That was an excellent one.

Gripping story with well-crafted characters

an ambitious but ultimately ineffective debut endeavor.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

. . . often say that they're stumped by the vast amount of Bad Karma continually plaguing the World's tonsils, France (aka, "Germany's playground"). DEVIL'S ISLAND is just one of the many flicks that help answer the question, "What did France ever do to deserve all of THIS?" As the opening scroll for DEVIL'S ISLAND says, the French want to BREAK their convicts, NOT to remake them. (This is particularly galling, given the fact that rampant corruption insures that more than half of the French Penal Population is innocent of anything other than being born in or visiting France.) Compared to DEVIL'S ISLAND, America's Alcatraz was an upbeat place where Birdmen flourished and the Capones of Society died peacefully of old age. Conversely, on DEVIL'S ISLAND any dissent was met with swift beheading. While the crusading neurosurgeon of DEVIL'S ISLAND may be a little typecast from his previous Brainiac Roles, he seems to be only a whisker away here from riding with the Ghost Stuntmen of the Sky. However, he found it worth this risk to Fry the French.

At just over an hour, this prison drama is riveting from start to finish, sort of a follow-up to "The Life of Emile Zola" as it deals with the themes of prison brutality and reform. Like the Joseph Schildkraut character in that 1937 Best Picture winner, this deals with a man unjustly sent to Devil's Island, treated cruelly, yet mercifully saving the life of the daughter of prison head Henry Stephenson. The brutality of the guards lead to rebellion, an execution by guillotine, and later a hopefully successful escape. A weakened prisoner is forced to work, and in his dying moment accidentally pushes his pick into the path of an oncoming carriage, causing the young girl to fly onto the rocky road, but even the death of a prisoner doesn't stop the guards from continuing their brutality. A sincere performance by Karloff and excellent technical work makes this an above average programmer.

At this point in his career, Boris Karloff (1887-1969) was often billed simply as "Karloff" (in all capitals), but for this 1939 WB prison drama he is Boris Karloff. He started in films in 1916 and up until 1931 he was a bit player in B films. Then came "Frankenstein" (1931), "The Mummy" (1932) and "The Mask of Fu Manchu" (1932) and he was off on a whirlwind career that lasted for decades, usually playing the villain. In this film Karloff plays the hero, one of his earliest turns as the guy in the white hat.The film is unremarkable, apart from the heavy handed musical score that is intrusive. Karloff does a good job as the wronged physician, and the rest of the cast do their job adequately. Some of the scenes highlight awful conditions, including the guillotine scene.The film is reminiscent of John Ford's "The Prisoner of Shark Island" (1936) in which Dr. Samuel Mudd is wrongly convicted and sent to prison in Key West where he helped with an outbreak of yellow fever and then was pardoned. Comparing the two, I liked Shark Island better.Looking at other films about Devil's Island, my preferences are for "Papillon" (1973) and "We're no Angels" (1955).

Excellent vehicle for the great Boris Karloff to branch out from playing horror roles and play the hero in a drama. Karloff plays a French brain surgeon who attends to a friend shot by the police. The friend is considered an enemy of the state so Karloff is tried and convicted of treason. He's sent to the penal colony on Devil's Island, where he suffers under the brutal conditions and the corrupt commandant in charge.Warner Bros. was no stranger to making prison dramas. They made some of the best. This may not take place in a traditional American prison or chain gang but, make no mistake about it, this has many of the familiar plot elements you expect from those types of films. It's a B picture that barely clocks in at an hour but it's well-paced with terrific acting from Boris Karloff and a solid cast backing him up. It's one of Karloff's best non-horror roles and definitely something his fans will want to see.