"The Prisoner of Shark Island" was a wonderful film starring Warner Baxter. Not only was it very interesting, but it was the real life account of the incarceration and subsequent commutation of Dr. Samuel Mudd's sentence as a result of his exemplary conduct in the prison in saving lives during an epidemic.
"Hellgate" begins with a quote from Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes that makes it appear as if this film is a true story. I could find no information on the internet about the character 'Gil Hanley', but the longer I watched this movie the more I realized that it was a remake of this earlier film with the names and a few details changed. There are just too many similarities between the two tails for them to be anything other than a remake.
The film begins just after the US Civil War with some ex-Confederate soldiers stopping by Hanley's ranch. He has no idea who they are nor does he know they are wanted men. He just knows one of them is badly hurt and so he helps them. The next day, Union soldiers arrive and ask Hanley questions about his activities. He willingly admits helping a man the night before but says he had no knowledge of doing anything to aid a criminal--he was just doing a humanitarian act. But, because Hanley was also an ex-Confederate in a region dominated by Yankees, he's quickly charged and convicted of being a member of the gang that is wanted by the authorities. However, there really was no direct evidence--just a lot of hatred towards the South and Hanley was railroaded. Soon, Hanley is sent to a hellhole prison in the middle of the desert. In the case of Mudd, he was sent to a barren island in the Tortugas--desolate islands off the Florida Keys. In both cases, the places are brutal and life is all but impossible. Eventually, though, when an epidemic breaks out, Hanley is instrumental in saving the prison where they are now without water (because it was contaminated).
The acting is very tough and gritty. The film just exudes manliness with the super-rugged Sterling Hayden in the lead and supported by James Arness and Ward Bond--three of the very toughest men in their day. Bond was an ex-football player, Hayden's war record is phenomenal and Arness was severely wounded at Anzio. Both Arness and Hayden are 6'5" or taller and bigger than the average ox! Together, this film is just so gosh darn rugged and tough that it's tough to beat on this account!! And, if it had only been an original story, I would have scored it a bit higher, as on occasion I love a film like this...one where John Wayne himself would have been overwhelmed by the cast's testosterone level!! Well worth seeing, but I strongly recommend you also see the Warner Baxter film--it's one of the best seldom seen films of the 1930s.
"Hellgate" begins with a quote from Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes that makes it appear as if this film is a true story. I could find no information on the internet about the character 'Gil Hanley', but the longer I watched this movie the more I realized that it was a remake of this earlier film with the names and a few details changed. There are just too many similarities between the two tails for them to be anything other than a remake.
The film begins just after the US Civil War with some ex-Confederate soldiers stopping by Hanley's ranch. He has no idea who they are nor does he know they are wanted men. He just knows one of them is badly hurt and so he helps them. The next day, Union soldiers arrive and ask Hanley questions about his activities. He willingly admits helping a man the night before but says he had no knowledge of doing anything to aid a criminal--he was just doing a humanitarian act. But, because Hanley was also an ex-Confederate in a region dominated by Yankees, he's quickly charged and convicted of being a member of the gang that is wanted by the authorities. However, there really was no direct evidence--just a lot of hatred towards the South and Hanley was railroaded. Soon, Hanley is sent to a hellhole prison in the middle of the desert. In the case of Mudd, he was sent to a barren island in the Tortugas--desolate islands off the Florida Keys. In both cases, the places are brutal and life is all but impossible. Eventually, though, when an epidemic breaks out, Hanley is instrumental in saving the prison where they are now without water (because it was contaminated).
The acting is very tough and gritty. The film just exudes manliness with the super-rugged Sterling Hayden in the lead and supported by James Arness and Ward Bond--three of the very toughest men in their day. Bond was an ex-football player, Hayden's war record is phenomenal and Arness was severely wounded at Anzio. Both Arness and Hayden are 6'5" or taller and bigger than the average ox! Together, this film is just so gosh darn rugged and tough that it's tough to beat on this account!! And, if it had only been an original story, I would have scored it a bit higher, as on occasion I love a film like this...one where John Wayne himself would have been overwhelmed by the cast's testosterone level!! Well worth seeing, but I strongly recommend you also see the Warner Baxter film--it's one of the best seldom seen films of the 1930s.