June 6, 2022

Ronald Colman is "Michel", a debonair thief who ends up in prison on Devil's Island. Sandwiched between the shark-infested waters on one side and the bug-infested forest on then other, he is condemned to live out his days under the brutal custodianship of "Digges" (Jean Vidal), the prison warden. When he befriends Ann Harding, the put-upon wife of his nemesis, they begin to work on a daring plan to escape from their living hell. Though he was Osc… read the rest.

Ronald Colman is "Michel", a debonair thief who ends up in prison on Devil's Island. Sandwiched between the shark-infested waters on one side and the bug-infested forest on then other, he is condemned to live out his days under the brutal custodianship of "Digges" (Jean Vidal), the prison warden. When he befriends Ann Harding, the put-upon wife of his nemesis, they begin to work on a daring plan to escape from their living hell. Though he was Oscar nominated for this, Colman doesn't yet have the glint in his eye that gave him star quality and so this is a bit of an unremarkable melodrama with cages and flies - but the quality of the production has held up well over it's 90 years and Wesley Ruggles keeps it all moving along nicely, if a little too predictably. If you do get an opportunity, give it a go.

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