. . . 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.

Devil's Island (1939) *** (out of 4) Gritty prison drama from Warner Bros. features Boris Karloff as a brain surgeon who is sent to Devil's Island, although he's innocent. Once there he sees the torture brought on by the warden and plans on doing something about it. I was really surprised by how good this one was. The film would have benefited by a longer running time and some deeper scenes but it's still highly entertaining. Karloff was the best of the horror actors in my opinion but he could sleepwalk through roles every once in a while. Here he gives one of the best performances of his career outside the role of the monster. He had a burning energy throughout the film that was a lot of fun to watch. The ending doesn't work but this would be a good selection for Vol. 2 of the Controversial Collection since this film was originally banned in France and had the French government put a ban on all Warner films for a couple years (so I read).

DEVIL'S ISLAND proved an interesting change-of-pace for Karloff but one which, I agree, is hampered by its second-feature status: as it stands, potentially controversial issues like miscarriage of justice, as well as prison brutality and corruption, are not dealt with in much detail and the expected showdown between Karloff and the callous warden (James Stephenson, who would die only 2 years later and whose best role was his Oscar-nominated turn in William Wyler's THE LETTER [1940]) never occurs. Instead, we're made to believe that the warden's wife is so grateful for ex-brain surgeon Karloff's having saved their daughter's life that she is perfectly willing to see her husband's ruined by reporting his mistreatment of the prisoners to higher authority - when, prior to the girl's accident, she didn't seem to bother much with them since she used to frequently ride up to the labor camp, in her finest attire, as if going on a Sunday picnic! A brave and well-made B-movie all around but, ultimately, it doesn't really tread new ground and certainly doesn't carry the sheer emotional power of I AM A FUGITIVE FROM A CHAIN GANG (1932).

Dr. Gaudet(Boris Karloff) is a respected brain surgeon, and is unjustly sentenced to ten years' imprisonment on Devil's Island. Gaudet draws attention to himself by complaining about the in-human conditions and leads an unsuccessful revolt. As punishment, the warden sentences Karloff and his comrades to death. Boris Karloff plays the lead convincingly, making himself as pathetic a character as possible. It is a very mild acting role for Boris, and that is probably why George Raft had turned the role down. France decided not to eliminate the notorious colony and attacked the film as anti-French at the preview in January 1939. They immediately banned all future Warner Bros. films. A year later it was released, but by this time, France was too busy with World War II to object.