Devil's Island (1939 film)


Devil's Island is a 1939 American prison film directed by William Clemens and starring Boris Karloff. This film is notable for Karloff as the protagonist, opposed to the villain-like characters in his various horror roles.

Plot

For treating a wounded revolutionary, respected surgeon, Dr. Charles Gaudet is sentenced to life imprisonment to the infamous French penal colony on Devil's Island. It isn't long before he speaks out against the inhuman conditions and incurs the anger of the brutal prison commander, Colonel Armand Lucien. But when Lucien's daughter Collette receives life-threatening wounds in an accident, the only person on Devils Island who can save her, is Gaudet.

Cast

The depiction of Devil's Island upset the French government. Fear of something similar happening resulted in a proposed 1947 film from Columbia, The End of Devil's Island, being cancelled.