''Women of Devil's Island'' ( it, Le prigioniere dell'isola del diavolo, french: L'île aux filles perdues) is a 1962 Italian-French adventure-drama film written and directed by

Domenico Paolella Domenico Paolella (18 October 1915 - 7 October 2002) was an Italian director, screenwriter and journalist. Born in Foggia, between 1933 and 1935 Paolella won several contests for amateur directors; in the same years he started working as a journa ...

and starring

Guy Madison Guy Madison (born Robert Ozell Moseley; January 19, 1922 – February 6, 1996) was an American film, television, and radio actor. He is best known for playing Wild Bill Hickok in the Western television series ''The Adventures of Wild Bill Hicko ...

and

Michèle Mercier Michèle Mercier (born 1 January 1939 as Jocelyne Yvonne Renée Mercier) is a French actress. In the course of her career she has worked with leading directors like François Truffaut, Jean-Pierre Melville, Jacques Deray, Dino Risi, Mario Monic ...

Plot

In the late 18th century, a group of French female convicts - among them streetwalkers, murderers, and revolutionaries - are shipped to Devil's Island penal colony. They join the other female convicts already on the island and are forced by the cruel Lefèvre and his abusive guards to pan gold for the French king

Louis XVI of France Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...

and his Austrian queen Marie Antoinette. Lefèvre hopes for a promotion, but a new prison governor arrives with a letter from the king and takes command, also putting in place a more humane prison regiment for the women. In reality, the letter is a fake. He is the revolutionary Henri Vallière and in league with the pirates, who in a daring coup help him steal the gold and overturn Lefèvre's rule.

Cast

as Henri Vallière *

as Martine Foucher *

Federica Ranchi Federica Ranchi (born 5 May 1939) is an Italian former film actress. Life and career Born in Trieste, while a student at liceo linguistico was noted by a Cines employee through a picture of her ballet company, and subsequently won an audition ...

as Jeanette * Marisa Belli as Melina * Paul Muller as Lefèvre *

Tullio Altamura Tullio Altamura (born 18 July 1924) is an Italian actor, best known for his roles in spaghetti westerns and action films in the 1960s. Life and career Born in Bologna, the son of a career officer in the Italian army, Altamura grew up in Rome, ...

as Dubois * Antonella Della Porta as Louise * Carlo Hintermann as Capt. Duval * Gisella Arden as Maeva * Fernando Piazza as Michael * Margaret Rose Keil as Rosy * Claudine Damon as Pauline *

Roldano Lupi Roldano Lupi (8 February 1909 – 13 August 1989) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in 60 films between 1942 and 1967. He was born in Milan, Italy and died in Rome, Italy. Selected filmography * '' Jealousy'' (1942) * ''Yes, Madam'' ...

Release

On DVD, the film has been released in the United States by Mill Creek Entertainment on 7 February 2006 as part of the "Drive-In Movie Classics 50 Movie Pack", and in Germany under the title ''Frauen für die Teufelsinsel'' in a licensed limited edition with German and English audio.

References

External links

* 1962 adventure films Italian adventure films French adventure films Films directed by Domenico Paolella Films set on Devil's Island Women in prison films 1960s Italian-language films 1960s Italian films 1960s French films {{1960s-Italy-film-stub