The prisoner of Shark Island
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | The prisoner of Shark Island |
| Original title | The Prisoner of Shark Island |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1936 |
| length | 94 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | John Ford |
| script | Nunnally Johnson |
| production |
Darryl F. Zanuck for 20th Century Fox |
| music |
RH Bassett , Hugo Friedhofer |
| camera | Bert Glennon |
| cut | Jack Murray |
| occupation | |
| |
The Prisoner of Shark Island is an American film drama made in 1936 , the John Ford for 20th Century Fox staged. The film tells biographically the life of the American doctor Dr. Samuel Mudd (1833–1883), who was convicted and convicted of co-conspiracy to assassinate President Abraham Lincoln .
action
When the Southern States surrendered under General Lee on April 9, 1865 , a parade was held in Washington, DC . President Abraham Lincoln appears on the balcony of the White House and plays the Southern anthem Dixie to the delight of the population . On April 14th, Lincoln visits Ford's Theater to see actress Laura Keene in Our American Cousin . During the performance, actor John Wilkes Booth assassinated Lincoln, who did not survive the attack. Booth breaks his leg as he escapes.
During a storm, Booth and his accomplice David Herold seek a doctor in Maryland . A black man takes them to the house of the doctor Samuel Mudd. The doctor does not recognize the president's assassin in his patient and takes care of his broken leg. The next day when Dr. Mudd takes care of the baby of the couple Buck and Aunt Rosabelle, former slaves, soldiers break into his house in search of Booth. A soldier sees that Mudd's daughter Martha is busy with one of the assassin's boots. Dr. Mudd is charged with complicity in the assassination attempt and arrested.
While Booth himself is killed in Virginia , eight people are arrested as accomplices and helpers and brought to justice. The attack has now caused hysteria among the people in the country. Secretary of State for the War Department, Erickson, urges members of the jury not to worry about the usual procedural rules. So the accused conspirators are found guilty and tried. Three of them are hanged in public. Dr. Mudd is sentenced to life in prison and taken to Fort Jefferson Military Prison. The prison is located on an island in the Dry Tortugas off Florida . The waters around the island are teeming with sharks.
Mudd and the other inmates are bullied by the sadistic warden Sergeant Rankin. The prison doctor Dr. MacIntyre avoids contact with his former colleague. Mudd is pleased to see that his old friend Buck is among the guards. Mudd's wife, Peggy, has news for him. A judge is convinced that the judgment cannot stand up to normal civil court proceedings. The judge has agreed to reopen the Mudd case. Despite this news, Mudd plans his escape with the help of Buck and Peggy. However, during the attempted breakout, Buck is arrested. Rankin orders his men to kill Mudd. The doctor is shot but is able to save himself in the boat in which Peggy is waiting for him with her father, Colonel Dyer. Rankin has since received orders to bring Mudd back alive. He boarded the boat with his men. Colonel Dyer is killed in the process. Rankin brings Mudd back to prison and puts him in a pit with Buck.
A yellow fever epidemic breaks out on the island. Dr. MacIntyre can only inadequately treat the sick and becomes sick himself. The prison commandant asks Dr. Mudd for help. Mudd can get the soldiers and guards to help him fight the disease. Dr. Mudd himself becomes a victim of the epidemic. Captains of ships that are supposed to bring doctors, helpers and medicine to the island refuse to go any closer to the island. Mudd orders that shots be fired with cannons, whereupon the ships call at the island after all. The yellow fever is now under control, Dr. Mudd can recover. Rankin himself is the first to sign the letter intended to bring Mudd an amnesty through the new president. The doctor can finally go back to his wife and daughter. Buck also returns to Rosabelle and her 12 children.
criticism
The lexicon of international film described the film as an "existentialist drama in the guise of an adventure film" ; despite some brilliantly staged passages, a weaker film by the director.
Frank S. Nugent of the New York Times praised the directness and honesty of the film. Warner Baxter's compelling portrait was also well received.
background
The film premiered on February 12, 1936 in New York. In Germany it appeared on August 16, 1977 as a TV premiere on German television.
In total, Frank McGlynn played US President Abraham Lincoln eleven times, the first time in 1924. Bess Flowers , JM Kerrigan and Frank Shannon can be seen in small supporting roles .
Web links
- The Prisoner of Shark Island in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ The Prisoner of Shark Island. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .
- ↑ Critique of the New York Times (Eng.)