The French

penal colony A penal colony or exile colony is a settlement used to exile prisoners and separate them from the general population by placing them in a remote location, often an island or distant colonial territory. Although the term can be used to refer ...

Devil's Island The penal colony of Cayenne ( French: ''Bagne de Cayenne''), commonly known as Devil's Island (''Île du Diable''), was a French penal colony that operated for 100 years, from 1852 to 1952, and officially closed in 1953, in the Salvation Islan ...

was in operation from 1852 to 1946. Large numbers of mostly Hollywood films sere either set on the island or featured characters both real (

Alfred Dreyfus Alfred Dreyfus (9 October 1859 – 12 July 1935) was a French Army officer best known for his central role in the Dreyfus affair. In 1894, Dreyfus fell victim to a judicial conspiracy that eventually sparked a major political crisis in the Fre ...

and

Émile Zola Émile Édouard Charles Antoine Zola (, ; ; 2 April 184029 September 1902) was a French novelist, journalist, playwright, the best-known practitioner of the literary school of Naturalism (literature), naturalism, and an important contributor to ...

) and fictional (The Phantom of the Opera) who had escaped from it. The French Government took a dim view of these films and banned several of them. To avoid the usual French protests on films depicting

, the producers of the 1935 film ''

King of the Damned ''King of the Damned'' is a 1935 British prison film directed by Walter Forde and starring Conrad Veidt, Helen Vinson, Noah Beery and Cecil Ramage. Plot summary Convict 83 is a prisoner on an island, where the harsh regime of the Governor push ...

'' gave all locations Spanish names and set the film in the Caribbean.p.91 Slide, Anthony ''Banned in the USA: British films in the United States and Their Censorship, 1933-1960'' I.B.Tauris, 1998

Films set on Devil's Island

*'' Condemned'' (1929) * The Broken Melody (1934) *''

The Devil-Doll ''The Devil-Doll'' is a 1936 American horror film directed by Tod Browning and starring Lionel Barrymore and Maureen O'Sullivan. The film was adapted from the novel ''Burn Witch Burn!'' (1932) by Abraham Merritt. It has become a cult film.Paul ...

'' (1936) *'' The Life of Émile Zola'' (1937) *''

Mysterious Mr. Moto ''Mysterious Mr. Moto'', produced in 1938 by Twentieth Century Fox, is the fifth in a series of eight films starring Peter Lorre as Mr. Moto. The film is based on the character of Mr. Moto created by John P. Marquand, from an original screenpla ...

'' (1938) *''

'' (1939) *'' Strange Cargo'' (1940) *''

Passage to Marseille ''Passage to Marseille'', also known as ''Message to Marseille'', is a 1944 American war film made by Warner Brothers, directed by Michael Curtiz. The screenplay was by Casey Robinson and Jack Moffitt (screenwriter), Jack Moffitt from the novel ...

'' (1944) *'' The Return of Monte Cristo'' (1946) *'' We're No Angels'' (1955) *''

Hell on Devil's Island ''Hell on Devil's Island'' is a 1957 American adventure film directed by Christian Nyby and written by Steven Ritch. The film stars Helmut Dantine, William Talman (actor), William Talman, Donna Martell, Jean Willes, Rex Ingram (actor), Rex Ingram ...

'' (1957) *''

I Accuse! ''I Accuse!'' is a 1958 British biographical historical drama film based on the Dreyfus affair, in which a Jewish captain in the French Army, Alfred Dreyfus, was falsely accused of treason and imprisoned for five years before being pardoned. Th ...

'' (1958) *''

Terror of the Bloodhunters ''Terror of the Bloodhunters'' is a 1962 independently made American black-and-white low budget jungle survival horror film, produced, directed, written, and edited by Jerry Warren, that stars Robert Clarke, Dorothy Haney, and Steve Conte. The ...

'' (1962) *''

Women of Devil's Island ''Women of Devil's Island'' (, ) is a 1962 Italian-French adventure-drama film written and directed by Domenico Paolella and starring Guy Madison and Michèle Mercier. Plot In the late 18th century, a group of French female convicts - among them ...

'' (1962) *''

I Escaped from Devil's Island ''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''. Plot summary P ...

'' (1973) *'' Papillon'' (1973) *''

Prisoner of Honor ''Prisoner of Honor'' is a 1991 British television film, made-for-television drama (film and television), drama film directed by Ken Russell and starring Richard Dreyfuss, Oliver Reed and Peter Firth. It was made by Warner Bros. Television and d ...

'' (1991) *'' Papillon'' (2017) *'' An Officer and a Spy'' (2019)

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Films Set On Devil's Island