- Actors: Warner Baxter, Gloria Stuart, Claude Gillingwater, Arthur Byron, O.P. Heggie
- Directors: John Ford
- Writers: Nunnally Johnson
- Producers: Darryl F. Zanuck, Nunnally Johnson
- Format: Colour, DVD-Video, Full Screen, Subtitled, NTSC
- Language English
- Subtitles: French, Spanish
- Region: Region 1 (US and Canada DVD formats.)
- Aspect Ratio: 4:3 - 1.33:1
- Number of discs: 1
- Classification: Unrated (US MPAA rating. See details.)
- Studio: 20th Century Fox
- DVD Release Date: 4 Dec 2007
- Run Time: 96 minutes
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
- ASIN: B000WMA6G4
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 83,441 in Film & TV (See Top 100 in Film & TV)
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
18 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Shot by John Ford in an almost docudrama style, this film portrays the goings on when Abraham Lincoln was shot. Panic amongst the American people, folks locked up for no good reason at all, scapegoats found and executed, it all seems far too real for comfort in the current era. Warner Baxter plays the eponymous prisoner, Dr. Samuel Mudd, a man who inadvertently aids assassin John Wilkes Booth after Lincoln's shooting. The fact that he is a Southerner leads to an instant assumption of guilt, and here the story does go into predictable territory.
A prison island with a sadistic guard, outbreaks of illness with the only doctor locked up and reviled, stormy weather, the whole works are thrown on by Ford, no doubt stretching the truth where he can to make a good story. And why not.....
The cinematography is superb, captured by a superlative transfer, the acting (mostly) understated enough, and the film makes a terrific addition to Eureka's Masters Of Cinema series.
The DVD adds an incisive commentary, a rather stilted interview and a collection of promotional martial from the films original release. A 28 page book makes excellent reading, with essays and interviews and more stills of promotional posters and the like.
A prison island with a sadistic guard, outbreaks of illness with the only doctor locked up and reviled, stormy weather, the whole works are thrown on by Ford, no doubt stretching the truth where he can to make a good story. And why not.....
The cinematography is superb, captured by a superlative transfer, the acting (mostly) understated enough, and the film makes a terrific addition to Eureka's Masters Of Cinema series.
The DVD adds an incisive commentary, a rather stilted interview and a collection of promotional martial from the films original release. A 28 page book makes excellent reading, with essays and interviews and more stills of promotional posters and the like.
Format:DVD
John Ford directed 146 films in his long and illustrious career and at this point, I have unfortunately seen very few of them. Prisoner of Shark Island is loosely based on the life of Samuel Mudd, a doctor who unwittingly helped Abraham Lincoln's killer (John Wilkes Booth) by fixing his broken leg. He was sent to prison for aiding Booth where he helped battle an outbreak of yellow fever. Warner Baxter is excellent in the lead role, and the story is well written and presented. The characters are well developed, albeit in a short space of time but for me, the real star of the film was John Carradine as Sgt Rankin, a character who changes a lot throughout. Although Ford has been very creative with regards to the historical accuracies, this is still a well made biopic worthy of a purchase, mainly due to the strength of the cast and the direction. 4/5
Format:DVD
20th Century Fox presents "THE PRISONER OF SHARK ISLAND" (1936) - (96 min/B&W) -- Starring: Warner Baxter, Gloria Stuart, Claude Gillingwater, Arthur Byron, John Carradine & Harry Carey
Directed by John Ford
In 1865 Dr. Samuel Mudd (Warner Baxter), a known Confederate sympathizer, sets the broken leg of a mud-caked stranger who stumbles into his home. The injured man turns out to be John Wilkes Booth (Francis McDonald), and Mudd is accused of conspiring to murder President Lincoln. Sentenced to hang with the genuine conspirators, Mudd finds his sentence commuted to life imprisonment at the very last moment. He is shipped to Shark Island, a brutal penal colony. Subject to the cruelties of a guard Sgt. Rankin (John Carradine) who hates Mudd because of his "complicity" in Lincoln's death, the doctor suffers the torments of the damned, while back home his wife, Peggy (Gloria Stuart) campaigns desperately to get her husband pardoned. During a Yellow Fever breakout on Shark Island, Dr. Mudd performs heroically to save the survivors. For his humanitarian efforts, Mudd is finally released and reunited with his wife.
