I remember in that multi flashback film Passage To Marseilles, Humphrey Bogart led a group of Devil's Island convicts with the clear purpose of escaping to fight for France even after the Nazis have taken it over. No such unity of purpose exists among four convicts who escape in 1916 to the mainland of French Guiana in I Escaped From Devil's Island. No talk here about going home to fight for France among the four who make it out. Perhaps they'd gotten word about Verdun.The four in this film are Jim Brown, Christopher George, Rick Ely, and James Luisi. Other than Devil's Island isn't exactly a tropical paradise they all have different reasons for wanting to leave. George in fact is a political prisoner, an anti-war pacifist and he wants to continue to do his political thing. In a place as brutal as Devil's Island he learns that pacifism sometimes just doesn't cut it.Ely's character is an interesting one, he's a gay man and in the all male Devil's Island he and his fellow gay prisoners are quite a premium, they're known as 'fancy boys' and command a lot for their services to relieve sexual tension among the prisoners. Still all that demand all that service leave Ely a bit on edge.The brothers Corman did this film and befitting the locale and the subject there's a lot of erotic sadism. I Escaped From Devil's Island is trashy and exploitive, but still somewhat fun to watch.

Nothing quite oozes pure undiluted machismo like a down'n'dirty low-budget guys in prison picture. Jim Brown hits it out of the ballpark with his resolutely rugged portrayal of the tough and determined Le Bras, who concocts a desperate plan to escape from the hellish penal colony Devil's Island. Christopher George likewise registers strongly as outspoken pacifist inmate Davert. Director William Whitney and writer Richard DeLong Adams bring an admittedly crude, yet undeniably effective and entertaining kitchen sink pulpy trash sensibility to the gripping premise: Besides the graphic and unflinching depiction of the brutal conditions of life in prison, we also have lots of rough'n'ready violence, a satisfying serving of tasty bare female skin, and more than enough deliciously cheap thrills that include sharks, lepers, a run-in with a tribe of savage natives (Brown even gets it on with a hot native gal!), and relentless pursuit from the police led by the vicious Major Marteau (a nicely slimy turn by Paul Richards). Richard Rust makes for a perfectly hateful villain as sadistic guard Sergeant Zamora while Richard Ely amuses as fey gay thief Jo-Jo. Rosalio Solano's proficient cinematography vividly captures the beautiful scenery. Les Baxter's robust score does the rousing trick. Sure, it's pretty raw and anything but subtle, yet it covers all the pleasingly scrappy dimestore drive-in cinema bases just the same.

This film beat 'Papillon' to the box office by a month: A typical Corman attempt to get a jump on the bigger competition. As for the film, it's a pile of swill stirred by hack William Witney and featuring ever-wooden Jim Brown as one of the four escapees. Lots of beatings and sniggering over homosexuals while in the penal colony, then, after the escape, a required pit stop at the leper village (also featured in 'Papillon') followed by Indian native assaults, some breast baring (even full-frontal) local gals, and a lame finale involving fireworks. Funniest aspect is having Brown stubbornly refusing to continue running because he keeps falling for the first local gal he latches onto. Still, a cheesy, sleazy piece of junk only for the easily entertained.

Not a totally wretched film, as I had expected, but pretty boring nonetheless. Should actually be "We escaped..." since its Jim Brown, Christopher George, and a couple others that do escape [no spoiler, it happens, without incident in the first 30 minutes]. And what I really mean by that is that its difficult to tell [until the bitter end] who the focal character was. Has some interesting Marxist/Communist subplot, that gets buried under the rug after they escape. Let's see...you also get a really disappointing Shark attack, a leper colony cameo, Jim Brown falls in love[!] and an exotica Les Baxter score! Looks like it was filmed in Mexico by the Cormans.So basically, the title gives it all away. Interestingly enough, check out director William Witney's career! Geez! and Darktown Stutters!!! Well, why couldnt he have made this that fun?? I escaped from Colonel Sander's Chicken Fryer?!?!