The Secret of Blood Island

The Secret of Blood Island is a 1965 British war film directed by Quentin Lawrence and starring Jack Hedley, Barbara Shelley and Patrick Wymark.[1]

The Secret of Blood Island
UK theatrical release poster
Directed byQuentin Lawrence
Written byJohn Gilling
Produced byAnthony Nelson Keys
StarringJack Hedley
Barbara Shelley
Patrick Wymark
Charles Tingwell
CinematographyJack Asher
Edited byTom Simpson
Music byJames Bernard
Production
company
Distributed byJ. Arthur Rank Film Distributors (UK)
Release dates
27 April 1965 (US)
13 June 1965 (UK)
Running time
84 min
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

The film is a prequel to the 1958 film The Camp on Blood Island.

Premise

British Prisoners of War help a wounded female agent, Elaine, to escape the Japanese during the Second World War.

Main cast

Production

According to TV Guide, the film was shot in Eastmancolor and released that way in Britain, but the U.S. prints were in black & white.[2]

Reception

The film was not as well received as Camp of Blood Island. Michael Ripper later said, " “I thought the story was very dodgy. I don't give a damn how hungry you are, if you haven't seen a bird in four years, or whatever it was, she'd have been stampeded, wouldn’t she? Somebody must have had the strength. I don't believe the story at all, but I must admit I had a good part in it."[3]

The Monthly Film Bulletin called it a "grotesquely inefficient melodrama."[4] The Guardian called it "nasty".[5]

TV Guide called the film "fairly silly".[2] The Radio Times called it "lurid but fairly enjoyable."[6]

References
  1. "The Secret of Blood Island". BFI. Archived from the original on 29 January 2009.
  2. "The Secret Of Blood Island". TVGuide.com.
  3. Sheridan, Bob. "History of Hammer Part 7". Halls of Horror. No. 27. p. 43.
  4. SECRET OF BLOOD ISLAND, The Monthly Film Bulletin; London Vol. 32, Iss. 372, (Jan 1, 1965): 112.
  5. Bergman in lighter vein The Guardian 28 June 1965: 4.
  6. Rose Thompson. "The Secret of Blood Island". RadioTimes.


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