The amazon documentary theater movie with the name above cast its spell on me and my wife some years ago. It told a tale with lots of the Alfred Hitchcock, Daniel Defoe (Crusoe), Payton Place, and Mein Kampf about it. It's all true, only nobody can prove absolutely what likely happened, and its possible nothing toward actually did. No matter whom the sensational 1930's world press damned at the time.

Now the director Ron Howard takes up the story in his new movie: Eden.

Below is what I recall from the book Satan Came to Eden many years ago, so I might have remembered the true story in the book somewhat wrongly.

A German intellectual professor is an early environmentalist true believer. There is also a popular female German media star, and the pair decide to isolate themselves in the middle of nowhere on an island fairly near to Australia. No population, no electricity, and therefore no radio communications. Its all in the name of being kind to Mother Earth. And also free love (both were married to someone else). The German Reich wishes them bon voyage as some sort of new world order heroes as they sail away to their new home. Every newspaper around the world ran the story about them, but soon most of the world forgot.

The professor is extremely clever in building up household necessities and conveniences from almost nothing using local resources, and also in hunting and fishing. His female companion is a wonder growing a garden, however is apparently lonely, judging by her retrieved diaries. 

In a few short years, another man and wife the Wittmers, down on their luck during the depression, but who are very conservative, decide to also inhabit the island, but on the other side. They are not free spirits at all. But they are both friendly, and so is the professor's female companion. But not the professor himself so much. This is his grand ecological experiment and he doesn't want it compromised. But one night he is called to go to the other side of the island to deliver a newborn baby of Mrs. Wittmer. He can't very well refuse.

Now the oddities build, because a possibly only self proclaimed Baroness von Wagner-Bousquet shows up on an expensive yacht accompanied by a young overly handsome young stud assistant rumored to possibly be her boyfriend and another young man who is her what, manservant? She was supposed to be extremely wealthy, but some European newspapers hinted that she hadn't been paying her hotel bills. And then a film producer shows up on anther boat wanting to film the professors grand experiment. The Baroness comes wading ashore to the island unannounced carried by young assistant and servant in Ron Howard's new film, Eden.

 

This may all seem like a bad who done it plot, but everything above was well established as perfectly true, however improbable the cast of characters. What wasn't ever established is who committed the crime which followed. Or was there a crime, an accident perhaps? Or heaven forbid suicide? If a law was broken, then whose law? There is possibly no government on that island, or maybe there is. Legal issues on the island had never come up before.

 

So anyway, this is the trailer for the old documentary, not Ron Howard's new movie which opens later this month:

 

The Galapagos Islands?  Fairly near to Australia?🤔

 

Yeah, my bad. IMDB kept talking about supplies from Australia, but that was because it was filmed in Australia. 😕

The documentary video above are the real people on the remote island before things went weird. Filmed by the last boatload of strange people to arrive on Eden whom I mentioned above, the film producer. 

Everything about the story seems made up fantasy, but it was all real. For instance, both the scientist Friedrich Ritter and his selected actress partner Dore Strauch had their teeth removed in Germany and replaced with stainless steel teeth before they went out to prove how to remake the world better in an all natural and unspoiled setting.

 

4 hours ago, Fielder said:

both the scientist Friedrich Ritter and his selected actress partner Dore Strauch had their teeth removed in Germany and replaced with stainless steel teeth

This is the documentary itself:

I can't even imagine there being anything worthwhile doing that I'd be willing to have all my teeth removed 😱I get why, as there are no dentists on deserted islands.  I remember reading about this many years ago.  I'll watch this sometime next week.  It seems that a modern saying was appropriate for them:  FAFO.