Outward Bound

Many years ago, I happened to catch a 1944 film called "Between Two Worlds" on television. Knowing that this was a remake of the seldom shown "Outward Bound", I was eager to see it,and I wasn't disappointed. Unfortunately, I have seen that version only once, but I do remember that the plot was striking and that Sydney Greenstreet, in a rare sympathetic role, was utterly memorable and just about stole the film.

Just this past Monday, I managed to finally see the original "Outward Bound". It turns out to be a beautifully photographed (by the great Hal Mohr) film with a striking use of light to create both an eerie effect and,at one point, a breathtaking otherworldly effect, something that Mohr would later win an Oscar for in the 1935 "A Midsummer Night's Dream".

As for the script, it is by far the best-written, most eloquent dialogue I have ever heard in an early talkie, rising very nearly to the level of poetry at times.The sound quality of the print that I saw(on TCM) was also quite good, with every word clearly intelligible.

But what unfortunately, and perhaps unavoidably, ages this movie, is the acting. Some of it (from Alison Skipworth) is quite good, and Leslie Howard, as Tom Prior, is excellent, as long as he is being a charming rogue.

But, the minute the plot starts to gain in intensity, his performance starts to fall apart and become unintentionally funny (something I definitely don't remember happening in "Between Two Worlds", where John Garfield played Tom Prior). There is a climactic moment, at which Howard finally guesses the secret of the voyage, when we can almost sense a first-act curtain descending, because of the way that Howard delivers his lines and the fact that the camera lingers on him several seconds as he stands frozen, a demented, uninentionally hilarious, pop-eyed expression on his face.

Other actors are also hammy, though they don't all reach the level that Howard does when he goes momentarily berserk. The lovers, played by Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and Helen Chandler, are actually worse, almost always wildly overacting, and Leslie Howard looks restrained compared to them. Montagu Love overdoes his pompous business tycoon,but he never quite gets to the point of being unbearable--he is actually supposed to be rather aggravating. Alec B.Francis is stilted and unremarkable as the ship's steward,and totally devoid of personality in comparison to the actor who would play his role in "Between Two Worlds"--Edmund Gwenn (Santa Claus himself in "Miracle on 34th Street").

The little-known Lyonel Watts is nearly unbearably unctuous and even whiny as a defrocked priest. But Dudley Digges, another member of the original cast, is quite good in the stern and mysterious role of Thompson,the Examiner--he seems to be one of the few early film actors who understood that acting for film and live theatre are different.

The film's direction has all the staginess of an early talkie---only a few imaginative camera movements, but those eerie lighting effects would have been difficult to duplicate on a stage in that era. There is no music except for the opening and closing credits, and this also dates the film, although it adds to the spooky atmosphere.

"Outward Bound" is certainly worth checking out, but despite what Leonard Maltin says, it is an unfortunately dated film, and its remake,"Between Two Worlds" seems more preferable.

Outward Bound (1930)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and Helen Chandler play lovers who commit suicide and then find themselves on an ocean liner with various other characters. None of them are quite sure where the boat is going but soon they learn that they're all dead and heading to Heaven or Hell. This film was based on a well known play, which was suppose to have been very good but it doesn't translate to the screen very well. The film opens up with over a minute of notes from the studio asking people not to laugh at the story and to take it seriously so you have to wonder if the studio itself was worried about the movie. The film is all dialogue, which naturally could kill the film and it partially does. The dialogue whenever the characters are just sitting around talking about typical things is quite boring and doesn't contain anything interesting. Whenever the people are talking about life and death then it comes to life somewhat but the film eventually goes on way too long. There are a few nice twists at the end but the actual ending is a letdown but I'm not sure if it was changed from the original play. Fairbanks Jr., and Chandler deliver fine performances as does the rest of the cast including Leslie Howard as a drunk. The film was later remade as Between Two Worlds with John Garfield.

After seeing "Between Two Worlds" the 1944 remake of this movie, it is safe to say that both have their own merits. This film, made early in the talkie era reflects the effects of transitioning to sound from silents. The acting is stagey, overdone and very overdramatic. The players seems ill at ease probably due to the presence of the microphone and also from the fact that some were stage actors where the exaggerated gesture was appropriate. The story, adapted from the stage play, looks like what it is....a stage play. But the cinematography is wonderful, light and dark clearly deliniated; shadows which give it a very eerie look. It has such a great story line....passengers on a ship going to Heaven or Hell without their knowledge....that it holds interest in spite of some of the emoting that takes place. Leslie Howard goes over the edge in the scene where he realizes what is happening and it borders on comedic. Frankly, he is just not very good in this part. John Garfield plays in much more realistically in the 1944 film. Montagu Love, as the business man of shady reputation can't hold a candle to the wonderful George Colouris who played that part in the remake. The less said about Doug Jr. and Helen Chandler as the young lovers the better. One has to remember that this is a very early movie and those of us who love early cinema are prepared for the mannered acting that was often seen during this time in movie history. It is worth seeing; in fact, see this one and then see the remake. You might like the remake better but give the original a chance. You may like it.

One film is a mesmerising surreal experience whereas the other is an unbelievable overacted ridiculous compilation of cliches. Surprisingly it's OUTWARD BOUND that's the better film.

Despite what some people have said, OUTWARD BOUND is nothing like a filmed stage play. It is hampered by being made using Warner's cumbersome restrictive Vitaphone system but apart from that it has a fantastically atmospheric almost dreamlike quality which is exactly what such a story needs.

BETWEEN TWO WORLDS' style is just wrong for this type of picture. Yes it's filmed better, the story and characters are more fully developed but by trying to make it realistic, normal and natural, the premise comes across as ridiculous. For this to work, it can't be realistic, it can only be credible within a mysterious dreamworld where everyone is acting really weirdly - like they do in the original.

The acting in the older film is purposefully strange - after all they've just discovered that they're dead. Considering that it was his first film, Leslie Howard is superb and strangely believable as the tortured, troubled soul. John Garfield playing the same role in the remake however seems to think he's in a New York gangster flick and his cynical 1940s hard-boiled reporter is one of the most clichéd performances I've ever seen. That's the other problem with the 'new' version: everyone is a stereotypical caricature. The baddies are over the top nasty, the lovers are sickeningly sweet and as for the 'comedy vicar'! Worst of all is Sara Allgood as a dear little old Irish lady - I feel sorry for Garfield - eternity in the fires of hell almost seem preferable to having to live with her for ever.

It's understandable why the story had to be changed for the remake. Attitudes had changed hugely since the 1920s so it would not have made sense for the 1940s young couple to kill themselves for the same reason as their earlier incarnations. Being made in the middle of the Second World War again influenced that film's mood. Death then was a familiar visitor to us then so one can understand the over sentimental approach which was particularly appealing to a war ravaged world.

Although OUTWARD BOUND is more interesting with its moody, slightly stoned feel, the somewhat hammy remake has one significant advantage - the perpetually lacklustre Helen Chandler is replaced by Eleanor Parker. Not only is she a million times better as an actress, she is stunningly beautiful and a pretty face really does make an imperfect film more watchable.

The theme of ferrying the dead through the final judgment to the afterlife was actually done much better in the excellent BBC tv show, LIFE ON MARS / ASHES TO ASHES but nevertheless it's fascinating to see how such a theme was presented in the past.

A group of assorted persons find themselves on a ship bound for no conceivable destination. Little do they know, that they are all dead and sailing towards judgment in this evocative and moving psychological drama about life and death.

The script-which was based off a broadway play-is very well done. The final results are still stagey and the whole movie seems to take place in one room, but because of the brisk pace and timeless themes of life, death, and what happens after you die there is never a dull or slow moment in the movie. It's dramatization of life after death is mesmerizing and still holds up after all these years. This is Leslie Howard's (Gone with the Wind) first American film, he acted in the stage version of this film, so his acting tends to be on the melodramatic side. Of the young couple, Helen Chandler (Dracula) gives the better performance. Douglas Fairbanks Jr. brings down Chandler's tragic intensity and the young couple story line with his over-the-top performance. As for the rest of the cast, some performances are better than others, but no performance gets too melodramatic to the point where it's distracting from the great story or the eerie, almost scary, atmosphere. I saw this movie on TCM recently and I noticed that it is not available on DVD or VHS and I think that's a real shame. Overall: a very thought-provoking, atmospheric, early-talkie drama. Would be great for rainy days. Beryl Mercer (Public Enemy), Lyonal Watts, Alison Akipworth, and Slec B. Francis also star.

*** out of ****