Lovers of Devil's Island (1974) Quartier de femmes (original title)

Director:

Jesus Franco

Writers:

Jesus Franco (screenplay)
Jesus Franco (story)

Release Date:

26 February 1974 (Japan)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

A lawyer finds out that a young couple convicted of murder was in fact framed for the crime and goes to the prison with the hope of freeing them and learns the events that happened to the two from a fellow prisoner who helped them escape.

Plot Keywords:

Prison | Lawyer | Corruption | Female Warden | Torture

Cast

Andrés Resino	...	Raymond Franval
Geneviève Robert	...	Beatriz Coblan (as Genevieve Deloir)
Dennis Price	...	L'avocat Linsday (as Denis Price)
Rosa Palomar	...	Senora Cardel (as Rosa Palomares)
Josyane Gibert	...	Rosa (as Jossiane Gibert)
Danielle Godet	...	Emilia Franval
Gogó Rojo	...	Lola
Jean-Louis Collins	...	Lieutenant Weckler (as Jean L. Collins)
Howard Vernon	...	Colonel Ford
Jean Guedes	...	Colonel Mendoza
Luis Barboo	...	Lenz (as Luis Bar-Boo)
Britt Nichols	...	Maria (as Brit Nichols)
Anne Libert	...	Prisoner
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Eduarda Pimenta	...	Prisoner (uncredited)
Lina Romay	...	(uncredited)
Daniel White	...	Judge (uncredited)

Directed by
Jesus Franco

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Jesus Franco		screenplay
Jesus Franco		story

Produced by
Arturo Marcos	....	producer

Original Music by
Bruno Nicolai

Cinematography by
José Climent

Film Editing by
María Luisa Soriano		(as Maria L. Soriano)

Set Decoration by
Jean d'Eaubonne

Makeup Department
Monique Adélaïde	....	makeup artist
Elisenda Villanueva	....	assistant makeup artist

Production Management
Jack Guy	....	production manager (as Guy Gibert)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Anny S. Eseva	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Jesús Jiménez	....	sound technician

Camera and Electrical Department
Chistian Hart	....	still photographer
Alberto Proust	....	second assistant camera (as Alberto Prous)

Other crew
Nicole Guettard	....	script supervisor
Alberto Marcos	....	production assistant
Luis F. Rodríguez	....	production assistant

Production Companies

• Comptoir Français du Film Production (CFFP)
• Fénix Cooperativa Cinematográfica

Distributors

• Bilbaína Films
• Delta Films

Also Known As:

"Quartier de femmes" - France (original title)
"Devil's Island Lovers" - USA (DVD box title)

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

France | Spain

Language:

French

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:15 | Spain:18

Company:

Comptoir Français du Film Production (CFFP)

Movie Connections:

Follows 99 Women (1969)

Vaguely interesting, but unimaginative Franco prison film

As was allegedly quite common for Franco's films of this particular era, Devil's Island Lovers / aka The Lovers of Devil's Island / aka Female Quarters (1974) exists in many different versions, some with explicit sex, others with violence, others with very little of the two. The version that I saw was the longer cut that maintains the use of the flashback structure and tones down many of the more obvious Franco exploitation flourishes to present a mostly straight story, which despite never really overcoming it's obvious B-movie/exploitation roots, at least presents an intelligent story well told. Still, depending on the version you see, Devil's Island Lovers could be viewed as either a B-grade treatise on political corruption, dictatorship and the horrors of the death penalty, or as a lurid slice of sexploitation schlock. You have been warned!

For me, this isn't a particularly great film; Franco has a reputation for his incredibly low budget productions in which films seem to have been shot in no more than a single take with inexperienced actors and obvious post-production dubbing. Sometimes it works in favour of the subject matter and other times it doesn't. However, having said that, the film here certainly wasn't disinteresting or badly performed, with the atmosphere of the film drawing us in with its lurid characterisations and exploitation clichés, and the general air that anything could happen within the limitless confines of this Gothic, medieval-like prison. On some levels the film and its style reminded me of the early work of Jack Hill, in particular films like Bamboo Doll House (1971) and The Big Bird Cage (1972), with the women in prison subplot and sensational depictions of state corruption and prison guards as grotesque caricatures with a regime of brutal degradation. However, Franco's film lacks the giddy style, playful sleaze and tongue-in-cheek absurdity of Hill's early work, including the films aforementioned, which still stand out as some of the greatest exploitation/low budget film-making ever seen.

Given the lack of sleaze in the version that I saw, it is its unknown who this film will really appeal to. I suppose people like myself; hardcore cineastes who genuinely love film and will watch anything no matter how poor a reputation it might have. Certainly, the low budget, rough around the edges style obviously germane to exploitation sub-genre will turn off many viewers unfamiliar with the particular style, while the slight plot and only subtle allusions to political corruption may prove disengaging to those looking for Franco's usual low-rent decadence. Regardless, Devil's Island Lovers is still an interesting film despite the required exploitation factor or the occasional stabs of outré imagination and filth that Franco would occasionally revel in. This is a slight film, though I think it has its charms and does manage to tell a story with obvious socio-political references and shades of hidden depth.