Hell's Island
Encyclopedia
Hell's Island is an American
color film noir
starring John Payne
and dircted by Phil Karlson
. The film was the last teaming of actor Payne and film director Karlson. The film was shot in the VistaVision
wide-screen format. Hell's Island was re-released in 1962 under the title South Sea Fury.
The film is told as a flashback with Payne narrating the story.
district attorney's office and serves as bouncer in a Las Vegas
casino
.
A wheelchair-using stranger Barzland (Francis L. Sullivan
) hires him to locate a ruby
that disappeared in a Caribbean plane crash. He lures Cormack into doing the job by telling him it may be in the possession of the very woman who jilted him.
The ex-detective flies to remote island Santo Rosario to find the stone and investigate the mystery. When he finds his old flame he finds that her husband is in prison. Cormack, again falling for Janet, is convinced into helping him break out of jail. But Janet has other plans.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
color film noir
Film noir
Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as extending from the early 1940s to the late 1950s...
starring John Payne
John Payne (actor)
John Payne was an American film actor who is mainly remembered as a singer in 20th Century Fox musical films, and for his leading roles in Miracle on 34th Street and the NBC western television series The Restless Gun.-Background:Payne was born in Roanoke, Virginia...
and dircted by Phil Karlson
Phil Karlson
Phil Karlson was a film director known for his no-nonsense film noirs. Karlson directed 99 River Street, Kansas City Confidential and Hell's Island all with actor John Payne in the early 1950s...
. The film was the last teaming of actor Payne and film director Karlson. The film was shot in the VistaVision
VistaVision
VistaVision is a higher resolution, widescreen variant of the 35mm motion picture film format which was created by engineers at Paramount Pictures in 1954....
wide-screen format. Hell's Island was re-released in 1962 under the title South Sea Fury.
The film is told as a flashback with Payne narrating the story.
Plot
After being dumped by his fiancée, hard-drinking and depressed Mark Cormack (John Payne) loses his job in the Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
district attorney's office and serves as bouncer in a Las Vegas
Las Vegas Strip
The Las Vegas Strip is an approximately stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada; adjacent to, but outside the city limits of Las Vegas proper. The Strip lies within the unincorporated townships of Paradise and Winchester...
casino
Casino
In modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...
.
A wheelchair-using stranger Barzland (Francis L. Sullivan
Francis L. Sullivan
Francis Loftus Sullivan was an English film and stage actor. He attended Stonyhurst, the Jesuit public school in Lancashire, England whose alumni include Charles Laughton and Arthur Conan Doyle.A heavily built man with a striking double-chin and a deep voice, Sullivan made his acting debut at the...
) hires him to locate a ruby
Ruby
A ruby is a pink to blood-red colored gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum . The red color is caused mainly by the presence of the element chromium. Its name comes from ruber, Latin for red. Other varieties of gem-quality corundum are called sapphires...
that disappeared in a Caribbean plane crash. He lures Cormack into doing the job by telling him it may be in the possession of the very woman who jilted him.
The ex-detective flies to remote island Santo Rosario to find the stone and investigate the mystery. When he finds his old flame he finds that her husband is in prison. Cormack, again falling for Janet, is convinced into helping him break out of jail. But Janet has other plans.
Cast
- John PayneJohn Payne (actor)John Payne was an American film actor who is mainly remembered as a singer in 20th Century Fox musical films, and for his leading roles in Miracle on 34th Street and the NBC western television series The Restless Gun.-Background:Payne was born in Roanoke, Virginia...
as Mike Cormack - Mary MurphyMary Murphy (actress)Mary Murphy was an American film actress of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. She was born in Washington, D.C. and spent most of her early childhood in Cleveland, Ohio. Her father, James Victor Murphy, died in 1940. Shortly afterwards, she and her mother moved to Southern California...
as Janet Martin - Eduardo NoriegaEduardo Noriega (Mexican actor)Eduardo Noriega was a Mexican film actor who has appeared in over 100 films, mainly Mexican.His best known English-language role was as Don Francisco from San Jose in Zorro, The Gay Blade...
as Inspector Peña - Francis L. SullivanFrancis L. SullivanFrancis Loftus Sullivan was an English film and stage actor. He attended Stonyhurst, the Jesuit public school in Lancashire, England whose alumni include Charles Laughton and Arthur Conan Doyle.A heavily built man with a striking double-chin and a deep voice, Sullivan made his acting debut at the...
as Barzland - Arnold MossArnold MossArnold Moss was an American character actor.His son is songwriter Jeff Moss....
as Paul Armand - Paul PicerniPaul Picerni-Life and career:Picerni was born in New York City, New York. He was an Eagle Scout who joined the United States Army Air Forces during World War II, where he served as a B-24 Liberator bombardier in the China-Burma-India Theater. He flew 25 combat missions with the 493rd Bomb Squadron of the 7th...
as Eduardo Martin - Walter ReedWalter ReedMajor Walter Reed, M.D., was a U.S. Army physician who in 1900 led the team that postulated and confirmed the theory that yellow fever is transmitted by a particular mosquito species, rather than by direct contact...
as Lawrence - Pepe HernPepe HernPepe Hern was an American actor whose characters, usually Spanish and Latin , were always secondary.His real name was José Hernández Bethencourt and he was born June 6, 1927 in New Jersey. His parents were Spanish immigrants from Puerto de la Cruz on the island of Tenerife, Canary Islands...
as Lalo (the bellhop) - Robert Cabal as Miguel (the houseboy)
- Sándor Szabó as Johann Torbig