Island of Doomed Men

Island of Doomed Men is directed by Charles Barton, written by Robert D. Andrews and features cinematography by Benjamin Kline. It stars Peter Lorre, Rochelle Hudson and Robert Wilcox.

Federal agent Mark Sheldon (Wilcox), by a strange quirk of fate, is framed for murder and sentenced to serve time on the Pacific Island penal colony he was to investigate anyway! Once there he finds harsh conditions and the camp run by a sadistic task master named Stephen Danel (Lorre). Catching the eye and befriending Danel's beautiful wife, Lorraine (Hudson), herself a prisoner of Danel's tyrannical behaviour, Sheldon knows he must act quick if he is to survive the Island of Doomed Men!

Neither good nor bad, Barton's film is standard fare that features strong themes fighting to impact during the relatively short running time (just under 70 minutes). Much of it is a sweaty prison drama driven by Lorre doing another one of his insane antagonist portrayals. Within the narrative is sadism, spouse and animal abuse, bondage and corruption of power, but these are just shards of potency in an otherwise very talky piece. Performances around Lorre are adequate and Barton and Kline have a decent eye for mood via the black and white photography.

Not very memorable and not nearly as throat grabbing as thematics suggest it could have been, but enjoyable while it's on and certainly one for Lorre completists. 6/10

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.

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.

Island of Doomed Men (1940)

*** (out of 4)

Nice little "B" picture from Columbia has a secret agent (Robert Wilcox) convicted of a crime he didn't commit but it's all good because he gets sent to an island, which he was about to investigate. On the island he and other men are forced into hard labor by the wicked owner (Peter Lorre) but soon the agent and the owner's wife (Rochelle Hudson) have their own plans for escape. If you're a fan of "B" movies or Lorre then you're going to find a whole lot to enjoy in this fast paced thriller that is pretty much fun from start to finish. What works best here is of course the performance of Lorre who you just can't help but love to hate. He brings so much evilness to his character that there really isn't an actor in history who could do it better. That mono voice, the wicked eyes and the coolness of the evil has never been topped and it's a lot of fun to watch here. The island setting will remind one of THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME and the prison stuff is certainly ripe for something we'd have seen the decade earlier in various Warner films. Wilcox makes for a good, strong supporting player and we also have Don Beddoe and George E. Stone delivering good performances. Barton is best known for his future Abbott and Costello films but he does some nice work here and keeps the film moving at a very good pace. There are many good scenes here but one of the best has to be the scene where we learn Lorre's character is terrified of a little monkey owned by the cook.

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?