Vessel of Wrath

I recently read that one of the preliminary casting choices of The African Queen was Charles Laughton and Elsa Lanchester, which would have been absolutely adorable. I love seeing them act together, and if you want to see a taste of what they would have been like as Mr. Allnut and Rosie, check them out in The Beachcomber.

In this comedy, Elsa is a missionary among the heathens of a Polynesian island. Charles is the title character, a perpetually drunk--and very happy--beach bum who enjoys his women and his carefree life. Most of the movie is the offscreen couple's antagonistic relationship, but as soon as the tide turns and they start to like each other, it's incredibly cute. In one of my favorite scenes, they're stranded out in the rain, and Charles covers her with his coat. While I like Rembrandt infinitely better, this one is a lighter choice if you don't want an evening full of Kleenexes. As a bonus, you'll get to catch a glimpse of a pre-famous Robert Newton, who starred in a 1954 remake!

This is a pretty broad comedy with some fun performances by Laughton, Lanchester and Newton. The plot's rather thin and really relies on the great character work by all involved.

Even though the characters seem to transform far too quickly for my tastes, you almost don't even care because it's so enjoyable to see.

Frankly, I'd almost recommend this film just to see Charles Laughton's classic facial expressions alone.

Obviously The African Queen owes much to The Beachcomber and while the former is the superior film, I'd recommend this to any fan of Laughton, Lanchester and 1930's romantic comedies.

Maybe not one of W. Somerset Maugham's more complex stories, but it still gives us a chance to watch Robert Newton, Charles Laughton and Elsa Lanchester give us a bit of the reverse "Sadie Thompson". It's the unlikable "Ginger Ted" (Laughton) who manages to upset the rather puritanical "Martha" (Lanchester) and her minister-brother "Owen" (Tyrone Guthrie). She demands that local magistrate (Newton) throw the book at him after his latest drunken outburst, but the wily old administrator sees an opportunity to ensure peace breaks out by managing to have the pair stranded on a remote island amidst his Indonesian archipelago - and maybe the two can get past their initial mutual loathing and find some common ground? It's a bit too long, even at ninety minutes, and much of it struggles against a background of ropey production and poor editing, but there are some funs scenes between an on-form and perfectly plausible Laughton and a Lanchester whose character you would cross at your peril - even if you were completely sozzled. It does rather peddle the superiority of the Christian faith as against those more pagan traditions held by the natives, but in it's aggressive piousness lies some of it's best humour - especially now it's eighty-odd years later and we can use new eyes to poke fun at it's daftness. Newton's accent isn't the best, but fans of characterful cinema might enjoy these three - and Erich Pommer - having a bit of fun in the sun (though clearly nowhere near the actual South China Sea!).

Edward Wilson (Charles Laughton) is a drunkard and womanizer who lives somewhere in the Dutch East Indies (today known as Indonesia). Oddly, he and EVERYONE apart from the natives are very British...but no matter. Regardless, he's a pretty worthless drunk and is constantly in trouble with the law. But the local magistrate realizes Ed is pretty harmless and even likes him. However, their relationship is sorely tried when a couple incredibly moralistic Brits arrive and keep insisting that the government do something with Wilson...such as deporting him. However, this attitude changes when the uptight lady (Elsa Lanchester) is briefly shipwrecked with Wilson. Oddly, she almost instantly sees him as a flawed man with great potential...and she's not about to see him continue life without her guidance and care.

There are several problems with the film--most notably how quickly the lady goes from loathing Wilson to adoring him. This just didn't make any sense and would have worked had it been like the film "Swept Away" where a pair of folks who hate each other are stuck on a deserted island for a very long period. Additionally, Lanchester's character is a bit too shrill and too stereotypical to seem real in the least.

The bottom line is that the film is a time-passer and, unfortunately, nothing more. It is mildly interesting to see the husband/wife pair of Laughton and Lanchester acting together once again but apart from that this one just disappointed considering the actors and nice Southern France location shoot (yes, Southern France doubled for Indonesia).

I don't recall exactly when I became a fan, although Witness for the Prosecution must have had something to do with it, so now I catch whatever I can of this wonderful, towering actor.

And, I was not disappointed with the Beachcombers, although the plot let me down, and I did not watch it all the way through.

That being said, Charles Laughton is riveting as usual and dead-on as a stumble bum. I always wonder if modern-day actors can emulate the truly greats, and my answer is essentially no they cannot because, first, there aren't the scripts today, which greatly enhance an actor's performance and, second, it doesn't matter because, perhaps with the exception of Leonardo, D. Washington, D. Hoffman, and perhaps a few others, no actors today can tie on the bootstraps of the actors of yesteryear.

Not considering the greats of the silent age (I'm thinking C. Chaplin, B. Keaton and H. Lloyd, all exceptional, and the many, fantastic character actors throughout cinema who added inestimable richness to many a movie, my personal favorites, and I know it's subjective, and I'm speaking of film presence including Charles Laughton, are: William Powell, Spencer Tracy, and Jack Lemmon. Heck, I'm not allowing myself to include Steve McQueen, one of my favorites because he is a notch below the above-mentioned, in my overly haughty assessment.

P.S. I'm sure I'm leaving someone of the list, and, by the way, I notice the inherent sexism of my comments, but I chalk most of it up to contemporary society where woman are not afforded the stardom or roles of men. Again, an overly presumptuous statement.