Die gelbe Hölle

Thrilling and stirring film about the prisoners of a Japanese Concentration Camp in which they are submitted to severe tortures , punishments and grisly executions by beheading. It is set in August 1945 , taking place at a concentration camp located in Blood Island. The war has ended.. now the slaughter begins !

A strong film about the prolific sub-genre of Concentration Camps with usual ingredients as sadistic commandant , ominous wardens , heinous soldiers carrying out barbaric orders and inmates suffering savage punishments . A cruel film dealing with the ruthless , brutal truth about the most barbaric prison camp in the annals of warfare . Being allegedly based on facts , authenticated by the very few who survived the massacre in this terrible camp .Although in the opening credits explains : all characters and the names used are fictitious . The film boasts of a good plethora of Britsh actors , Hammer's regular , giving decent acting as Andrew Keir as Colonel Lambert who commands the group of prisoners , Michael Goodliffe as the Camp's Chaplain , Michael Gwynn as Shields, Carl Mohner as Dutchman Van Elst , Philip Brown as pilot Bellamy and a known Hammer Screen Girl : Barbara Shelley .

The motion picture was well directed by Val Guest . He was a prolific and uneven craftsman , and outstanding in Science Fiction and Fanfasy films as The Quatermass Experiment, Quatermass II, The Abominable Snowman , The Day the Earth Caught Fire and When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth , Hammer's failure follow up to One Million Years B. C. Rating : 6.5/10 acceptable and passable .

Watching this now it is difficult to believe that it was given an X certificate.The violence is mainly kept on screen.The main plot point being whether Andre Morell as chief camp officer should tell the sadistic Japanese camp commandant that the war had ended,since the commandant had said that in such eventuality he would kill all the prisoners.Everyone is sweating buckets despite the fact that it was probably filmed in the local woods.Obviously Japanese actors were a bit thin on the ground so they roped in Michael Ripper,obviously not being chased by a Hammer monster on the day. Nevert he less not a bad effort even if it is no classic.

I will put this movie between BRIDGES OVER THE KAWAI RIVER and KING RAT. This one is of course less spectacular and known than the David Lean's movie but it is so powerful, especially for the opening scene, with this skeleton human being - a prisoner - cold bloody shot by Japanese guards after this poor man has dug his own grave. The tone was then done. And I would have never expected to see a so skinny actor playing in a movie, as if he was really a real starved Japanese camp POW. However the other actors - except Andre Morell - seem a bit too good fed for me. British movie industry provided such good films between late fifties and early sixties about war in the Far East: THE LONG, THE SHORT AND THE TALL, YESTERDAY'S ENEMY - from the same Val Guest, by the way.

Having waited years to see this film I was astounded just how bad it is, a Hammer production that has pure cockneys playing Japanese guards!, the acting verges on the utterly bad to utterly impossible!,take for instance long time Hammer fave Michael Ripper who as a Japanese guard bursts out laughing every time he is in a scene, the head guard who is clearly of Indian origin is another badly cast member, the commander of the camp is also another British actor hamming it up, I thought they had wandered off set from an Alladin pantomime!, the premise for all the controversy that it was brutal beyond belief had me scratching my head, i've seen worse in a Tom & Jerry cartoon.

Excellent war movie.Is this film available on video/DVD? Again it is one of those films that appears to have disappeared Into cinema history. Being made in black and white seems to give the film more authenticity. Carl Mohner is excellent as the leader of the prisoners.It is difficult to say anything negative about this movie. The plot is straightforward,but riveting.The Japanese do not know the war is over.The prisoners have found out and are fearful of what will happen to them once the sadistic camp commander acquires this knowledge. The allies are getting closer and the tension mounts.Don't miss this one if it comes to the small screen.Althougth perhaps not in the same league has "the Bridge over the River Kawi" or "The Great Escape" it is still nevertheless an excellent P.O.W. movie in its own right.So why isn't it on DVD?