South of Suez

GEORGE BRENT was never more stoic in giving a wooden performance than he is in this programmer in which he and BRENDA MARSHALL have almost no chemistry together. Marshall is a strictly by-the-numbers sort of actress with severe limitations and never made it to full-fledged stardom. See her in this one and you'll understand why.

Surprisingly, the most vivid performance in the film is given by LEE PATRICK as the wife of greedy gold-miner owner (GEORGE TOBIAS) who sets Brent up for the murder of a fellow miner who discovered a diamond Tobias covets. Her courtroom scene toward the end gives her a chance to emote in Ida Lupino style. Only eight years later she would be one of the almost unrecognizable inmates of THE SNAKE PIT.

All of the sets look like leftovers from THE LETTER which took place on a rubber plantation. Still, for all its faults, this little programmer delivers some interesting melodramatic moments.

And a scene-stealing monkey supplies some much needed humorous moments.

The plot of "South of Suez" is something you simply cannot use any more. After all, the diamond miners in South Africa and other parts of the continent have developed a horrid reputation for mistreating the workers. However, when the film debuted in 1940, folks didn't know or particularly care about this...and so having a diamond miner being the leading man was not unusual but you won't see in the 21st century.

When the story begins in Tanzania, you see that mine owner Eli Snedeker (George Tobias) is a cruel and vicious man. Soon he and his foreman, John Gamble (George Brent) have a falling out and Gamble is thrilled to stop working for this monster. At about the same time, Snedeker is about to cheat a man out of his mine...and Gamble comes to his aid and becomes his partner. You know that sooner or later, the evil Snedeker will do something to try to exact revenge on Gamble...even though Gamble is a decent and honorable man.

When this film began, I was shocked to see George Tobias playing the vicious Snedeker. Tobias was known for playing 'nice guy' roles as well as the Stevens' neighbor, Abner, on "Bewitched"...hardly the type to be a murderous villain! But Tobias was good in this juicy role.

So is this any good? Yes. The story certainly is unusual as well as interesting...and is much like like "Jubal", which is a reworking of the Biblical story of Joseph! See the film and you might see what I mean. My only quibble was the ending...when one of the characters behaved in such an uncharacteristic manner...that was just poorly written. And, despite what the judge said, a wife CAN testify against her husband...she cannot be compelled to do so but can do it if she wants! Still, despite this sloppy ending, it's worth seeing.

John Gamble (George Brent) ends up befriending Smythe, who has a diamond mine, but is drunk most of the time. When Snedecker (George Tobias) knocks off Smythe, he blames it on Gamble, who is now on the run, trying to clear his name. he meets up with Limey (the awesome Eric Blore !) and they return to england. it turns out, there WAS a witness to the murder, but will the witness come forward and stand up for Gamble in time? this one goes all over the map. Brenda Marshall is the love interest. It's a U.S. film from Warner Brothers, but the court scene takes place in London! it's all pretty good. we were deep in the film code, so we know how the story will go, according to formula. directed by Lewis Seiler, right in the middle of his directing career. good stuff.

I'd consider this to be one of my Top 10 all-time favorites. George Tobias' avaricious character is as wicked as can be, especially earlier in the movie...while George Brent's comes to the rescue of the poor indigenous African worker.... George Brent would have been one of my very favorites if I were around in his heydays. Virtually all the great '40s movies (the very best decade for films, American and British, in particular) I've seen on TCM, online...in recent years. This one was released about a decade before I was born so I missed it in theaters.... This movie is one of a dozen or so that I love to watch every now and then....

George Brent is helping Miles Mander mine diamonds and ease off the bottle, so he can return to England and his daughter, Brenda Marshall. But George Tobias finds out where Mander hides his diamonds, and kills him; Brent is already on his way to cash out for both of them, so Tobias claims Brent killed his friend and stole the gems he had already sold to Tobias.

There's a second act which involves Eric Blore, but it's all rather silly and horsey. Visually, the movie peaks during Brent's escape from the pursuing colonials. It's a thoroughgoing programmer from Warner Brothers, and Brent isn't the man to bring it off; it had originally be offered to George Raft, but he turned it down, giving yet another actor a chance to make good. Raft's judgment about these things wasn't particularly good, but surely doing a few programmers would have kept him on the Warners' good side, less anxious to kick him out when Bogie made good. Brent may have been no star, but he keeps things going, and the studio gloss does the rest.