marshalskrieg I did enjoy watching this film, but the absurdity of the plot made it impossible for me to properly suspend my disbelief. I kept asking myself, 'huh'? The protagonist is given a secret government mission to infiltrate an island where questionable goings-on are thought to be happening. Then he ends up in prison for a crime he did not commit, is miraculously paroled after one year into the care of the man (and island) he was suppose to originally penetrate- at this point your head begins to explode with obvious questions like "Why wont the govt just send someone to the island to look around?" And many more... The plot holes in the film are too deep and wide... you better watch your step! OK, the real point of this film is Peter Lorre. That's why we watch the movie- we just cannot get enough of the guy. His creepiness is in full force here,he plays a sadistic man of wealth with a barely concealed rage, impeccably dressed, with good taste, a soft spoken seething monster with a menacing yet polite manner- this is what we want, and Lorre completely delivers. 5.8 stars.

betsmith6 The basic story of Island of Doomed Men seems to be based on the true story of Narvassa Island. The main difference was in real life, the men were mining guano, not diamonds and they were black contract workers from the Balitmore area, not paroled convicts. Like in the movie, the men were treated brutally like slaves. This eventually led to an uprising with several of the overseers murdered. Some of the black workers were then put on trial for murder but when the true story of what was allowed to occur was publicized, they were pardoned by President Harrison. Narvassa Island, located between Cuba and Haiti, was designated a wildlife refuge in the 1990s.

Michael_Elliott Island of Doomed Men (1940)*** (out of 4) Nice little "B" picture from Columbia has a secret agent (Robert Wilcox) convicted of a crime he didn't commit but it's all good because he gets sent to an island, which he was about to investigate. On the island he and other men are forced into hard labor by the wicked owner (Peter Lorre) but soon the agent and the owner's wife (Rochelle Hudson) have their own plans for escape. If you're a fan of "B" movies or Lorre then you're going to find a whole lot to enjoy in this fast paced thriller that is pretty much fun from start to finish. What works best here is of course the performance of Lorre who you just can't help but love to hate. He brings so much evilness to his character that there really isn't an actor in history who could do it better. That mono voice, the wicked eyes and the coolness of the evil has never been topped and it's a lot of fun to watch here. The island setting will remind one of THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME and the prison stuff is certainly ripe for something we'd have seen the decade earlier in various Warner films. Wilcox makes for a good, strong supporting player and we also have Don Beddoe and George E. Stone delivering good performances. Barton is best known for his future Abbott and Costello films but he does some nice work here and keeps the film moving at a very good pace. There are many good scenes here but one of the best has to be the scene where we learn Lorre's character is terrified of a little monkey owned by the cook.

MartinHafer From 1936-1939, Peter Lorre made a string of highly successful Mr. Moto films. While technically B-films, they were much better made than typical films of the genre. However, Lorre tired of making these highly repetitive films and told friends he wanted out of the series. When it was canceled in 1939, Lorre was thrilled but his plans of getting more complicated and satisfying roles did not materialize when he moved to Columbia Pictures. ISLAND OF DOOMED MEN is one of these films and it's pretty obvious the studio isn't putting much effort into the movie, as I think the plot was written by penguins. Talented penguins, perhaps...but still the movie made little sense at all.It begins with a guy agreeing to be an undercover agent for the government. He is to infiltrate an island in the US where something strange is amiss. Now they easily could have just got a search warrant to do this. But, given that penguins were writing the film, the agent takes the rap for a murder he didn't commit and spends a year in prison for this. He apparently hopes that he'll be paroled to this island, as many parolees are sent there when they finish the term.There are some more serious problems with this idea. First, they only have him serve a year before getting paroled--but he was convicted of MURDER and he refused to divulge who he really was. They would never parole anyone in a case like this. Second, what if he wasn't paroled to the island? He would have spent an entire year in jail for nothing! Third, why not just have scuba divers or paratroopers or cops in boats come to the island?! Talk about a contrived plot! Once on the island, the agent discovers that evil Peter Lorre has set up his own private prison and staffed it with guys on parole as slave labor. What about the men having to report to their parole officers? This was never explained, but Lorre was using them to mine for diamonds and they were treated abominably. Now, another question I had was that if Lorre was discovering huge diamonds there, he was a very wealthy man. So, why not just PAY people to mine for the diamonds?! Why set up your own version of Devil's Island and savagely beat and kill the men?! Eventually, Lorre gets what's his and the island's slaves are released. Unfortunately, by then, I really didn't care. Overall, watchable but rather dumb. Lorre's career only took a turn for the better when he moved the following year to Warner Brothers. With films like ISLAND OF DOOMED MEN, I could see why his stay at Columbia was short.