Linbeymusol Wonderful character development!

SparkMore n my opinion it was a great movie with some interesting elements, even though having some plot holes and the ending probably was just too messy and crammed together, but still fun to watch and not your casual movie that is similar to all other ones.

Phillida Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Fulke Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

Bawoof Okay so this is NOT "Island of Lost Souls" or "The Big House" but I do think that fans of Peter Lorre would enjoy it. No need to hash out the plot here, and yes of course this is nothing more than a 1940s B-Movie. Nonetheless, if you grew up decades ago and have fond memories of staying up late and watching the old horror movies and science fiction monster movies on TV over the weekends, then watching this movie might be an enjoyable way to spend a late Friday or Saturday night, even though it's more of a "semi-noir" movie instead of a horror film.

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.

bensonmum2 If I have one problem with Island of Doomed Men, it's the complete lack of logic on display. Here's the storyline from the movie's main page on IMDb: "Sadistic Stephen Danel owns a penal island, and when he is not humiliating and mistreating his wife, he is torturing his convict prisoners and using them for slave labor. Government agent Mark Sheldon is sent to infiltrate the island and bring Danel to justice." There are a couple of glaring inaccuracies in this quote that go to my argument about a lack of logic.First, Stephen Danel is not torturing "convict prisoners". Instead, he is torturing parolees. Parolees would undoubtedly be missed. How Danel gets away with his operation without someone becoming wise to what he's doing defies all logic. Like I said, these are parolees. Some would presumably have families that would be outraged if their loved ones just disappeared after being paroled. Also, I'd think the U.S. prison system would do a better job of monitoring parolees. Sure, a few might fall through the cracks, but not the dozens Danel has gone through over the years.Second, Sheldon's plan to bring down Danel is so convoluted and illogical that it will make your head hurt if you think about it long enough. The quote makes it sound as if the Justice Department (or some other government agency) sent him to the island on a mission. Not true. Instead, to get to the island, Sheldon allowed himself to be convicted of a murder he didn't commit, serve a whole year in jail, and have himself conveniently paroled into Danel's custody. What a ridiculous plan! Sheldon's predecessor appeared to have enough information on Danel to justify a search warrant. When Sheldon was arrested, why not come forward with that information instead of going through the ridiculous steps he took to get to Danel? Utterly illogical.If it weren't for Peter Lorre's performance, some decent tension in the film's finale, and Rochelle Hudson, I'd easily rate this one much lower.

rowboat Peter Lorre is perfect in this role, a calm, controlling madman with a terrifying temper bubbling underneath. Flashes of his temper are the highlights of the movie. Whomever played his wife could've probably been out-acted by a beanbag, but she's pretty, so it's ok. The other main man was okay, and I was rooting for him like I was supposed to. I guess the underlying question is: Could an island of slavery actually exist? Just kidding. The movie is not that deep, or worthy of further thought. The underlying question actually is: What does Peter Lorre have against monkeys?