Escape from Hell Island

A sea captain has an illegal venture on the side where he helps refugees escape Cuba. He subsequently falls in love with one of the women he brings back. The trouble is that her unbalanced husband is none too happy about this and has plans to counter-act this situation.

Escape from Hell Island is a thriller that seems to have been tapping pretty directly into events surrounding the Cuban Missile Crisis. Many films did this in the 60's and this event was partially responsible for the boom in cold war spy films at the time. To be honest, it's quite awkwardly integrated into this film to the point that it almost feels added just for its topicality. The story-line is quite messy and essentially winds up with a suspense driven final third on-board a boat where two men have a stand-off against one and other in which the good captain spends quite a bit of time in the sea trying to avoid sharks and the like. It's not a particularly successful thriller, as its focus is all over the place. At best, its a reasonable time-filler.