
We need to circle back to Donald Pleasence. He plays Clarence Whitlock. If you know him from Halloween as Dr. Loomis, seeing him here is a trip. He treats the hunt for the Amazon gold with the same gravity he treated the hunt for Michael Myers.
He’s the villain, but he’s the most likable person on screen because he’s actually acting. While the rest of the cast is trying to remember their lines, Pleasence is doing character work. He’s sweaty, he’s greedy, and he’s clearly having a blast. He makes the movie watchable. Without him, it would just be a very slow walk through the woods.
Is It Actually "Good"?
No. Not in the traditional sense.
If you’re looking for high art, keep walking. But if you’re looking for a specific type of nostalgia—the kind that smells like old VHS tapes and microwave popcorn—it’s a goldmine. It’s "good" because it’s a perfect example of a lost era of television. We don't make movies like this anymore. Everything now is either a $200 million blockbuster or a gritty indie drama. The middle ground—the weird, campy, high-concept TV movie—is dead.
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Gold of the Amazon Women exists in a vacuum. It’s a remnant of a time when you could pitch "Ladies in the jungle find gold" and get a network check.
How to Watch Gold of the Amazon Women Today
Finding this movie isn't as easy as it used to be. It’s not exactly a priority for 4K restoration.
- Public Domain Sites: Because of its weird licensing history, you can often find it on free streaming sites that specialize in "classic" (read: forgotten) cinema.
- YouTube: It’s almost always available there in various states of visual decay. The low resolution actually helps hide the cheap sets.
- DVD Bargain Bins: If you still have a physical player, it pops up on those "50 Movie Adventure Packs" you see at thrift stores.
Survival Tips for Your Viewing Session
- Don’t take it seriously. If you try to track the logic of why the Amazons speak English, you’ll give yourself a headache.
- Watch the backgrounds. The "warriors" in the back of the shots are often clearly bored or trying not to trip over their own spears.
- Appreciate the fashion. The late 70s hair-styling in a "lost" jungle tribe is a feat of engineering.
What This Movie Teaches Us About 70s Pop Culture
We often remember the 70s for The Godfather or Star Wars. But Gold of the Amazon Women represents the actual daily diet of the average TV viewer. It was "disposable" entertainment that ended up becoming permanent because of how strange it was.
It reminds us that the line between "adventure" and "absurdity" is incredibly thin. When you strip away the massive budgets of modern cinema, you're left with actors in costumes trying to make a silly premise feel real. There’s something kind of charming about that.
The gold in the title isn't just about the treasure the characters are hunting. It’s about the accidental comedy and the earnest effort of a crew trying to build a world out of cardboard and leopard print. It’s a reminder that even "bad" movies have a soul, usually one that involves Donald Pleasence shouting in a jungle.
Next Steps for the Curious
If you’ve actually sat through the whole thing, your next move should be exploring the rest of the 70s "Jungle Adventure" subgenre. Look for The Last Dinosaur (1977) or the various Italian Rip-offs of King Kong. You'll start to see a pattern of how filmmakers tried to capture "the exotic" on a shoestring budget. Also, check out Mark L. Lester’s later work to see how he refined his action style into the high-octane 80s movies we actually remember. Just don't expect the Amazons to make a comeback anytime soon.