Das Schiff des Satans

Dante's Inferno was Spencer Tracy's final film for Fox before settling in at MGM where his career really took off. It was probably one of the biggest budget films Fox had ever done up to that time with two disasters and a dream sequence of hell.

Tracy plays a ship stoker and would be con man who gets fired off his ship for malingering. Down on his luck, kindly old Henry B. Walthall who owns a sideshow attraction at a carnival midway takes him in and Walthall's daughter Claire Trevor falls for him.

Spence is nothing if not determined to make something of himself and he becomes a rich man in the amusement game. But his ethics leave a lot to be desired.

The title is not Dante Alighieri's famous poetic saga of his journey through hell, but it's the name of the exhibit that Walthall owns. It's 'educational' but Tracy starts on his road to financial success by glamorizing the more prurient aspects of it.

The Inferno catches fire and there's a climatic ship's fire as well that Cecil B. DeMille could not have staged better. One wishes the film had been in color for that as well as the imaginary ten minute journey through hell that Walthall describes to Tracy.

The dancing team on the ship before the fire marks the screen debut of one Marguerite Carmen Cansino or better known as Rita Hayworth. She was quite the dancer on screen as well as in this person's opinion, the biggest sex symbol the screen ever knew.

Dante's Inferno was a fine film for Tracy to leave Fox with. But it would have astonished the executives at Fox if they could have imagined the career direction it would take at MGM.

No one has commented that Dante's Inferno, starring Spencer Tracy, was clearly based on a true story.

In the main part of the 1935 movie, Tracy plays an unscrupulous amusement park owner who decides his next attraction will be a trip through Hell called "Dante's Inferno". In his usual corner-cutting manner, fire protection measures are short-changed with the inevitable result that there is a disastrous fire. Following this is a dream sequence in which Dante's vision of Hell is re-enacted and Tracy is appropriately punished. Finally there is an ending that I won't reveal.

The non-fantasy part of the story is strikingly similar to an actual, highly publicized, event that took place about 20 years earlier than the conception of the movie. At that time, Coney Island, which is part of Brooklyn, itself part of New York City, was the premier amusement park area of the world. There were two parks, Steeplechase, which emphasized fun and sex, and Luna Park, which emphasized art and youth. William H. Reynolds, an underhanded real estate developer and former Republican state senator, was attracted by the profits and decided to create a third giant park. He called his Dreamland.

Following his typical pattern, Reynolds, through his ties to the corrupt Tammany Democratic political machine, was able to have streets closed to make some inexpensive land suitable for a large amusement park. This deprived poor people of access to the beach, but so what? Patrons of his park, and of luxury hotels, had no problem.

Oddly, his concept, despite the usual sleazy attractions, also had morality, even religiosity, as a major theme. It started off with an attraction called Genesis, the Bible story of the creation of the world. There was another called Destruction of Pompeii, presumably as payment for wickedness. His crowning effort along this line was called Hell Gate, a fantasy ride through Hell, with a gigantic Satan smirking over the entrance.

In the early hours of May 27, 1911, as they rushed to ready the attraction for the Spring opening, workers accidentally started a fire. Firefighters responded, but because of low water pressure (for which many also blamed Reynolds' machinations), could not prevent its spread and all of Dreamland, including Hell Gate, was destroyed.

Don't you agree that the inspiration, if not the actual plot of the movie Dante's Inferno, was drawn from real life? And isn't it amusing that, considering his behavior, Reynolds was so preoccupied with morality and retribution?

Incidentally, I saw this film when I was 15 and it scared me silly.

Spencer Tracy ruthlessly works his way up from carnival barker to owner to mogul, not caring who he hurts along the way. Excellent drama with some really nice set pieces and memorable scenes. Tracy, as always, is solid. Claire Trevor is good. Fine actor Henry B. Walthall steals every scene he's in. Scotty Beckett is adorable as Tracy's son. A young Rita Hayworth has a dancing scene but no lines. Excellent direction from Harry Lachman. Great sets and effects. Among the highlights are a shocking suicide, the much-praised "hell" sequence, and a thrilling shipboard fire climax. It's an evocative film that certainly stands as one of Spencer Tracy's best and most underrated films from the 1930s.

There is no denying that Dante Alighieri is not only a major literary figure of Italy's Renaissance, but one of the world's greatest poets. Actually he left many poems in his works, especially regarding the forbidden love of his life Beatrice, but the poem most associated with him is a 33 canto poem entitled INFERNO. Most people don't realize it is actually the first third of a larger book of poetry called THE DIVINE COMEDY. Dante wrote three sections of this book, in which he, a traveller, is escorted by the ghost of the Latin poet Virgil through the nine levels of Hell, then into purgatory, and finally into paradise. The conclusion of the poem is when Dante is able to see the grandeur and beauty of God's love, which is the ultimate position at the top of the universe's order. Although Purgatory and Paradise have moments of exceptional power in them, they are less exciting than the human tragedies that make up the cantos of The INFERNO. What story about redemption or love can compete with the hideous doom of Count Ugolino of Pisa and his children, condemned to starve to death by a political enemy (Ugolino had betrayed the enemy, once a friend of his). The punishment is very gruesome - Ugolino is forever hungry for his crimes, and is gnawing at the brain of his political foe forever as a result.

Nothing quite that gaudy here - The central figure (Tracy) begins as a stoker, but slowely rises in the world, frequently not realizing that his greed and drive have alienated friends and relatives. The source of his wealth is the carnival and gambling empire he has put together. In the course of building it he meets Henry Walthall, who wants to build a midway building that shows Dante's Inferno - Walthall believes it will be beneficial to the public as it will show the public the dangerous ice they are on if they continue to sin. Of course this is the screenwriter's take on Dante's Divine Comedy, and the Inferno in particular - actually Dante is far too clever a poet to have such a trivial motive in the actual work for writing it that way.

That Tracy is saved in the end is due to heeding the wisdom of his friend (later his father-in-law)and due to a sea tragedy - Tracy's latest addition to his empire is a gambling ship, which catches fire off the coast of the U.S., and requires Tracy's leadership qualities to save the passengers and crew. A suitable fiery conclusion to the film - and also an historic footnote: the boat is made to resemble the ill-fated Morro Castle, which burned in a fire in 1934 (the year before this film) off the coast of New Jersey, killing 130 passengers and crew. As such, this is the sole movie I know of that refers to that disaster, except for a line of dialogue in the contemporary satiric comedy BOY MEETS GIRL.

Made at the height of the Great Depression this film is really a shout out to those unscrupulous money makers and a warning that eventually they will pay. When confronted by his Wife about his dirty deeds the Hero/Villain says..."I didn't do anything that any other businessman wouldn't have done".

This is a stand alone film that is unique, off beat, wild and profound. A visual display of a catastrophe of material and man. It is a stunning piece of work that was rarely shown on television and ignored as a bastard child of the bijou. The middle inclusion of a horrific Hell with suffering half-naked souls and with haunting, chilling musical accompaniment is partly responsible.

There are three set pieces in this remarkable movie that are unforgettable and the story of greed and decadence is timeless. This is a one of a kind, disturbing adventure put together with excellent special effects, costumes, and sets. An underrated, overlooked antique piece of propagandized art that remains relevant. "things don't change, the behavior of men remains the same throughout history", says the old man. Amen.