Friday, January 28, 2022

Movie review - "I Escaped from Devil's Island" (1973) **1/2

 Roger Corman but not New World - Gene Corman produced it, and got it released the same time as Papillon.

It looks terrific with impressive production values - beaches, cells, prison guards, palm trees. The cast is strong - Jim Brown and Chris George as duelling prisoners.  I liked the guy who played the guard, the one in The Student Nurses.

William Witney directs with pace and vigour.  The script has some complexity with the prison population - Quentin Tarantino loved its depiction of the gay population, who are a segment but not made into a joke. The story is a little wonky. It's hard to tell the prisoners apart and it feels it takes forever to escape. It doesn't seem to build - lacks a vivid third character maybe or a twist or something.

Still, worth a watch.

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