Nonureva Really Surprised!

MusicChat It's complicated... I really like the directing, acting and writing but, there are issues with the way it's shot that I just can't deny. As much as I love the storytelling and the fantastic performance but, there are also certain scenes that didn't need to exist.

Kidskycom It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

Mandeep Tyson The acting in this movie is really good.

Bawoof Okay so this is NOT "Island of Lost Souls" or "The Big House" but I do think that fans of Peter Lorre would enjoy it. No need to hash out the plot here, and yes of course this is nothing more than a 1940s B-Movie. Nonetheless, if you grew up decades ago and have fond memories of staying up late and watching the old horror movies and science fiction monster movies on TV over the weekends, then watching this movie might be an enjoyable way to spend a late Friday or Saturday night, even though it's more of a "semi-noir" movie instead of a horror film.

gridoon2018 Peter Lorre is the whole show here, and his soft-spoken line delivery is frequently awesome ("You should have remembered that I am a very light sleeper"), but he doesn't have much to play against; his favorite pastime is psychologically terrorizing his younger wife (Rochelle Hudson). The film is slickly produced (and the DVD print is in pristine condition), but the script is too simple, too pat; it doesn't have enough complications in it. **1/2 out of 4.

kevin olzak 1940's "Island of Doomed Men" was among a handful of Columbia 'B' films that ended up part of the SON OF SHOCK television package in the late 1950s, one of two to star Peter Lorre, followed months later by the even better "The Face Behind the Mask." The ill-fated actor Robert Wilcox ("The Man They Could Not Hang") is cast as Mark Sheldon, undercover agent from the Department of Justice, who certainly picks a roundabout way to conduct his investigation: convicted of a murder he didn't commit, orchestrated by the very man he's investigating, Lorre's Stephen Danel, winding up exactly where he intended to be all along, Dead Man's Isle, where Danel employs parolees as slave labor to mine diamonds when not being flogged for disobedience. Also held captive is Danel's beautiful wife Lorraine (Rochelle Hudson), who habitually clings to Sheldon despite her husband's protests. The script's characters are fairly one-dimensional, much like Warners' Karloff vehicle "Devil's Island" (1939), but Lorre's quiet, soft-spoken presence is more unnerving than the bombastic, overdone performance that could have resulted, making those moments when he does lose his cool quite chilling (what was it about that monkey anyway?). Every time he needs a light, someone is there to do it, albeit fearfully (the reactions of others reveal much, since Hollywood couldn't show any depravity). The supporting cast is surprisingly strong, but it's Lorre's show all the way (he and Rochelle Hudson had previously co-starred in "Mr. Moto Takes a Chance"). Despite its SHOCK! pedigree, "Island of Doomed Men" aired just once on Pittsburgh's Chiller Theater, Oct 1 1966, following 1961's Mexican-filmed "The Living Head" (also in its only broadcast).

ice_9-1 Peter Lorre was born to play Stephen Danel with lines like: "Mr. Smith, you shouldn't hold my wife like that." and "I told you not to keep the monkey in the house!" The poster for this film is an eerie green and Peter Lorre leers in way that makes you never want to go to his penal colony / island. This film is not available on DVD although it is a classic and very rarely shown on TV. What exactly is the relationship between Stephen Danel and the monkey? Why does the monkey upset him so much. We will never know. The film should be colorized by someone and excerpts should be made into a Kinks video. The film was re-released in the 1950s and only a few of the Peter Lorre biographies spend any text on this film. Casablanca was right around the corner. Bogart could have been on that island but they surely did not have the budget for him