Isle of the Dead (1945)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Mark Robson

Writer:

Ardel Wray (written by)
(more)

Release Date:

1 September 1945 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

What evil force is loose that empties graves of these long dead...buries those still alive...leaves behind it death...AND WORSE! (original half-sheet poster)

Plot:

On a Greek island during the 1912 war, several people are trapped by quarantine for the plague. If that isn't enough worry...

Plot Keywords:

Plague | Quarantine | Island | General | Greek Mythology

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Boris Karloff	...	Gen. Nikolas Pherides
Ellen Drew	...	Thea
Marc Cramer	...	Oliver Davis
Katherine Emery	...	Mrs. Mary St. Aubyn
Helen Thimig	...	Madame Kyra (as Helene Thimig)
Alan Napier	...	St. Aubyn
Jason Robards Sr.	...	Albrecht (as Jason Robards)
Ernst Deutsch	...	Dr. Drossos (as Ernst Dorian)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Sherry Hall	...	Col. Kobestes (uncredited)
Erick Hanson	...	Officer (uncredited)
Skelton Knaggs	...	Andrew Robbins (uncredited)

Directed by
Mark Robson

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Val Lewton		uncredited
Josef Mischel		uncredited
Ardel Wray		written by

Produced by
Jack J. Gross	....	executive producer
Val Lewton	....	producer

Original Music by
Leigh Harline

Cinematography by
Jack MacKenzie		(director of photography) (as Jack Mackenzie)

Film Editing by
Lyle Boyer

Art Direction by
Albert S. D'Agostino
Walter E. Keller

Set Decoration by
Albert Greenwood		(as Al Greenwood)
Darrell Silvera

Costume Design by
Edward Stevenson		(gowns)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Harry Scott	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Jean L. Speak	....	sound recordist
James G. Stewart	....	sound re-recordist

Music Department
C. Bakaleinikoff	....	musical director

Production Companies

• RKO Radio Pictures

Distributors

• RKO Radio Pictures (1945) (USA) (theatrical)
• RKO Radio Pictures (1953) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• C&C Television Corporation (1955) (USA) (TV)
• RKO Radio Pictures (1957) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Fox Hills Video (video)
• Image Entertainment (1995) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Nostalgia Merchant, The (1980) (USA) (VHS)
• Turner Home Entertainment (1991) (USA) (VHS)
• Turner Home Entertainment (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Turner Home Video (video)

Runtime:

71 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

UK:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #10319)

Company:

RKO Radio Pictures

Trivia:

Filming began in July 1944, but was suspended when Boris Karloff required back surgery. It was completed in December 1944. After Karloff had recovered from surgery, but before the cast of Isle of the Dead could be reassembled, Val Lewton and Karloff made The Body Snatcher (1945), which was released first.

Goofs:

Factual errors: General Pherides has two stars on his collar to denote his rank, whereas Doctor Drossos has epaulettes of knotted embroidery. The Hellenic Army of the Balkans War did not use insignia on collars to denote rank. Rank was indicated on epaulettes. A Lieutenant General's epaulette had two large silver stars on gold embroidery with red edging. A Captain's epaulette has three smaller silver stars on a striped epaulette (red-gold-red).

Quotes:

Thea: Laws can be wrong and laws can be cruel and that people who only live by the law are both wrong and cruel.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Middleman: The Vampiric Puppet Lamentation (#1.10)" (2008)

Karloff Most Effective In Psychological Thriller

In 1912, a stern old Greek general finds himself trapped on the ISLE OF THE DEAD after an outbreak of the dreaded plague.

When the front office at RKO Pictures informed producer Val Lewton that Boris Karloff had been procured to appear in his next suspense film, he wasn't entirely pleased. Karloff was famous for his portrayal of horrific monsters & mummies, sensationalist creations not at all in tune with the psychological thrillers for which Lewton was noted -- with very low budgets, he was able to fashion fascinating films in which the atmosphere was every bit as important as the plot.

Luckily, Karloff turned out to be an inspired choice. Determined to show that he was a skilled actor (actually, he was a very fine & talented performer) he was completely in sync with what Lewton envisaged, giving a nuanced portrayal of an essentially decent man who finds himself slowly driven to a sort of despair by the forces around him. He becomes the heart of a film which wisely saves its shocks for the last few minutes, having built up to the eerie climax slowly & inexorably.

Lewton was very pleased with Karloff's work and arranged two more collaborations. With only two weeks left in filming ISLE OF THE DEAD, Karloff had to be hospitalized for serious back problems. On his release from hospital, he found Lewton was all prepared to film THE BODY SNATCHER (1945). Karloff gave another wonderful performance, before finally finishing ISLE OF THE DEAD. The following year Karloff starred in Lewton's BEDLAM (1946), completing the trio of very tidy thrillers.

Karloff's co-stars give him good support, especially Ernst Deutsch as a military doctor; Alan Napier & Katherine Emery as a British consul and his invalid wife; Helen Thimig as a superstitious Greek peasant; and little Skelton Knaggs, who in a tiny scene with only a few words is able to make his Cockney tinker character come alive.

Ellen Drew & Marc Cramer handle the romance, which fortunately does not intrude too much on the story.

The viewer, in the course of watching ISLE OF THE DEAD, will discover much about the medical state of catatonia, as well as the monstrous vorvolaka, part vampire - part werewolf, which haunts Greek nightmares.

Lewton based his ideas for this film on a painting he had seen as a boy in Russia, Arnold Böcklin's darkly allegorical Island of the Dead (1880), which is shown behind the opening credits of the film. This somewhat sinister painting was also the inspiration for Sergey Rachmaninoff's celebrated symphonic poem, ‘The Isle of the Dead' (1909).

Incidentally, the conflict which is the background to the film was the Balkan War of 1912, in which the Balkan League (Greece, Serbia, Bulgaria & Montenegro) attacked the Ottoman Empire and destroyed most of its hegemony on the European continent. Begun in October and ended in December, it was short & bloody. However, troubles in Constantinople started hostilities up again in January of 1913. It finally ended in May, with the Turks once more decisively defeated. Although the Empire was left very much weakened, the War solved very little else. In June, the victorious parties began fighting amongst themselves, with Greece & Serbia trouncing Bulgaria by August. Greece ended the two short Wars with Crete and parts of Macedonia & Epirus added to her territories and the new state of Albania was carved out of old Ottoman lands. But ancient animosities were aroused and the entire Peninsula lay waiting for the next international incident, which obligingly took place 10 months later at the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo.