The 1930s was a terrible decade for black actors in films in many ways. Considering the popularity of the caricatures played by the likes of Steppin Fetchit and Willie Best, it would seem that most studios saw black people as slightly less than people. There were a few examples, such as Hattie McDaniel receiving an Oscar for her performance in "Gone With the Wind" (though she did play a slave) and this film, "Slave Ship". While I wouldn't exactly call this movie the best in portraying blacks as people...it was way ahead of most films of the day.
When the film begins, you see a heavy-handed scene where it's meant to illustrate that the ship in the picture is cursed. After the deaths of many of its crew due to illnesses and accidents, the ship is sold very cheaply. The new mission of this merchant ship is to illegally transport slaves to America--something banned both by the British and United Stares for most of the 19th century. Captain Lovett (Warner Baxter) and his crew are out to illegally transport more Africans to a life of slavery. The Captain seems to hate this life...but he does it and is responsible for much wickedness. As for his crew, his First Mate (Wallce Beery) seems to adore the life!
Following this trip, the Captain meets a decent lady and falls in love. He decides to give up the life and go straight--transporting normal commercial goods instead of slavery. However, after order his First Mate to fire the old crew and hire all new non-slavers, he is tricked...and soon after the ship with him and his bride leaves port, he finds he is no longer in charge of the ship and the Mate intends for them to return to Africa for more slaves! At the risk of his life and that of his bride, the Captain fights his men and tries to do the right thing. But it's just him and an inexperienced woman against an entire crew! What are their chances?
The acting is good and it's obvious Twentieth Century-Fox must have seen this as a premier project since it borrowed Beery and Mickey Rooney (two big stars at the time) from MGM to make this picture. The film doesn't go far enough by today's standards to preach against the evils of slavery but it is still quite compelling and worth your time. I particularly liked Beery in this one as he apparently was playing himself....and did it quite well.
