L'île des damnés

Given his reputation as the archetypal crazed villain, in his long film career Peter Lorre played relatively few such characters, but his Stephen Danel in "Island of Doomed Men" is powerful enough to imprint such an image in generations of movie-watchers. With typical grace and intelligence, Lorre crafts this pulp heavy into an intricate portrayal of the quintessential fascist bully, winning through intimidation, gratified at bending others to his will yet genuinely puzzled and hurt by his inability to earn the love of his cherished captive-wife. As with so many other films he appeared in, the mercurial actor brings something real and human to this typically false and silly Hollywood pantomime.

1940's "Island of Doomed Men" was among the 11 Columbia titles included in the SON OF SHOCK television package in the late 1950s, one of three to star Peter Lorre, followed by "The Face Behind the Mask" and "The Boogie Man Will Get You." The ill-fated actor Robert Wilcox ("The Man They Could Not Hang") is cast as Mark Sheldon, undercover agent from the Department of Justice, who certainly picks a roundabout way to conduct his investigation; convicted of a murder he didn't commit, orchestrated by the very man he's investigating, Lorre's Stephen Danel, winding up exactly where he intended to be all along after several uncertain months of good behavior. Dead Man's Isle is the place where Danel employs parolees as slave labor to mine diamonds when not being flogged for disobedience, with only three armed guards (Charles Middleton, Don Beddoe and Bruce Bennett) and an electrified fence to protect his home ("to keep out the animals and snakes!"). Also held captive is Danel's beautiful wife Lorraine (Rochelle Hudson), habitually clinging to Sheldon despite her husband's protests and seeking aid from houseboy Ziggy (George E. Stone), whose pet monkey throws a fit at the sight of the boss ("keep that monkey away from me!"). The script's characters are fairly one-dimensional, much like Warners' 1939 Karloff vehicle "Devil's Island," but Lorre's quiet, soft-spoken presence is more unnerving than any bombastic, overdone performance, making those moments when he does lose his cool quite chilling (what was it about that monkey anyway?). Every time he needs a light someone is there to fearfully do it with shaking hands, and the reactions of others matter more since Hollywood didn't dare show any depravity. The supporting cast is surprisingly strong but it's Lorre's show all the way, actually one of the few vehicles in which he's top billed as the main heavy (he and Rochelle Hudson had previously co-starred in "Mr. Moto Takes a Chance"). Despite its SHOCK! pedigree, "Island of Doomed Men" aired just once on Pittsburgh's Chiller Theater on Oct 1 1966.

This delicious low camp kinkfest proves that studio-era censorship wasn't nearly as thorough as it's purported to have been. In what seems almost like a rehearsal for the tormented lustmurderer Dr. Rothe in "Der Verlorene," Lorre gives unexpected depth and nuance to the melodramatic villain Stephen Danel, with just a dash of his patented quirky humor. Though the film itself is crude and pulpy, with an extreme BDSM quotient (Danel's prisoners are kept in line with cat o' nine tails, as, it's strongly implied, is Mrs. Danel) Lorre's deft performance lifts "Island of Dommed Men" from the realm of the ridiculous into sublimity.

Peter Lorre is perfect in this role, a calm, controlling madman with a terrifying temper bubbling underneath. Flashes of his temper are the highlights of the movie. Whomever played his wife could've probably been out-acted by a beanbag, but she's pretty, so it's ok. The other main man was okay, and I was rooting for him like I was supposed to. I guess the underlying question is: Could an island of slavery actually exist? Just kidding. The movie is not that deep, or worthy of further thought. The underlying question actually is: What does Peter Lorre have against monkeys?

The basic story of Island of Doomed Men seems to be based on the true story of Narvassa Island. The main difference was in real life, the men were mining guano, not diamonds and they were black contract workers from the Balitmore area, not paroled convicts. Like in the movie, the men were treated brutally like slaves. This eventually led to an uprising with several of the overseers murdered. Some of the black workers were then put on trial for murder but when the true story of what was allowed to occur was publicized, they were pardoned by President Harrison. Narvassa Island, located between Cuba and Haiti, was designated a wildlife refuge in the 1990s.