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I Escaped from Devil's Island
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Wikipedia article
'I Escaped from Devil's Island' is a 1973 exploitation film about an escape attempt from Devil's Island. Roger Corman and Gene Corman produced this grim adventure saga which was made to cash in on the release of 'Papillon'.
Plot summary
Prison life on Devil's Island is no picnic so fellow prisoners Le Bras (Jim Brown) and Davert (Christopher George) escape. Along their escape route, they encounter submissive native women and a colony of lepers.
Cast
* Jim Brown as Le Bras
* Christopher George as Davert (as Chris George)
* Richard Ely as Joe "Jo-Jo" (as Rick Ely)
* James Luisi as Dazzas
* Paul Richards as Major Marteau
* Richard Rust as Sergeant Zamorra
* Bob Harris as The Barber (as Roland 'Bob' Harris)
* Jan Merlin as Rosenquist
* Robert Phillips as Blassier
* Stephen Whittaker as Leper Count
* Eduardo Rosas Lpez as Sergeant Brescano
* Jonathan Dodge as Lieutenant Duplis
* Quintn Bulnes as Sergeant Grizzoni
* Gabriella Rios as Indian Girl
* Ana De Sade as Bedalia
Production
Jim Brown was signed to make the film in December 1972.Marginalia: Peak For Exhibitions
New York Times 12 Dec 1972: 62
Martin Scorsese says that Roger Corman offered him the chance to direct the film following 'Boxcar Bertha'. "The idea was if you shoot it fast enough, you could release the film before 'Papillon'," he said. "I was still very keen on genre films." However Scorsese decided to make 'Mean Streets' instead.'Scorsese on Scorsese' Ed Ian Christie, David Thomson, 2003 p 39 He says he had been talked out of doing exploitation films by his friend and colleague John Cassavetes who urged Scorsese to make something more personal. (Corman also offered Scorsese 'The Arena' and the director turned that down as well.)
William Witney directed instead. Filming started in April 1973 in Acapulco.MOVIE CALL SHEET: Robert Ryan Set in 'Outfit'
Murphy, Mary. Los Angeles Times 31 Mar 1973: b9 During filming, Witney's wife died of throat cancer.
The producers of the similar film 'Papillon' (1973) sued for copyright infringement but were unsuccessful.Christopher T Koetting, 'Mind Warp!: The Fantastic True Story of Roger Corman's New World Pictures', Hemlock Books. 2009 p 58
Reception
Quentin Tarantino was an admirer of the film with a script that is "both entertaining and rather complex" and lead characters that "are refreshingly complicated and three dimensional" and a fresh "exploration of the societal dynamics of the community that the island prisoners exist in" in particular The Fancy Boys who "arent presented the way the queer population is usually depicted in novels about Alcatraz or other prison-set seventies adventures... [they] hold their own respected status inside of the island convict community without degradation. Theyre respected both as individuals and as the group they represent. And are coveted objects of desire among the convict population."
Video Release
Shout Factory is releasing 'I Escaped from Devil's Island' on DVD and Blu-ray on July 15, 2014.
See also
* List of American films of 1973
References
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