Transatlântico

Saw Transatlantic on June 23 at a special screening at AFI/Silver, in the glorious restored Art Deco Silver Theater. In a joint presentation with the Art Deco Society of Washington an audience of almost 300 people enjoyed a restored copy of a little know early talking film Transatlantic. I was expecting a film like many of the early 30's films, a little slow, flat sets, and a thin story line. I was stunned to watch a fast paced, gripping story line that was definitely Pre Code, with a touch of Noir, and had stunning sets. Its called Grand Hotel on the Ocean, which is a bit unfair. You can see the similarities but this is a piece on its own. The gorgeous Art Deco furnishings, wood work, and grills, the flashing directional signage, exuberant jazz music, and costumes that would be popular today. There is infidelity, corruption, theft, and raspberry pie. The finally is a cat and mouse chase scene through a multi tiered engine room with tracking shots that is as good as any CGI super hero film today. A really amazing and superior film for its time, and you definitely see the talents of James Wong in its design. The AFI presentation included a pre film lecture by Christian Roden on early 20th century ocean liners and how the Liner companies updated their interior designs from the English country house look to the very latest cutting edge designs that are now referred to as Art Deco. The lecture provide helpful context on an industry now known more for Caribbean cruises than necessary and elegant transportation. Pay particular attention to a montage of scenes when the ship is going through high seas - couples on a dance floor and elegantly clad ladies falling down steps provide a look at how the real transatlantic crossing passengers braved high seas in practiced good humor. Many thanks to MoMa for the restoration. They made the overlap transition to subtitle, in sections where dialogue is missing, seamless to the viewer. Many thanks to all the technicians who pulled together the many foreign copies to recreate this film. Many in last nights audience wanted to know if the film would be shown again, and when it will be released for sale. We all want to see it again and again, and hit pause to admire the sets. If you have a chance to see this film, it is worth the time and effort. .

Let me begin by thanking everyone involved in the recent rescue and restoration of this film. Like so many releases from the Fox Studio, 'Transatlantic' in its original form was lost to posterity due to a 1937 film vault explosion in New Jersey. The original negative was destroyed, and for many years the only known surviving print was one found in Europe, dubbed in French. The credits and all written inserts (newspaper headlines, etc.) were in French as well. But in recent years an almost complete audio recording of the English language soundtrack was recovered, and subsequently new credits and inserts were created which closely match the originals. 'Transatlantic' is once more being screened in a version fairly close to its original release print. Unfortunately, a few random moments of the soundtrack remain missing, but those brief passages have been bridged by subtitles.

Was all this effort worthwhile? Absolutely! 'Transatlantic' is a terrific movie, a first rate popcorn flick, especially impressive as a product of the early talkie era. If you didn't know it was produced in 1931 you'd guess it was done much later: the editing tempo is brisk, camera work is smooth and unconstrained, and the performances are sharp. There's no sign of the slow pacing or awkwardness one sometimes finds in films of this era. The opening sequence, when the ship where most of the action takes place sets sail, serves as an exciting, beautifully edited introduction to our main characters. And once the voyage is underway, several storylines are deftly juggled, in a tight scenario that builds to a genuinely suspenseful finale.

As others have mentioned, this is essentially 'Grand Hotel' on the high seas. (It was produced the year before MGM's famous film, but two years after the publication of that film's source novel.) Edmund Lowe plays Monty Greer, a character rather like John Barrymore's familiar jewel thief. He's a debonair gambler, embarking on this voyage one step ahead of the law, but we know he's a decent sort because he refuses to throw in with a gang of ruthless crooks also on board the ship. They've set their sights on wealthy financier Henry Graham (John Halliday), who has absconded with funds one step ahead of his bank's failure. Graham, for his part, keeps his wife Kay (Myrna Loy) at a distance while he steps out with his mistress Sigrid (Greta Nissen), who is also on board. Sigrid, as it happens, was formerly on intimate terms with Monty. He, meanwhile, befriends kindly old Mr. Kramer (Jean Hersholt) who has worked hard for many years as a lens grinder while raising his daughter Judy (Lois Moran). At long last Mr. Kramer is able to retire and travel-but his life's savings are kept in Henry Graham's bank, and its failure, which Kramer hears about during the voyage, means that he's wiped out.

Those are the central plot threads. It may sound complicated, but it all unfolds neatly and clearly as the ship sails on. There are occasional touches of comedy relief as well, frequently provided by a steward named Hodgkins (played by silent comedy veteran Billy Bevan), whose conversation consists of windy, oft-repeated platitudes. And, as noted above, the various story threads build to a highly suspenseful climax, a shoot-out in the ship's boiler room that is a dazzling cinematic tour-de-force. Kudos to director William K. Howard, cinematographer James Wong Howe, and editor Jack Murray for their work on this film. And again, many thanks to the restoration artists who helped make this delightful flick available once more!

We are introduced to a cast of characters about a cruise ship and I'm afraid it is not clear whose story we are following. Their lives are inter-linked so just go along with the story even if you are not entirely sure what it is about and who is holding down the main plot. The film also seems to have been made in French and some of the scenes have sections where actors speak but no dialogue is heard as well as a scene early on when Edmund Lowe first appears on the ship and reads a newspaper headline which is written in French. They should have given a translation for this as it is important to your understanding of the film. It says that police are hunting someone down and that someone is Lowe. Now that you know this, the end scene will make sense and you will understand his character a bit more and how come he has certain acquaintances on board the ship.

The story itself is ok if a little confusing at first nd provides tense moments especially when Lowe and floozy Greta Nissen (Sigrid) come face to face outside the cabin of wealthy John Halliday (Henry) whom everyone seems to have a motive for killing. There is a shoot-out at the end but I find these kind of endings rather tiresome - bang bang - someone gets shot. Boring. The ship's décor is interesting, though.

A pretty fair movie -- look for Myrna Loy as she begins her ascent to Queen of Hollywood. The real star for me in Jame Wong Howe's magnificent photography, lovely deep focus work ten years before Greg Toland 'revolutionized' pictures with it.

Though this does go a bit off course from time time, a boat - like a train - does provide for quite a good stage for an engaging mystery peppered with loads of melodrama. "Greer" (Edmund Lowe) is the suave and debonaire gent who hopes to make an easy living on the cards and on the roulette wheels abroad this liner. He quickly becomes aware of a cunning wheeze by a gang of crooks to relieve wealthy tycoon "Graham" (John Halliday) of some of his wealth but declines to get involved. "Halliday" is not so happily married to "Kay" (Myrna Loy) and so keeps mistress "Sigrid" (Greta Nissen) in the style to which she wishes to remain accustomed. That brings us full circle because she and "Greer" have some history together. Things become distinctly choppier on board when news reaches all that the financier's bank has gone bust and that has devastating effects on poor old "Kramer" (Jean Hersholt) who is travelling with his daughter "Judy" (Lois Moran) and who is now completely broke. What now ensues is quite an entertaining marriage of the criminal, the comedic - especially the steward (Billy Bevan) with his shallow obsequiousness - and the lightly romantic. As the threads tie together these characters have to reconcile the bankruptcy and the infidelities - all before the ship docks and they can all go their merry ways. It's really more of an ensemble effort with a competent Lowe at the top of the bill holding together the conflicting themes and whilst I could maybe have done with a little more of Loy, it still looks good and flows well enough - if predictably - for eighty minutes before quite a lively denouement deep in the gunwales. I suppose the "code" would have put paid to it had it been made three years later - too many sinful and naughty shenanigans.