Three Devil's Island escapees hide out in the house of a kindly merchant and repay his kindness by helping him and his family out of several crises.
At Christmas, three prisoners, Joseph (Humphrey Bogart), Albert (Aldo Ray), and Jules (Sir Peter Ustinov) escape from Devil Island to a French small coastal town. They decide to rob a store, to get some money and clothes and travel by ship to another place. They pretend to be there to fix the roof, but pretty soon they realize that the financial condition of the family Ducotel is not good. André Trochard (Basil Rathbone), the selfish and mean owner of the establishment, exploits the Ducotel family. The three convicts spend Christmas night with the Ducotels and are so well treated by the family, that they decide to help them. Their pet will help them to fix the situation.—Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Shortly before Christmas Eve 1895 in the penal colony of Cayenne, French Guiana: the forger Joseph, the murderer Albert and the safe cracker Jules manage to escape from prison on 'Devil's Island'. In a nearby small town, they steal a letter and deliver it to Felix Ducotel, the owner of the grocer's shop. They pretend to be roofers in order to scout out and rob the shop. The kind-hearted Felix actually hires them and the convicts soon discover that the Ducotels are in financial difficulties. Felix is running the shop for his greedy cousin Andre Trochard, who is pressurizing him to make as much turnover as possible. Joseph quickly lends the clumsy Felix a helping hand and even manages to sell a customer a jacket that is far too small. The letter announces Andre's visit to check the accounts. He is still in quarantine with his nephew Paul on a ship in the harbor. Felix's daughter Isabelle is secretly in love with Paul and faints when she learns of Paul's marriage plans from the letter. The prisoners decide to help Isabelle and befriend the family. They celebrate Christmas with them, get a turkey and help decorate the house. When Andre and Paul arrive late on Christmas Eve, the convicts let them in. Andre's callous and harsh manner immediately displeases the three of them. They devise a plan to protect the Ducotel family.—Arte
Three convicts escape from Devil's Island and arrive at a nearby French colonial town. Initially they plan to steal supplies and clothing from the local store, but they take a liking to the store owner's family and decide to stay and help them overcome their difficulties.—Col Needham <[email protected]>
Joseph (Humphrey Bogart), Jules (Sir Peter Ustinov), and Albert (Aldo Ray) escaped prison on Devil's Island. Loitering around the port, awaiting a ship to take them away, they decide to steal some goods from a merchant. Letting him hire them to repair the roof, they can take insight into the private life of his family. Isabelle (Gloria Talbott), the eighteen-year-old daughter of the couple, is still unmarried and longs for her old love Paul (John Baer), who is back in Paris. Felix (Leo G. Carroll), her father, is afraid of cousin André (Basil Rathbone), who owns the shop and will fire him if there are no black numbers to be reported soon. A little later, Paul and André arrive on the island surprisingly, and are far less sympathetic than the family expected. But there still are Joseph, Jules, and Albert. And not to forget Adolf, the little poisonous Viper Albert carries around in a basket constantly.—Julian Reischl <[email protected]>
