Thu 3 Dec 2009
A Movie Review by Walter Albert: TRANSATLANTIC (1931).
Posted by Steve under Films: Drama/Romance , Reviews[3] Comments
TRANSATLANTIC. Fox, 1931. Edmund Lowe, Greta Nissen, John Halliday, Myrna Loy, Jean Hersholt, Lois Moran, Billy Bevan. Story: Guy Bolton; photography: James Wong Howe. Director: William K. Howard. Shown at Cinecon 40, Hollywood CA, September 2004.
Another rough print (the program notes warned of this) and hardly of the interest of The Letter (reviewed here ) this “Grand Hotel on an ocean liner” (as the notes more or less put it) was an entertaining trifle, owing to a good cast, some fine photography by James Wong Howe, and a serviceable, melodramatic story.
Edmund Lowe is a gent of dubious moral values who’s skipping out of the country but who ironically finds himself becoming the moral center of a series of little dramas, shot through with crime and attempted murder.
The most striking part of the film is a climactic chase up and down and around the massive structures of the ship’s boiler room. A really nice print of this might show off the film to better advantage but I’m not convinced that it has (as the program notes claim) “all the ingredients for one of the greats!”
N. B.: Charlie Shibuk commented to me that he saw the screening of a beautiful 35mm print some 15 years ago at the Museum of Modern Art, and he still agrees with my summation.
December 3rd, 2009 at 2:12 am
That is one young Myrna Loy and Edmund Lowe pic. Almost didn’t recognize either of them. Interesting sounding film.
For some reason Lowe specialized in playing detectives. If you can find it check him out in The Seven Sinners (not to be confused with the Marlene Dietrich, John Wayne film of the same name)based on the barn burning Brit play The Wreckers.
December 3rd, 2009 at 11:42 am
Yes, that’s a publicity photo for TRANSATLANTIC all right. I thought I’d better add the captioning — just in case!
December 3rd, 2009 at 2:59 pm
I have a half-decent VHS of this, and the climactic prowl through the ship’s innards is indeed impressive. Also a very evocative still from that scene is offered in the books SIN IN SOFT FOCUS and HOLLYWOOD CAMERAMEN. In all, a film I really enjoyed.