PROFILPELAJAR.COM

I Escaped from Devil's Island
I Escaped from Devil's Island
	Theatrical release poster
Directed by	William Witney
Written by	Richard DeLong Adams
Produced by	Roger and Gene Corman
Starring	Jim Brown; Christopher George; Richard Ely
Cinematography	Rosalío Solano
Edited by	Barbara Pokras; Tom Walls
Music by	Les Baxter
Production; company	The Corman Company
Distributed by	United Artists
Release date	September 1973 (U.S.);
Running time	89 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

I Escaped from Devil's Island is a 1973 exploitation film about an escape attempt from Devil's Island.^[1] Roger Corman and Gene Corman produced this grim adventure saga which was made to cash in on the release of Papillon.^[2]

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.^[3]

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 López as Sergeant Brescano
Jonathan Dodge as Lieutenant Duplis
Quintín 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.^[4]

Martin Scorsese says that Roger Corman offered him the chance to direct the film following Boxcar Bertha.^[5] "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.^[6] 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.^[7])

William Witney directed instead. Filming started in April 1973 in Acapulco.^[8] During filming, Witney's wife died of throat cancer.^[9]

The producers of the similar film Papillon (1973) sued for copyright infringement but were unsuccessful.^[1]

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 "aren’t 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. They’re respected both as individuals and as the group they represent. And are coveted objects of desire among the convict population."^[10]

Video Release

Shout Factory released I Escaped from Devil's Island on DVD and Blu-ray on July 15, 2014.

References

^ ^a ^b Christopher T Koetting, Mind Warp!: The Fantastic True Story of Roger Corman's New World Pictures, Hemlock Books. 2009 p 58
^ "I Escaped from Devil's Island (1973) - William Witney | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie".
^ "I Escaped from Devil's Island".
^ Marginalia: Peak For Exhibitions New York Times 12 Dec 1972: 62
^ Rosen, Marjorie (1975). "MARTIN SCORSESE INTERVIEW". Film Comment. 11 (2). New York: 42–46. ProQuest 1647261079.
^ Scorsese on Scorsese Ed Ian Christie, David Thomson, 2003 p 39
^ Scorsese, Martin; Brunette, Peter (1999). Martin Scorsese : interviews. University Press of Mississippi. p. 22.
^ MOVIE CALL SHEET: Robert Ryan Set in 'Outfit' Murphy, Mary. Los Angeles Times 31 Mar 1973: b9
^ Close up : the contract director. Scarecrow Press. 1976. p. 218. ISBN 9780810809611.
^ Tarantino, Quentin (6 April 2020). "I Escaped from Devil's Island". The New Beverly Cinema. Archived from the original on 19 August 2020. Retrieved 7 April 2020.