The Sin Ship

I often wonder why a film that could have been very good turned out to be b-a-a-a-d. Is it the acting, directing or script? With this film, my premise is the direction....and, that holds for many films. The actors in 'Sin Ship' were adequate, especially Astor. When the captain lays a 'weak' punch on his first mate and later, a crew member, it is not poor special effects....it lies with the direction. The script is fine for an early 'talkie.' Could it be that directors had difficulty transitioning from silents to talkies? I don't see why. They were professionals, weren't they?

The TCM film was interesting for a dull, dreary early May day. It was not all that long a film so I had the opportunity to wash my Cadillac and garage it before the rains came and then prepare dinner while watching bits of other Astor films. Was Mary really that sensual, or is it sexual?

.Wolheim stars as Captain Sam McVey, a drunken, angry slob of a sea captain who agrees to provide transport on his ship to a supposedly moral and religious duo: Smiley Marsden (Ian Keith) and Frisco Kitty (Mary Astor). If the names haven't clued you in, the duo are actually crooks on the lam, but Kitty plays her pious ruse so well that Captain McVey decides to turn his own life around, quitting drinking and cleaning up his ship. What will happen when he learns the truth? Also featuring Hugh Herbert (who also scripted this), Russ Powell, and Alan Roscoe.

This was Wolheim's one and only directorial effort, and he stinks at it. The acting is either stiff or too florid, the camera set-ups dull and uninvolving, and the pace stagnant. Wolheim himself hated the process and swore never to repeat it, although he never had the chance, as he died before the film was released. TCM host Ben Mankiewicz was really amused by the character name Frisco Kitty.

Trying to stay one step ahead of the law Smiley Marsden and Frisco Kitty pose as missionaries and catch a ride on a tramp steamer to get off the mainland. The surly and brutish captain attempts to put the moves on Kitty who rebuffs and humiliates him with convincing piety. The captain attempts to reform because of it but goes into rage when he finds out the pious pair are a couple of crooks.

Sin Ship has an interesting if somewhat sloppy look in that much of it is filmed in the outdoors and on real decks, something rare for early sound. Actor/director Louis Wolheim as the captain and Ian Keith as Smiley are erratic in some but effective in other scenes while Hugh Herbert provides some comedy relief but it is Mary Astor who shoulders most of the film with a multi dimensional performance that digs deeper emotionaly than the rest of the cast .

Sin Ship is rudderless most of the time but it does offer some unexpected surprises that keeps it from going under completely.

Creaky, Stodgy Early Talkie with Mary Astor and Louis Wolheim the Attractions in this Stiff Love Story that has as its Romantic Interest a Couple as Unlikely as King Kong and Fay Wray. The Actors fair pretty well but the Story is just too Contrived and the Lack of Action, or Movement for that Matter, is Excruciating.

The Dialog, and there is a lot of it, is not that Remarkable and the Film just Plods along to a very Dull Conclusion. Wolheim, a most Striking Character Actor, sits in the Director's Chair on this one. There isn't much to Recommend here except for the Two Leads but even They are not Enough to pull this off into anything more than a Mediocre and Dated Time Waster.

THE SIN SHIP starring Mary Astor, is a quirky pre-code, early talkie star vehicle. Its great moment occurs within the first few minutes, when the jaded sea captain puts the move on his innocent passenger (Astor). After that, it's a mixed bag: technologically dated, blessed with a better-than-competent acting job by Astor, and doubly blessed with some tremendous over-acting by the other main characters. The film is still evocative after 70+ years but suffers from a sloppy ending, obviously tacked on to provide the desired emotional tone. If you want good plotting, this isn't your movie, but if you want an introduction to Mary Astor during her early talkie years this odd film is very suitable.