There are movies we never tire of, that we can watch year after year around holiday time, and become indelibly associated in our minds with those holidays. Every family has its favorites. When I was growing up, the two big Christmas movies around our house were Laurel and Hardy's "March of the Wooden Soldiers", and Peter Lorre's "Christmas on the Island of Dommed Men".

This film was made by CVP Studios after Peter's hugely successful film, "The Island of Doomed Men" for Columbia Pictures in 1940. Due to copyright conflicts, the title had to be changed by CVP Studios from "Doomed Men" to "Dommed Men" to secure the rights for release. Fortunately, as anyone who has seen either film can tell you, "Dommed Men" is the more fitting of the two titles.
"Christmas on the Island of Dommed Men" does not pick up where "The Island of Doomed Men" left off, since at the end of that film, Stephen Danel, Lorre's character, is killed. Instead, it gives an alternate ending to the original film.
Mr. Danel, after his wife runs off with one of his island's convicts, attempts to get his life back together. He makes a complete assessment of his life, and decides to make amends to those he has been unduly harsh to in the past. As part of his plan, he decides to make this Christmas the best Christmas ever on his island. Not all goes as planned, though, leading to some hilarious situations. Many of the mishaps are due to the very strange concept of kindness held by Mr. Danel. For instance, in keeping with the holiday spirit, he has all floggings of his imprisoned workforce conducted under mistletoe with a candy cane colored cat o' nine tails!
There are also some very funny scenes of Mr. Danel trying to bring himself to like Peanutbutter Cup, the pet rhesus monkey owned by his manservant, Siggy. But it never quite works out, with the mischievous monkey tossing eggnog and pfefferneuse about Mr. Danel's spotless house.
The film also deals with Stephen Danel meeting a new young lady on the mainland with whom he falls in love. This "Island" film ends happily with a Christmas Eve wedding to his newfound love. At last he seems to have found a mate who is capable of understanding and and appreciating the unusual, but very devoted Mr. Danel. It does indeed turn out to be the best ever "Christmas on the Island of Dommed Men".