Outward Bound

The cast's dramatic performance style reflects that of serious stage dramas of the time. Over all, the feel of this movie is very "English" when compared to the crudely mannered World War II era remake.

I was swept up into the young couple's dilemma. The dramatic tension of this (the original) version, is so finely honed that I found myself sitting on the edge of my chair, nervously biting my nails, on the verge of tears. The 1930s was truly the golden age of movies.

Massive stage hit was an early talkie starring Leslie Howard as a man who finds himself on a ship that is "outward bound." Stunning dialog and beautiful cinematography help this allegorical tale of passengers stranded onboard a mysterious ship. A huge stage hit in London and New York, Outward Bound was am ambitious talkie for 1930 and features some wonderful performances (a bit stagy, but wonderful) from Howard as well as the great and underrated Alison Skipworth. Also good are Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Beryl Mercer, Helen Chandler, Alec P. Francis, Dudley Digges, and Montagu Love. Lyonel Watts is a bit much as the vicar. This was remade in the late 40s as Between Two Worlds, starring John Garfield and Eleanor Parker.

Leslie Howard always seemed to be wasted in blah film roles and its nice to see him here in a worthy role. And Skipworth is a total delight in any film you can catch her in...... Here she plays a most unusual part, and plays it beautifully. All her little hmmms and gutteral sounds add fathoms to the dialog. And note her first name is misspelled in the opening credits.

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 ****

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.

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.