Movie where prisoner and warden eventually change roles
-
Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Film and Television Discussion
Brimfin — 9 months ago(June 24, 2025 10:36 PM)
I remember bits of a film that I saw a long time ago. I saw it in the 70's - it was probably made sometime in the 50's or 60's. It was B&W, I'm pretty sure. I don't think it was American made, but everyone spoke English and it wasn't dubbed.
It started with a man being held in a prison on an island (not Alcatraz or Devil's Island, though.) One man was a prisoner, the other like a commandant or warden. Eventually, the prisoner finished his sentence. But the commandant's ship did not come to pick them up on time. After days of waiting, the commandant got drunk. Then the ship arrived. The commandant was arrested and charged with violating his military code. The prisoner tried to defend him in court, but he was convicted anyway and sentenced to a term on the island. (Maybe 1 or 2 years.)
Rather than the military having to leave an officer behind, the former prisoner volunteered to take care of him. The officer agreed. They were left on the island, and the commandant looked like he was about to get payback for all his former behavior. But instead, the former prisoner says something like. "You know, the prisoner's quarters were cozy and comfortable to me. I'll use them. You can stay in the commandant's office." I think it ended then with the two becoming friends. I think the movie was either British, French, or Australian. I can't remember who was in it. They may have been well-known names, but I just don't remember. Any idea what this movie could be? Thanks. -
Brimfin — 9 months ago(June 24, 2025 10:52 PM)
By the way, I tried to use CineGuess to find out what this movie was. I thought it would be much easier for it this time, as I remembered most of the plot of the movie.
At first, it gave me two suggestions that sounded promising and claimed that two of the major elements (the commandant getting drunk, and the prisoner’s roles being reversed) were in it. But one [The Prisoner (1955)] was about a famous Cardinal being captured and tried, and the other [The Hill (1965)] involved several prisoners and a sadistic warden.
The more information I gave it, the worse it got. It next suggested The Caine Mutiny (1954) and then later the TV Series The Prisoner with Patrick McGoohan. Clearly, this AI didn’t have a clue; anyone with a small knowledge of TV and movies would know that neither of those come close to what I described. I begin to understand these stories I’ve heard about lawyers using AI only to have it cite totally bogus court cases. -
-- wot -- — 9 months ago(June 24, 2025 10:55 PM)
-
Brimfin — 9 months ago(June 25, 2025 03:05 PM)
Sorry. I checked them both, but as I said, there was only one prisoner on the island. I'm beginning to wonder if it could have been an episode of an old anthology series just being rerun on early Sunday mornings. But I have no idea which one. (I guarantee it was not Twilight Zone or Outer Limits, though. I know all of those. Might have been something more obscure like Alcoa Presents.)