An almost unbelievable but true story ... well told by the maestro John Ford
Dr. Samuel Mudd's story was retold in the Hellgate (1952), with Sterling Hayden as the (fictional) doctor. Also worth a view.
BIOS:
1. John Ford [aka: John Martin Feeney] Director)
Date of Birth: 1 February 1894, Cape Elizabeth, Maine, USA
Date of Death: 31 August 1973, Palm Desert, California, USA (stomach cancer)
2. Warner Baxter
Date of Birth: 29 March 1889 - Columbus, Ohio
Date of Death: 7 May 1951 - Beverly Hills, California
3. Gloria Stuart
Date of Birth: 4 July 1910, Santa Monica, California
Date of Death: 26 September 2010, Los Angeles, California
4. Claude Gillingwater
Date of Birth: 2 August 1870 - Louisiana, Missouri
Date of Death: 2 November 1939 - Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California
5. Harry Carey
Date of Birth: 16 January 1878 - The Bronx, New York
Date of Death: 21 September 1947 - Brentwood, California
6. John Carradine
Date of Birth: 5 February 1906 - New York City, New York, USA
Date of Death: 27 November 1988 - Milan, Italy
Mr. Jim's Ratings:
Quality of Picture & Sound: 4 Stars
Performance: 4 Stars
Story & Screenplay: 4 Stars
Overall: 4 Stars [Original Music, Cinematography & Film Editing]
Total Time: 96 min on DVD ~ 20th Century Fox ~ (December 4, 2007)
Directed by John Ford
In 1865 Dr. Samuel Mudd (Warner Baxter), a known Confederate sympathizer, sets the broken leg of a mud-caked stranger who stumbles into his home. The injured man turns out to be John Wilkes Booth (Francis McDonald), and Mudd is accused of conspiring to murder President Lincoln. Sentenced to hang with the genuine conspirators, Mudd finds his sentence commuted to life imprisonment at the very last moment. He is shipped to Shark Island, a brutal penal colony. Subject to the cruelties of a guard Sgt. Rankin (John Carradine) who hates Mudd because of his "complicity" in Lincoln's death, the doctor suffers the torments of the damned, while back home his wife, Peggy (Gloria Stuart) campaigns desperately to get her husband pardoned. During a Yellow Fever breakout on Shark Island, Dr. Mudd performs heroically to save the survivors. For his humanitarian efforts, Mudd is finally released and reunited with his wife.
An almost unbelievable but true story ... well told by the maestro John Ford
Dr. Samuel Mudd's story was retold in the Hellgate (1952), with Sterling Hayden as the (fictional) doctor. Also worth a view.
BIOS:
1. John Ford [aka: John Martin Feeney] Director)
Date of Birth: 1 February 1894, Cape Elizabeth, Maine, USA
Date of Death: 31 August 1973, Palm Desert, California, USA (stomach cancer)
2. Warner Baxter
Date of Birth: 29 March 1889 - Columbus, Ohio
Date of Death: 7 May 1951 - Beverly Hills, California
3. Gloria Stuart
Date of Birth: 4 July 1910, Santa Monica, California
Date of Death: 26 September 2010, Los Angeles, California
4. Claude Gillingwater
Date of Birth: 2 August 1870 - Louisiana, Missouri
Date of Death: 2 November 1939 - Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California
5. Harry Carey
Date of Birth: 16 January 1878 - The Bronx, New York
Date of Death: 21 September 1947 - Brentwood, California
6. John Carradine
Date of Birth: 5 February 1906 - New York City, New York, USA
Date of Death: 27 November 1988 - Milan, Italy
Mr. Jim's Ratings:
Quality of Picture & Sound: 4 Stars
Performance: 4 Stars
Story & Screenplay: 4 Stars
Overall: 4 Stars [Original Music, Cinematography & Film Editing]
Total Time: 96 min on DVD ~ 20th Century Fox ~ (December 4, 2007)
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