L'enfer

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.

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.

Guess I'll be on my best behavior from now on. If those fiery visions of Hell can intimidate an old heathen like me, think what they'd do at a Pat Robertson film festival. Still and all, those shapely babes doing a nude swan dive into liquid fire (beware sinners!) almost makes me believe misbehavior might be worth it. On the other hand, the many grotesques are enough to scare Beelzebub himself. I don't know how much the studio ponied up for the big scenes, but they're really well done with a cast of thousands amid roaring infernos.

The movie's basically a morality tale, showing one man's (Tracy) ruthless climb from bottom to top and learning his lesson after all. I really like the way Carter ingratiates himself socially into the upper class; just having big bucks is not enough. So he uses is well-honed entrepreneurial skills to grease the wheels. And, thanks reviewer Albertsanders for detailing how the story's basis lies in actual fact, surprising as that may seem.

My only complaint is the miracle ending. It sure doesn't comport with the events aboard ship. My guess is that it was a gesture to the newly formed Production Code. Or maybe it was just pandering to what the studio thinks audiences want. Either way, it undercuts a good story and maybe the best special effects of the time.

Dante's Inferno (1935)

*** (out of 4)

Impressive drama about a con man (Spencer Tracy) who gets a job at a carnival when an elderly man (Henry B. Walthall) hires him as a barker. The two men create the "Dante's Inferno" show, which Walthall uses to warn people but Tracy sees it as a way to get rich. Soon he will stop at nothing for the all mighty dollar but this will soon backfire when his wife (Claire Trevor) has to betray her own morals for him. There are a few faults in the film but overall this is a pretty strong little gem that contains three great sequences that make it a must see. The first one is the carnival attraction that has some rather amazing sets and terrific visuals. Another brilliant scene is the ending with a large ship catching fire. The third masterful touch is a famous sequence of Hell where we get to see thousands of people burning for eternity. All three of these scenes contain some thrilling entertainment and especially the sequence in Hell. I was really surprised to see how graphic some of these scenes where considering the Hayes Office was coming down on this type of thing. I also could have sworn there were a couple nude shots during this sequence but it was somewhat hard to tell. Another reason to watch this film are for the performances with Tracy delivering once again. The most impressive thing is that Tracy is so good at playing cold that you can't help but fall for everything he does in the film. He gets to show off a nicer side as well and he perfectly blends the two depending on the scene in question. Trevor is also in fine form as his wife and she gets some pretty good moments early on as her good ways must be thrown out the window in order to save her husband. Walthall turns in one of the best performances I've seen from him in the sound era and he actually steals the film from everyone. He's tour of Dante's Inferno is very good as is another sequence where he first meets Tracy's character. Rita Hayworth shows up at the end as a dancer so keep your eyes open for her. The film's major fault is that it gets too preachy at times and I think it goes a tad bit over the top in regards to some of the deeds that Tracy does. I think the film could have done without Hayworth's dance sequence as well as it really feels out of place with the rest of the film. And if you're keeping track with how many A-list Hollywood stars who appeared in blackface at some point in their career then you can add Tracy.

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.