Isle of the Dead [Blu-ray]

Director: Mark Robson Mark Robson

Overview

Inspired by Swiss artist Arnold Böcklin's famous painting, this seminal horror film marked the first of three collaborations between RKO producer Val Lewton and British genre star Boris Karloff. Set during the 1912 Balkan Wars, Isle of the Death featured Karloff as Greek general Pherides who, along with an American journalist (Marc Cramer), visits the gravesite of his late wife on a deserted island. They find the grave desecrated and a group of travelers held hostage by the superstitious beliefs of Kyra (Helene Thimig). One by one, the inhabitants of the island are felled by what Dr. Drossos (Ernest Dorian aka Ernst Deutsch) terms the plague, but what Kyra insists is the work of Thea (Ellen Drew), a young nurse she believes to be a "varvoloka," an ancient Greek vampire. Thea's patient, Mrs. St. Aubun (Katherine Emery), suffers from death-like trances and, sure enough, during one of her spells, she is pronounced dead by Swiss archeologist Albrecht (Jason Robards Sr. and is interred alive.

Product Details

Release Date:	03/30/2021
UPC:	0883929740093
Original Release:	1945
Rating:	NR
Source:	Warner Archives
Language:	English
Time:	1:12:00
Sales rank:	21,226

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Boris Karloff	Gen. Nikolas Pherides
Ellen Drew	Thea
Marc Cramer	Oliver Davis
Helene Thimig	Madame Kyra
Katherine Emery	Mrs. St. Aubyn
Alan Napier	Mr. St. Aubyn
Jason Robards Sr.	Albrecht
Skelton Knaggs	Henry Robbins
Sherry Hall	Colonel
Ernst Deutsch	Dr. Drossos
Erick Hanson	Officer
Leigh Harline	Composer

Technical Credits

Ardel Wray

Josef Mischel

Val Lewton

Mark Robson	Director
Ardel Wray	Screenwriter
Josef Mischel	Screenwriter
Val Lewton	Producer,Screenwriter

Editorial Reviews

More or less dismissed on its initial release, Isle of the Dead has only improved with age and remains a truly frightening suspense thriller, its final scene as shocking now as it was then and filmed for maximum effect by novice director Mark Robson. Karloff, whose emergency spinal operation held up filming for months, is sympathetic as the proud, but unbending military commander, and studio contract actors Marc Cramer and Ellen Drew do well in their somewhat limited roles. But the film belongs in many ways to the women supporting characters: Katherine Emery as the poor invalid whose worst nightmare comes true, and Helene Thimig, the widow of theater legend Max Reinhardt, whose accusatory Kyra is positively terrifying. Böcklin's famous painting had also inspired a 1913 Danish drama, De Dødes Ø.

All Movie Guide - Hans J. Wollstein