Devil's Island

1939

Devil's Island (1939)

TOMATOMETER

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Critic Consensus: No consensus yet.

AUDIENCE SCORE

38%

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Movie Info

Veteran movie heavy Boris Karloff plays a sympathetic role in Devil's Island. Karloff portrays a humanitarian physician, arrested for treating the wounds of a treasonous fugitive. Sent to the Devil's Island penal colony, Dr. Karloff runs afoul of sadistic commandant James Stephenson, who seems obsessed by the guillotine (an execution sequence is one of the film's longest scenes). Stephenson's wife Nedda Harrigan, fed up with her husband's cruelties, aids Karloff in turning the tables on the commandant. Participating in an escape, Karloff makes his way to freedom and clears his name. Devil's Island runs a scant 60 minutes, due to editing demands made by the French consulate in Washington, who felt that the film was detrimental to Franco-American relations.

Cast

Boris Karloff
as Dr. Charles Gaudet
James Stephenson
as Colonel Armand Lucien
Nedda Harrigan
as Madame Helene Lucien
Adia Kuznetzoff
as Pierre Leroux
Rolla Gourvitch
as Colette
Will Stanton
as Bobo
Edward Keane
as Dr. Duval
Robert Warwick
as Demontre
Pedro de Cordoba
as Marcal
Tom Wilson
as Emil
John Harmon
as Andre
Richard Bond
as Georges
Al Bridge
Earl Gunn
as Leon
Sidney Bracey
as Soupy
George Lloyd
as Dogface
Charles Richman
as Gov. Beaufort
Stuart Holmes
as Gustav Le Brun
Leonard Mudie
as Advocate General
Egon Brecher
as Debriac
Frank Reicher
as President of Assize Court
John Hamilton
as Ship's Captain
Harry Cording
as Guard
Alan Bridge
as Guard
Earl Dwire
as Guard
Dick Rich
as Guard
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Critic Reviews for Devil's Island

All Critics (3) | Top Critics (1)

While the camera probes the brutalities inflicted on the prisoners, the drama is savagely realistic.

Oct 6, 2007 | Rating: 3.5/5 | Full Review…
New York Times
Top Critic

Socially relevant drama about abusive conditions in France's Devil's Island penal colony.

Oct 1, 2007 | Rating: C+ | Full Review…
Ozus' World Movie Reviews
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