L'isola dei dimenticati

No need to recap the plot. The movie's a surprisingly flat crime drama from hard edge Warner Bros. There's very little to comment on since the acting, directing, and staging are so colorless and pedestrian, to say the least. To bad that the male leads-- Litel, Oliver, and Purcell-- fail to inject any needed spark to heighten the proceedings. In fact, no one in front or behind the camera appears particularly motivated. Note in passing, how mildly racketeer Brady is portrayed (never killed or hurt anybody) so that his eventual reform goes down easily. That's Production Code Hollywood again taking the easy way out-- no awkward moral threads left dangling. Too bad actress Sheridan is given no chance to demonstrate her patented brand of sassy spunk. But I guess that would come later, and a good thing for the studio. Then too, it looks like the only glimpses we get of the real Alcatraz are by air, which are not very atmospheric. Anyway, this is WB's normally expert gangster department operating at snoozer level despite the promising title.

Below-par Warner's B movie. True, this is a mostly decent production, with Litel, railroaded into Alcatraz by a judge who doesn't care about plea bargains. He gives one of his solid performances. However, most of the lines spoken by other actors are declaimed rather than spoken and the juvenile leads are truly awful.

While Warner Brothers of the 1930s was known for its big stars and prestigious films, they also made B-movies...as did all the major studios. Sure, there were the tiny studios that made nothing but cheap Bs, but so did all the studios....and "Alcatraz Island" is a B from Warner. When I say 'B', I am talking about a shorter feature film meant to round out a double-feature. These Bs were quickly made and often not particularly good compared to the A pictures-- though there were plenty of Bs that were amazingly good. "Alcatraz Island" isn't amazingly good...but it is enjoyable.

The film is about a 'nice' gangster, Gat Brady (John Litel). While he's larcenous, he's swell otherwise and wouldn't hurt a fly. However, when he's caught for tax evasion, his charmed life goes south VERY fast. He's sentenced to a lengthy term in Leavenworth (despite the nice DA's recommendation for leniency). However, after this occurs, the evil gangster Red Carroll tries to kidnap Brady's young daughter but is soon caught. Oddly, they sent him to Leavenworth as well and allowed him access to Brady. Not surprisingly, they soon get in a fight and Brady is sent to the tough new prison, Alcatraz. So soon Carroll deliberately gets himself sent to this tough prison so he can continue to make Brady's life a living hell. And, when Carroll is stabbed in prison, his death bed confession is that Brady did it...even though he didn't. So how will the nice DA help Brady in this predicament?

The story is mildly interesting but several story elements make little sense--especially in that final courtroom scene. Additionally, the final dialog is amazingly preachy. Yet, despite these problems, the acting and production values are exceptional for a B. Overall, entertaining as long as you don't think about the plot too much!

Produced by Warner Brothers, this prison action movie is of course a good film, offering to Dick Purcell one of his most important roles, at least from my point of view, before he played in Republic serials and so many other B or grade Z pictures. But the main flaw of this film is the predictable plot, no surprise in the end. Too cheesy for me, especially from Warner Brothers whom with I was more used to grittier, tougher stories. The wrongly accused fellow trying to prove his innocence has always annoyed me, bored me. But it remains interesting to purchase, no problem. So don't miss this one if you have the opportunity to get it.

Mobster moneyman Gat Brady is found not guilty of racketeering after a juror has been bribed. His daughter Annabel Sloane gets kicked out of school after her father's identity comes to light. He hires Miss Tolliver to be her teacher. Gat gets hit with tax evasion and the judge hits him even harder. There is an attempt at kidnapping Ann and Red Carroll is convicted of the crime. He is sent to Leavenworth which happens to be where Brady is imprisoned.

This is very much a ripped-from-the-headlines episode based on the Al Capone conviction. Of course, they have changed it a lot. There is a problem in this movie. It's trying to make Brady the rooting interest when he isn't that in the beginning. He does nothing great for redemption but the prison section is still compelling. I guess Ann is meant to humanize him but it's not enough. All in all, it's a functional crime B-movie with good criminal intensity.