Thunder Afloat

I'm giving this 6/10 mainly because anything with either Chester Morris or Wallace Beery is usually good viewing and this is no exception, but there are lots of problems with this one.

This is a film about WWI that is actually pro-war and anti-German, something you rarely saw in the 1930's at either end of the decade. At the beginning of the 1930's, before the rise of Hitler, people were still looking back at the pointlessness of WWI and most films presented it as such. At the end of the decade, American films avoided any direct criticism of the Nazis because the studios were afraid of losing German business for their films and also because so many of the studio moguls of the era were Jewish themselves and did not want to call attention to that fact due to anti-Semitic feelings both here and abroad.

What this film is basically doing is getting Americans accustomed to thinking of the Germans as the enemy without actually calling out Hitler's regime as the enemy. The film starts out with two rivals in the shipping business who are not afraid to resort to violence and sabotage (Chester Morris as Rocky Blake and Wallace Beery as John Thorson). The time is supposed to be the beginning of the entry of America into WWI, but our leads are hardly patriotic. Rocky is tricked by Thorson into joining the navy so that Thorson can rid himself of his competition, and Thorson later joins up himself because a German sub sinks his ship and he wants payback. Of course, Thorson finds himself under the command of Rocky, and time has healed no wounds on either side. The whole thing plays out rather formulaicly. If you don't know what I mean watch any film about the navy in which two enemies on land are forced to work together at sea against a common enemy.

The real problem here is the art design and the acting of one player that really gums up the works. First I'll discuss the art design. A common problem in the early talkies was that films set in the past had people wearing the fashions of "present day" - 1930 or so. By 1939 most studios were dressing their actors appropriately for the time period. This film has everyone dressed as though it is 1939, not 1917. Seeing Virgina Grey (as Thorson's daughter Susan) parade around in what appear to be knock-offs of Judy Garland's gingham dress from the Wizard of Oz can only conjure up visions of President Wilson in a zoot suit. This brings me to the second problem - Virginia Grey's acting. She's either talking like a gun moll - which doesn't go with the seafaring town setting - or she's bursting into tears like a twelve year old. She gets quite tiresome before it's all over and thus there's no way I can believe the purported build up of sexual tension between her character and Rocky.

Watch this one for Beery at his bellicose best, for Chester Morris when he was still in the angry phase of his acting career, and for the great naval action scenes. Just remember this probably was not an A-lister for MGM in 1939 and try to overlook the flaws.

Thunder Afloat (1939)

** (out of 4)

Tugboat captain John Thorson (Wallace Beery) tricks his rival Rocky Blake (Chester Morris) into joining the Navy so that he can get a big deal. However, the captain changes his mind about WW1 after his tugboat is struck by a German U-boat. It's important to note where the U.S. was during 1939 when WWII was a hot topic and this country wasn't certain whether they were going to join or not. It's clear that MGM and the producer's hearts were in the right place with THUNDER AFLOAT but I just found the thing to be way too stupid to be enjoyed. The film starts off like you're watching some sort of bad comedy and what we've basically got is Beery acting like his big bear self while he takes on Germany all by himself. There are some incredibly stupid scenes early on in this picture including one where Beery just punches the German U-boat captain and nothing really happens to him. Yeah right! Can you imagine what would happen to an American who punch a German captain? There are countless scenes where Beery just acts like a moron and I'm sure people ate it up in 1939 but when viewed today it just doesn't work. The entire film is rather flat as we watch Beery end up in the Navy where of course he meets up with his old pal Blake. This leads to Beery and Morris exchanging a bunch of quick lines but none of them work. Morris is one of my favorite forgotten actors but he's really not given too much to do. It tells you something when actors like Beery and Morris can't bring any life to a picture. Virginia Grey is good in her supporting role but she's not given too much to do. THUNDER AFLOAT has its heart in the right place but the mix of politics, comedy and action just never fully work.

"Thunder Afloat" is a very unusual film. Although it appears to be a film about WWI, it really seems to be about WWII. However, the US was officially neutral in 1939 and Congress actually enacted legislation forcing the studios to remain neutral (though this law clearly violated the US Constitution). So, studios were VERY apprehensive to speak out against Hitler and Nazis. But, by 1939 it appeared as if the US might be entering the war eventually and the human rights violations were too great to ignore--plus the war just broke out in Europe. So if you wanted to find an anti-Nazi film in the US in 1939, you'd be VERY hard-pressed to find one aside from the VERY brave "Confessions of a Nazi Spy" (1939). In order to bolster anti-German sentiment, "Thunder Afloat" shows Germans as evil...but this film is set in 1917, not 1939--a clever way to get around the stupid neutrality laws.

The film begins with an old tugboat captain (Wallace Beery) tricking his 'friend' (Chester Morris) into joining the Navy during WWI. However, soon Beery himself would join after his tugboat was sunk by a German sub. Beery is given command of a patrol boat but mucks it up badly. He won't take orders and acts as if he's a one-man Navy--and ends up is serious hot water with his commander--who is, incidentally, Morris!! Is there any redemption or will Beery just be a dope and the US lose eventually the war because of him? Is there any doubt! Again, like so many US military films made about that time, the MAJOR theme is teamwork--most notably the power of the group over the individual. However, the film manages to be both entertaining and fun--with a very rousing finish. So, despite following formula, it does so very well.

In a New England port, Pop Thorson (Wallace Beery) and his daughter Susan (Virginia Grey) struggle to save their small tug boat. They are certain that it was sunk by rival Rocky Blake. It's WWI and the US Navy is desperately recruiting men in the fight against the U-boat menace. The Thorsons decide to trick Rocky into enlisting and get a valuable contract for themselves. The Germans sink Pop's beloved boat and he vows revenge by signing up with the Navy.

The message is undeniable. Pop is a bombastic sailor who is more concerned about himself and his boat. This is a call to arms for everyone. I would change one thing. His daughter should be his son so that they can stay together after enlisting in the Navy. The best part is the use of some real boats and some good action. I really like the first battle where Pop is over-confident. Quite frankly, I would want the movie and the battle to finish it there. It seems set up for an epic back-and-forth battle. I'm less enamored with the decoy part. The second half is a bit too convoluted. I prefer something simpler.

Wallace beery had already won his oscar for the champ back in 1931. Chester morris was nominated for Alibi in 1929. And virginia grey, of course, was Pat in The Women. Here, Thorson and Blake (beery and morris) are arch rivals in the tug boat business. This was made over the summer of 1939, as world war two was hitting europe; this story actually takes place during world war one, as the card at the very beginning tells us. The U. S. wouldn't be yanked into world war two for another two years. When Thorson bumps into a german sub, they sink his boat. This prompts Thorson to sign up, and join Blake, who is already in the service. Can they take on the germans and keep the east coast waters safe? They certainly butt heads, at least at first. Thorson's daughter Susie (grey) wants Blake to take special care of her dad, but we know there's going to be a showdown at some point. Written by Ralph Wheelwright and Harvey Haislip. Directed by George Seitz. He directed a bunch of the andy hardy films. Died young at 56, morris will go on to be boston blackie in many of the chapters. This little film isn't bad! Covers a lot of ground. One question.. did they really have listening sound tubes to listen for subs in 1918? Maybe...