Jim Brown And Christopher George: I ESCAPED FROM DEVIL'S ISLAND (1973)

I ESCAPED FROM DEVIL'S ISLAND (1973)

D. William Witney. Stars: Jim Brown, Christopher George, and Paul Richards.

Devil's Island...

Many films have been made about this legendary political prison six miles off the coast of French Guiana, South America, and William Witney's scrappy but energetic meditation on the subject may well be the most notorious, as it was rushed into theaters by producers Gene and Roger Corman in September 1973 to take advantage of the avalanche of publicity surrounding Franklin J. Schaffner's identically-themed PAPILLON, which saw release a month later. It was a sly bit of distributor sleight-of-hand, and I ESCAPED FROM DEVIL'S ISLAND successfully cashed in the bigger film's pre-release advertising.

Needless to say, PAPILLION's producers were none too thrilled with the move, and the Corman brothers soon found themselves squaring off against them in court. Despite the obvious similarities between the two films, Roger Corman was able to charm his way out of any liability, pointing out that Witney's film was an adaptation of a novel about the island's infamous history by respected author Richard DeLong Adams, who adapted it for the screen specifically for Witney and the Cormans. In light of these claims and others, legal actions were subsequently dropped, leading Roger to famously quip in his autobiography that "I ESCAPED FROM DEVIL'S ISLAND represented one of the few times that logic actually prevailed in a courtroom."

Based on the true story of Henri Charriere, more famously known simply as as "Papillon," (French for 'butterfly' and a reference to Charriere's tattoos), Schaffner's film chronicled a petty criminal's fate as he was wrongly convicted of murder and sentenced to life in the hellish penal colony. Starring Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman, the epic production garnered lavish praise from critics and earned McQueen a Golden Globe nomination for his sensitive portrayal of Charriere.

Critics of the day were less kind toward I ESCAPED FROM DEVIL'S ISLAND, with Leonard Maltin calling it "an insult to Witney buffs who know the director's work."

Yet while the film's unusual (for Witney) level of explicit violence can shock audiences upon a first viewing, it also compliments Adams' plausible and brutal prison scenario, and gives a real weight and gravitas to the sense of hopelessness writ large over his screenplay.

From the first scenes, I ESCAPED FROM DEVIL'S ISLAND immediately and believably immerses the viewer in the nightmarish existence that the inmates of Devil's Island are forced to endure. The French authorities mete out impossibly harsh sentences for even the most minor of infractions, resulting in unconscionable deaths and a pervasive atmosphere of paranoia that disgruntled prisoner Lebras (Jim Brown) can no longer abide.

An acclaimed athlete, Brown was at the top of the game when he took on this assignment, having impressed the critics in DARK OF THE SUN before churning out such enjoyable actioners as 100 RIFLES, SLAUGHTER, and EL CONDOR. He tears in to I ESCAPED FROM DEVIL'S ISLAND with style and charisma to spare.

After enduring copious amounts of brutality by the guards and exploring some surprising detours into Marxist ruminating, he and Christopher George (THE RAT PATROL) team up with Richard Ely and James Luisi to execute an escape which is desperate at best and clumsy at worst. With Major Marteau (a seriously over-the-top Paul Richards) relentlessly pursuing them from the isle to the mainland and freedom, the stage is set for several tautly paced set pieces. It's here that Witney gets to shine, capturing the action with unusual camera angles and employing rapid-fire cutting that gives this violent melodrama energy and provides a shot-in-the-arm to some sequences (including a stop at a leper colony and a swim through shark-infested waters) that feel cribbed directly from PAPILLION.

The acting is solid throughout; while this is a Jim Brown film - and he certainly dominates each scene he appears in - Christopher George makes a solid impression in his well-written supporting role. As the film's voice of  reason, he's thoughtful and believable, turning in a performance that compares favorably with the work he'd done over the previous three years for John Wayne in CHISUM and THE TRAIN ROBBERS.

Long unavailable on home video, I ESCAPED FROM DEVIL'S ISLAND has been issued on DVD by Blax; it's a solid release, with crisp visuals presented in their original 1:85 aspect ratio. The location filming (Witney chose the sandy beaches and steamy jumgles of Acapulco as stand-ins for French Guiana) is one of the film's strengths, as the tropical visuals contrast vividly with the decadent horrors on display. No real extras to speak of, but the quality of the transfer alone makes this one of the best Witney DVD releases currently in stores.

Blending the epic reach of PAPILLION with the visceral punch of Jim Brown's best work, I ESCAPED FROM DEVIL'S ISLAND is a key piece of 1970s exploitation cinema, and one that proves that William Witney was willing to reinvent himself as an artist in order to stay relevant as audiences tastes of 1970s began to change.