I Escaped from Devil’s Island

• Directed by William Witney
• September 1973 (US)

A group of prisoners escape from Devil’s Island after which they come across very compliant native women and a colony of friendly lepers.

Jim Brown and Christopher George are two faces from the 70s that the more I watch, the more I realize they were in so very much. George in particular was very familiar to me due to his participation in cheesy cash grabs that I watched when stations were trying to fill gaps in schedules during the 80s. Given this film’s quality I am surprised I never encountered it during that time. Ever the businessman, Corman saw this as a way to make money from Papillon. Not sure how it stacks up against that since it is one of many I need to watch.

You are dropped right into the story. Le Bras (Jim Brown) and a few cohorts are deep into their escape plan after having long suffered under the guards of the infamous prison. The pace and a sense of urgency only start once Davert (Christopher George) gets wind of the plan leading to what amounts to a series of adventures with authorities hot on their tails.

Set around World War II or so most of the people here appear to be French political prisoners completely devoid of accents. The camp is largely if not entirely filled with communists based on a few lines. If I didn’t know the setting, I would have no idea what country this is prison supposed to be a part of if I were a viewer unfamiliar with some recent history.

Perhaps the most offensive thing in I Escaped from Devil’s Island for modern audiences is the treatment of homosexuality. It is played for mild humor for the audience and to cover the prep to flee for the cast. Generally, it is just awkward. Like really awkward and weird.

For an escape movie it’s kind of boring. It’s not action packed nor does it have cheesy thrills. No tension or danger. Director William Witney moves through this 90 minute or so set of casually connected stories like a walk rather than a run. Even the climax with civilians and explosions elicits but a shrug. Corman productions usually possess a so-bad-they-are-good quality this lacks.

Characters come and go. There is one instance, where what looks like a local prostitute is having a romance with Le Bras. They are apparently very much in love, but she just shows up on the scene. I do not think we get a single scene between the pair. It is quite the surprise to a viewer paying attention. But the biggest thing is that it just feels long and boring. My mind started drifting away. At one point I forgot I was watching!

George and Brown were good enough actors but do not bring much of that here. Maybe it was the directing. Maybe once they were guaranteed the money they stopped caring. Somewhere only the line they reached a point they could only perform casually in the most serious moments no matter how much danger a character might be in.

This has enough money behind it that the point gets across but visually looks set in the 70s. You may even forget the alluded to time period the longer the movie runs given dress and a lack of era hints, you will forget when this happens. The biggest sin is it is just so underwhelming. Indifference by the credits of any movie is far worse than love or hate.

There really isn’t much to talk about in I Escaped from Devil’s Island. As movies go it’s kind of empty. They milk it for all it’s worth but it’s not worth much.