''King of the Damned'' is a 1935 British
prison film
A prison film is a film genre concerned with prison life and often prison escape. These films range from acclaimed dramas examining the nature of prisons, such as ''Cool Hand Luke'', '' Midnight Express'', '' Brubaker'', '' Escape from Alcatraz'', ...
directed by
Walter Forde
Walter Forde (born Thomas Seymour Woolford, 21 April 1898 – 7 January 1984) was a British actor, screenwriter and director. Born in Lambeth, south London in 1898, he directed over fifty films between 1919 from the silent era through to 1 ...
and starring
Conrad Veidt
Hans Walter Conrad Veidt (; 22 January 1893 – 3 April 1943) was a German film actor who attracted early attention for his roles in the films ''Different from the Others'' (1919), '' The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari'' (1920), and '' The Man Who Laug ...
,
Helen Vinson,
Noah Beery
Noah Nicholas Beery (January 17, 1882 – April 1, 1946) was an American actor who appeared in films from 1913 until his death in 1946. He was the older brother of Academy Award-winning actor Wallace Beery as well as the father of prominen ...
and
Cecil Ramage.
Plot summary
Convict 83 is a prisoner on an island, where the harsh regime of the Governor pushes him to lead a revolt.
Cast
*
Conrad Veidt
Hans Walter Conrad Veidt (; 22 January 1893 – 3 April 1943) was a German film actor who attracted early attention for his roles in the films ''Different from the Others'' (1919), '' The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari'' (1920), and '' The Man Who Laug ...
- Convict 83
*
Helen Vinson - Anna Fernandez
*
Noah Beery
Noah Nicholas Beery (January 17, 1882 – April 1, 1946) was an American actor who appeared in films from 1913 until his death in 1946. He was the older brother of Academy Award-winning actor Wallace Beery as well as the father of prominen ...
- Convict 98
*
Cecil Ramage - Major Montez
*
Edmund Willard
Edmund Willard (19 December 1884 – 6 October 1956) was a British actor of the 1930s and 1940s.
Born in Brighton, Sussex in 1884, the nephew of Victorian era actor Edward Smith Willard, in 1920 Willard appeared in the plays of William Shak ...
- The Greek
*
Percy Parsons - Lumberjack
* Peter Croft - Boy convict
*
Raymond Lovell
Raymond Lovell (13 April 1900 – 1 October 1953) was a Canadian-born actor who performed in British films. He mainly played supporting roles, often somewhat pompous characters.
Lovell initially trained as a physician at Cambridge University, ...
- Captain Torres
*
C. M. Hallard
Charles Maitland Hallard (26 October 1865 – 21 April 1942) was a Scottish actor. In 1895 he appeared in the popular drama ''Trilby (play), Trilby'' with Herbert Beerbohm Tree at the Haymarket Theatre.
Selected filmography
* ''Convict 99 (191 ...
- Commandant
*
Allan Jeayes
Allan John Jeayes (19 January 1885 – 20 September 1963) was an English stage and film actor.
Jeayes was born in Barnet, Hertfordshire, the son of Isaac Herbert Jeayes, archivist and Assistant Keeper of Manuscripts at the British Museum. ...
- Doctor Prada
*
Percy Walsh
Percy Walsh (24 April 1888 in Luton, Bedfordshire – 19 January 1952 in London) was a British stage and film actor. His stage work included appearing in the London premieres of R.C.Sherriff's '' Journey's End'' (1928) and Agatha Christie's ''And ...
- Captain Perez
*
Gibson Gowland
Gibson Gowland (4 January 1877 – 9 September 1951) was an English film actor.
Biography
Gowland was born in Spennymoor, County Durham. He started work as a sailor and later became the mate on a ship. For several years from the age of 25 ...
- Priest
Production
To avoid the usual French protests on films depicting
Devil's Island, the producers 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]
References
1935 films
British prison drama films
Films directed by Walter Forde
British black-and-white films
Films scored by Jack Beaver
Gaumont Film Company films
1930s prison films
1930s English-language films
1930s British films
{{1930s-UK-film-stub