No Prison Ever Broke This Man
Now Playing: I ESCAPED FROM DEVIL'S ISLAND
PAPILLON was the obvious inspiration for this old-fashioned potboiler produced by The Corman Company, run by brothers Roger and Gene Corman. Everyone knows who Roger Corman is, I suppose--one of the most prolific and important independent filmmakers ever, a writer, producer and director of dozens of profitable exploitation movies during the 1950’s and ‘60s who started his own studio in the early ‘70’s, New World Pictures, which churned out hundreds of drive-in favorites until he sold the company in the mid-‘80s. But brother Gene was also a film producer of note with exploitation pictures like SKI PARTY and BEACH BALL and the mainstream adventure TOBRUK. The two brothers occasionally teamed up to make pictures, including this R-rated drive-in number with a great exploitative title.

I ESCAPED FROM DEVIL’S ISLAND was also one of the last features directed by William Witney, who made Republic’s best serials in the 1930’s and ‘40s, like SPY SMASHER and THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MARVEL. Witney began as a film editor, a background that was very useful when he turned to directing and staging some of cinema’s coolest and most energetic fight scenes in his serials. This Mexico-lensed adventure has similar pacing, introducing the lead characters to a wild succession of obstacles in their flight from the titular island, including sharks, lepers, sex-crazed natives and corrupt policemen.

Set in French Guiana in 1918, former football star Jim Brown (THE DIRTY DOZEN) is top-billed as Le Bras, an individualistic black prisoner forced to endure intense manual labor and daily beatings by the brutal guards that are sanctioned by the one-armed warden (Paul Richards). Teaming up with a pair of gay lovers, played by THE YOUNG REBELS star Rick Ely and veteran TV heavy James Luisi, Le Bras escapes into the surf on a raft sewn together from animal skins. Also along is Devert (Christopher George), a pacifist who believes the prison’s harsh conditions can be tamed through words. The casting of two-fisted George is an interesting idea that never really comes across; the RAT PATROL star is just too energetic and would have been really good as Richard Prather's pulp P.I. Shell Scott.

Backed by a pompous Les Baxter score, lots of violence and a touch of full-frontal nudity, courtesy of a randy Indian widow who wants Brown to take the place of her late husband (whom Brown killed), this fast-paced actioner is decent late-night viewing if you’re lucky enough to see it. It has never received a domestic home video release, VHS or DVD. I originally saw a cut, pan-and-scan print on Turner Classic Movie in the late 1990’s, but a nice uncut, widescreen version has recently aired on the VOOM satellite service. Brown’s career as a leading man was waning, but George continued to play tough-guy roles in television and exploitation movies (including real cruddy stuff like GRADUATION DAY and the amazing PIECES) right up to his 1983 death. This was originally a United Artists release, which probably means that Warners owns it now, which definitely means you can forget ever seeing it on DVD.

I've gone to the theater twice this weekend, which I haven't done in quite awhile. I used to go to the movies so much more often than I do now, sometimes two or three a week, but lackadaisical theater presentation, high prices, rude audiences, and a lack of interesting new movies mostly keep me away these days. Anything that catches my eye I will sometimes watch on DVD, like BE COOL (which isn't very good) and HOSTAGE, which is sitting in its Netflix envelope waiting to be watched.

This weekend, I caught LAND OF THE DEAD and BATMAN BEGINS and liked them both. LAND is, of course, the fourth in George A. Romero's DEAD series which started in 1968 with the landmark NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, a black-and-white horror film so powerful that it's one of just a handful of honored films locked away in the Library of Congress vault for preservation purposes. LAND is much different from Romero's earlier zombie flicks, likely the result of having studio backing, a mandated R rating (the earlier films went out unrated), shooting in Canada (Romero prefers his hometown of Pittsburgh) and a cast of name actors like Asia Argento and Dennis Hopper. Despite that, Romero managed to release what is probably the goriest R-rated film I've seen in a theater (either Universal greased some palms or the MPAA is just high) and an entertaining one. Plus, you'll see Tom Savini reprising his role from 1979's DAWN OF THE DEAD as the Machete Biker Zombie.

BATMAN BEGINS is a strong superhero film, although I like individual pieces better than the total sum. Christopher Nolan directs action scenes effectively like I can play shortstop for the Cincinnati Reds, but he and David S. Goyer turned in a surprisingly rich script, and no previous Batman film has attracted such a strong cast, starting with Christian Bale (SHAFT) as Bruce Wayne/Batman and including Michael Caine as butler Alfred, Gary Oldman as future commissioner Gordon, Morgan Freeman, Rutger Hauer, Cillian Murphy, Ken Watanabe, Tom Wilkenson and Liam Neeson as the main heavy. The only wrong note is Katie Holmes as the love interest, a Gotham City district attorney whom I didn't believe had ever held a law book, much less read one. I'm not really a fan of origin stories--I know Batman's backstory better than the filmmakers do anyway, and I don't really care where the Batmobile came from or who created his costume--and the fact that Batman doesn't show up until more than an hour into the film is a major flaw. However, it's certainly one of the best Batman films ever made, and is especially successful in its visual effects, wisely using CGI to enhance the action and not overwhelm it. I thought the relationships between Bale and Caine and Bale and Oldman were wonderful, and I hope they're able to grow in future films.

It's the action sequences that disappoint though, as Nolan films everything much too tight and cuts too quickly. Maybe that's what you get when you cast actors who can't fight, but it's hard to be impressed by Batman's stature as the world's preeminent martial artist when you can't see what he's doing or follow his moves. I'm not sure the film wouldn't have been served better by casting an actor who could fight and a director who's a better craftsman than Nolan. Personally, I'd like to see Mark Dacascos of DRIVE and BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF as Batman and someone who specializes in action pictures to direct him, perhaps John Glen, who made several James Bond pictures, or Isaac Florentine, who has made some whiz-bang direct-to-video action films that nobody has seen.