I Escaped from Devil's Island
{{Short description|1973 film by William Witney}}
{{Infobox film
| name = I Escaped from Devil's Island
| image = File:Film_Poster_for_I_Escaped_from_Devil's_Island.jpg
| caption = Theatrical release poster
| director = William Witney
| producer = Roger and Gene Corman
| writer = Richard DeLong Adams
| based_on =
| starring = Jim Brown
Christopher George
| music = Les Baxter
| cinematography = Rosalío Solano
| editing = Barbara Pokras
Tom Walls
| studio = The Corman Company
| distributor = United Artists
| released = {{Film date|1973|09| |U.S.}}
| runtime = 89 minutes
| country = United States
| language = English
| budget =
| gross =
}}
I Escaped from Devil's Island is a 1973 exploitation film about an escape attempt from Devil's Island. Roger Corman and Gene Corman produced this grim adventure saga which was made to cash in on the release of Papillon.{{Cite web | url=http://www.allmovie.com/movie/i-escaped-from-devils-island-v96019 | title=I Escaped from Devil's Island (1973) - William Witney | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie }}
Plot summary
{{more plot|date=January 2019}}
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.{{Cite web | url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/17169/i-escaped-from-devils-island | title=I Escaped from Devil's Island }}
Cast
- Jim Brown as Le Bras
- Christopher George as Davert (credited as Chris George)
- Richard Ely as Joe "Jo-Jo" (credited as Rick Ely)
- James Luisi as Dazzas
- Paul Richards as Major Marteau
- Richard Rust as Sergeant Zamorra
- Bob Harris as The Barber (credited 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.Marginalia: Peak For Exhibitions
New York Times 12 Dec 1972: 62
Martin Scorsese says that Roger Corman offered him the chance to direct the film following Boxcar Bertha.{{cite journal |id={{ProQuest|1647261079}} |last1=Rosen |first1=Marjorie |title=MARTIN SCORSESE INTERVIEW |journal=Film Comment |location=New York |volume=11 |issue=2 |year=1975 |pages=42–46 }} "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.Scorsese on Scorsese Ed Ian Christie, David Thomson, 2003 p 39 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.{{cite book|page=[https://archive.org/details/martinscorsese00pete/page/22 22]|title=Martin Scorsese : interviews|url=https://archive.org/details/martinscorsese00pete|url-access=registration|last1=Scorsese|first1= Martin|last2= Brunette|first2= Peter|year=1999 |publisher=University Press of Mississippi }})
William Witney directed instead. Filming started in April 1973 in Acapulco.MOVIE CALL SHEET: Robert Ryan Set in 'Outfit'
Murphy, Mary. Los Angeles Times 31 Mar 1973: b9 During filming, Witney's wife died of throat cancer.{{cite book|page=[https://archive.org/details/closeupcontractd0000unse/page/218 218]|title=Close up : the contract director|url=https://archive.org/details/closeupcontractd0000unse|url-access=registration|year=1976 |publisher=Scarecrow Press| isbn=9780810809611 }}
The producers of the similar film Papillon (1973) sued for copyright infringement but were unsuccessful.Christopher T Koetting, Mind Warp!: The Fantastic True Story of Roger Corman's New World Pictures, Hemlock Books. 2009 p 58
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."{{cite web|website=The New Beverly Cinema|first=Quentin|last=Tarantino|title=I Escaped from Devil's Island|date=6 April 2020|url=https://thenewbev.com/tarantinos-reviews/i-escaped-from-devils-island/|access-date=7 April 2020|archive-date=19 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200819045813/https://thenewbev.com/tarantinos-reviews/i-escaped-from-devils-island/|url-status=dead}}
Video Release
Shout Factory released I Escaped from Devil's Island on DVD and Blu-ray on July 15, 2014.
See also
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb title|0070205}}
- {{TCMDb title|id=17169}}
- [http://trailersfromhell.com/joe-dantes-fleapit-flashbacks-escaped-devils-island/ Review of film] at Joe Dante
{{William Witney}}
{{Roger Corman}}
Category:American action films
Category:1970s exploitation films
Category:Films directed by William Witney
Category:Films produced by Gene Corman
Category:Films scored by Les Baxter
Category:Films set on Devil's Island
Category:Films produced by Roger Corman
Category:1970s English-language films