| King of the Damned | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Walter Forde |
| Written by | Charles Bennett Sidney Gilliat |
| Based on | play by John Chancellor |
| Produced by | Michael Balcon |
| Cinematography | Bernard Knowles |
| Edited by | Cyril Randell |
| Music by | Jack Beaver Louis Levy |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Gaumont British Distributors |
Release date |
|
Running time | 81 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
King of the Damned is a 1935 Britishprison film directed byWalter Forde and starringConrad Veidt,Helen Vinson,Noah Beery andCecil Ramage.
Convict 83 is a prisoner on an island, where the harsh regime of the Governor pushes him to lead a revolt.[1]
At a convict settlement in the Caribbean, the convicts suffer under a new commandant, who sends them to do road work. The convicts, led by Convict 83, lead a revolt. Convict 83 falls for the commandant's daughter, Anna. The commandant dies in the fight. Anna escapes and sends a message to a warship which arrives at the settlement. Anna returns with Convict 83 to see that he gets a fair trial.
The script was based on a stage play which was set on Davil's Island had a run in 1934.Variety, reviewing a production, wrote "some very good character acting makes this good entertainment."[2]
Film rights were bought by Gaumont British who converted the play into a vehicle for Conrad Veidt.[3]
To avoid the usual French protests on films depictingDevil's Island, the producers gave all locations Spanish names and set the film in the Caribbean.[4]Variety reported in its review of the movie that it was "difficult to locale the settlement. It is somewhere in the Caribbean. The officers have Spanish names and the garrote is used at executions, but most of the officers and practically all of the convicts speak with a pronounced British accent...It makes for a rather polyglot affair."[5]
Nonetheless, the film was banned in France.[6]
Filming took place in July 1935.[7]
Variety felt Veidt "excellent actor though he is.. is miscast in this role of the convict leader. He is seldom convincing, and rarely dominant. Beery takes the honors away from him because of a more vibrant personality and the fact that he gets what little comedy there is."[5]
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