Anime sul mare

Although not in the same lofty class as William Wyler, Alfred Hitchcock, Billy Wilder or Fred Zinnemann, Henry Hathaway remains one of my favorite Hollywood directors. I particularly like CALL NORTHSIDE 777, RAWHIDE and NIAGARA, but will quickly add that I found SOULS AT SEA a gem.

For starters, Gary Cooper and Frances Dee were at the height of their physical beauty, in addition to punching in terrific performances - Cooper always with a comic touch, Dee delightful in every nuance of her lovely eyes.

They are ably seconded by George Raft, Cooper's chum and a rather uneducated but senior shiphand who picks up some cultural pointers from Cooper and ends with sensitive, even sentimental moments.

Terrific enmical exchanges between Cooper and Henry Wilcoxon as Dee's devious brother. The two have issues over slavery, which the former actively sabotages and the latter sees as a major income opportunity.

Glorious B&W cinematography from Merrit Gerstad and Charles Lang, with terrific sequences at sea, notably as the little girl inadvertently starts a fire and the bad ship William Brown goes down.

The screenplay by Grover Jones and Dale Van Every includes some highly comic scenes, such as when Cooper, Dee and Wilcoxon all have hiccups at the same time, some very touching ones between Raft and love interest Olympe Bradna, and some very tragic decisions that Cooper has to make as the ship sinks.

Despite narrative ups and downs, the production values are very high, and the film remains engrossing throughout. 7/10.

Gary Cooper (Nuggin) is on trial for manslaughter at sea. He is accused of playing God and deciding who lives and who dies on a sinking ship in the Atlantic Ocean. The verdict is pronounced and then George Zucco (Woodley) steps forward to give a statement and we head into flashback for the film's story. It is one that is set on the seas and involves slavery versus anti-slavery, romance and is partly a buddy-buddy movie with Cooper and his friend George Raft (Powdah). There is also tragedy and the story is based on an incident that set a precedent in maritime law.

It's an entertaining film with twists as to who is doing what so pay attention. It also has an interesting angle due to the legal significance of the story, and all the cast play their roles well. If you take note at the beginning of the film during the prosecutor's speech in the court case, he mentions some of those who didn't survive the tragedy. We will be introduced to these characters when the film moves onto the doomed ship.

Would you throw people out of a lifeboat to ensure the survival of at least some of them rather than the death of all of them? Every man for himself or do passengers come first? Why not just fly instead?

Some of the events in "Souls at Sea" were inspired by a shipwreck in about 1840. However, despite appearances, it's clearly a highly fictionalized version of history and really doesn't claim to be a true story.

When the story begins, Nuggin (Gary Cooper) and Powdah* (George Raft) are serving aboard a slave ship. Although slavery was still legal in the States, it was illegal to import slaves...and the British navy enforced a blackade of slavers. If they caught them, the men serving aboard the slave ships were prosecuted...so you'd assume that the two men are evil. But you cannot have a film with slavers being the heroes...even back in 1937. Well, it turns out that Nuggin is actually working on his own as an anti-slaver....and he's had a history of scuttling these ships and setting the poor slaves free. As a result, he is made an undercover operative for the British...and his task involves getting to America as soon as possible to set a trap for other slave ships. But Nuggin's arch nemesis (Henry Wilcoxon) is also bound for the States to stop him...and they're aboard the same ship! What's next? Well, a lot!!

Apart from an interesting plot, the film benefits from good acting and some amazing shipwreck scenes....truly spectacular. Overall, a wonderful adventure film that isn't perfect (Raft seemed mostly wasted and in the way during most of the film), but is nevertheless well worth seeing.

* Who thought of these insane names?! Huh!??!

I was hoping for a melodrama instead, but the emphasis here is on the narrative rather than on action. But I am pleased to report that my headline is accurate, because "Souls At Sea" is a very interesting story about a subject barely touched upon in Hollywood's long, colorful history. Reading through other reviewers takes on the film, it qualifies more accurately as a semi-historical drama, although not the first story Hollywood has taken liberties with. The temptation is to call "Souls At Sea" a 'seafaring yarn', but, as I said, it is heavy on talk and light on second unit work.

In any case, this offbeat movie has Gary Cooper faced with a moral dilemma as an abolitionist involved in the slave trade in the middle of the 19th century. His sidekick is George Raft, in as sympathetic a role as he ever had and one of his best acting jobs (never one of his strong points). Frances Dee is an ingenue on board the ship in question, and George Zucco plays a good guy for a change. Particularly effective is the background music which won an AA nomination for composer Milan Roder. Henry Wilcoxon is an effective bad guy and Olympe Bradna, whose film appearances were too few, is touching as a maidservant and love interest for George Raft.

Very well done, as is the norm with a Henry Hathaway picture. The story is so absorbing that the viewer nearly forgets about the lack of action scenes, and is well worth my rating of seven.

Here is a film that inexplicably has been given little exposure to modern audiences. Paramount threw in a lot of its top talent to tell a good story with drama, humor and lots of action.

Nuggin Taylor (Cooper) has waged a one-man war against slaves ships in the 1840s. His best friend Powdah (Raft) has been a slaver, if a half-hearted one, for years. The two board a packet from Liverpool to America in a plot to undermine the slave shipping lines, but also on board is their main nemesis and his sister. Naturally Taylor has a "thing" for the sister. When a tragic accident befalls the ship, Taylor must take drastic action to save passengers and is ultimately charged with multiple murders.

Cooper again plays the aw-shucks persona he perfected but here combines it with the literate, committed character of Nuggin. Note that in the lengthy opening sequence he says nothing, but is the center point of every word. Raft, who was always at his best for Henry Hathaway, gets crimped hair and an earring and the package works for the uneducated, footloose Powdah, who is ironically terrified of water. Raft's trademark unblinking stare is used to great effect and even humor. Copper and Raft, who sing together so pleasantly here, remained good friends after making this film.

The picture took three photographers. Estimable Charles Lang split the cinematography duties with Merritt Gerstad. Gordon Jennings was in charge of the special photographic effects in the climactic ship disaster. Their decisions were mostly excellent. Especially effective were the constant tilted angles aboard ship. The black-and-white filming offers up rich tones and texture, instantly setting the stage with the slave cargo sequence. The action scenes are outstandingly photographed and executed.

In period pieces, Hollywood tends to go overboard with layers of decorations. In 'Souls at Sea' art directors Hans Dreier and Roland Anderson are magnificently restrained and very accurate. That and A.E. Freudeman's interior decoration make the film seem really in Philadelphia, really in Liverpool and really on board a ship in 1842.

This is a great example of Hathaway's work, weaving appropriate humor into the human drama and relationships. There is an amusing montage as Taylor is scouring Liverpool for Powdah, and that relationship's integrity is maintained throughout.

This is a classic well worth making the effort to find.