Condemned

A suave, self-centered thief learns to give instead of steal. A fear-fraught shut-in finds the courage to brave fate. A cold-blooded killer finds something worth dying for. An all-powerful prison warden discovers how small and weak he is. These four souls are condemned to be forever transformed within the crucible of Devil's Island. Michel (Ronald Colman), sent to Devil's Island for bank robbery, catches the attention of the warden (Dudley Digges) thanks to his Parisian sophistication. Eager for a houseboy appropriate to his status, the warden gives Michel the assignment. While Michel's bunkmate, the killer Jacques, gets hard labor, Michel seeks to serve his time softly as a servant. Thanks to the warden's wife (Ann Harding), Michel's labors soon prove as hard as Jacques. Ronald Colman's performance as Michel, along with his role in Bulldog Drummond the same year, solidly secured his transition from silent star to talkie A-lister.

• classics
• crime
• drama