The Captain Hates the Sea

This oddly-named film is so titled because the captain (Water Connolly) states this fact as his ship sets sail. The actual film, however has little to do with its captain. The upshot Columbia Pictures' "The Captain Hates the Sea" is done in the storytelling style of MGM's "Grand Hotel" but with more of the humor attempted in "Dinner at Eight" - you will be able to cast the "Dinner at Eight" stars quite easily into this film. The main story involves police detective Victor McLaglen (as Junius P. Schulte) following slight-of-hand Fred Keating (as Danny Checkett) on ship, seeking some swiped bonds (they're as good as money). Mr. Keating is, in turn, trails pretty Helen Vinson (as Janet Grayson), and both men become rivals for her affection...

That may be the main story, but the focus of attention clearly falls on fourth-billed John Gilbert (as Steve Bramley)...

Mr. Gilbert plays an alcoholic writer from Hollywood, taking the cruise to quit drinking and start writing his great American novel. Gilbert gets a good amount of screen time, and was, if you had to pick one of the "ensemble" cast, the main star of "The Captain Hates the Sea". Most importantly, this was Mr. Gilbert's last appearance, as he would die prematurely, in just over a year. Gilbert's death has been linked to his chronic alcoholism, and he appears drunk in this film. Since the role calls for him to be drunk, you could say he utilized "method" acting. But, really, on close inspection, this this was a sad role for a dying man. One of his co-stars also appears inebriated, and most of the top-billed men in the cast were notorious drinkers...

Gilbert had built a fairly solid career, over a decade, but his popularity exploded in 1925, due to appearances in "The Merry Widow" and "The Big Parade". In these two productions, Gilbert advanced himself not only as a romantic star, but also as a serious actor. The quality of Gilbert's performance had advanced so that no less than Lillian Gish chose him to co-star in her next production. And, later, Greta Garbo insisted he be cast in "Queen Christina" (1934), which turned out to be Gilbert's last excellent production. "Queen Christina" was also a big "box office" hit, out-grossing all of the older Garbo/Gilbert films. His earlier sound films weren't bad, either - but Gilbert was no longer a superstar, and he didn't know how to be anything but one.

***** The Captain Hates the Sea (10/22/34) Lewis Milestone ~ John Gilbert, Victor McLaglen, Fred Keating, Helen Vinson

As another poster has stated, John Gilbert had taken to heavy drink after his dismissal from MGM for having a less-than-adequate speaking voice, at least according to Louis B. Mayer. Director Milestone convinced irascible Columbia Studio chief Harry Cohn to hire Gilbert for this movie, promising Cohn that he would keep Gilbert sober by shooting at sea, away from bars and nightclubs. Problem was, many of the other actors in this film also had tremendous thirsts- Victor McLaglen and Leon Errol, to name a couple- and they found ways to hide their bottles even while filming on water. It wasn't long before the drinking began holding up the shooting, prompting a telegram from the studio: "What's holding up production? The costs are staggering." To which Milestone replied: "So is the cast."

A sort of B version of Grand Hotel but on a cruise ship, The Captain Hates the Sea is fascinating for a couple of terrific performances among the wreckage of this film that seems badly directed because of the confusing plot.

A disparate group of people take a cruise and get involved in the petty squabbles of the crew as well as each other's messy lives. There's something about bonds and bad reputations and undercover cops but none of it makes much sense.

However, John Gilbert, in his final film, is magnificent as the drunk. His voice has never been better and how ironic that this great star, whose career was supposedly ruined by his lousy speaking voice, turns in yet another terrific performance in a talkie. For anyone who has seen Gilbert in this film or Downstairs, Queen Christina, or The Phantom of Paris, you know that Gilbert had no voice problems.

Here is suave and cool and funny in a William Powell sort of way, and he's just mesmerizing to watch. Also very good are Alison Skipworth as the bossy hostess, Helen Vinson as the bonds thief, Walter Connolly as the captain, Walter Catlett as the bartender, Donald Meek as the bearded passenger, Wynne Gibson as the woman with the past, Leon Errol as the ship's mate, Akim Tamriroff as the troubled man, and the Three Stooges as the ship's musicians.

Victor McLaglen and Fred Keating are also after the bonds while John Wray is defending his wife's honor. Claude Gillingwater and Emily Fitzroy are also along for the ride. Quite the cast.

Not a great film but certainly worth a look for the cast and for the superb John Gilbert.

Captain Hates the Sea, The (1934)

** (out of 4)

Disappointing comedy has pretty much been forgotten by everyone except for die-hard film buffs who will probably remember the film not for its quality but due to it running over budget thanks in large part to a cast full of drunks who spent more time drinking than actually acting. The GRAND HOTEL type story takes place on a ship where we get several small stories including a P.I. (Victor McLaglen) tracking some stolen bonds, a writer (John Gilbert) suffering from alcoholism and of course a Captain (Walter Connally) who is constantly making the life of his steward (Leon Errol) a mess. For a comedy this thing really lacks any laughs and perhaps the funniest quote took place off the film. If legend is true, Columbia president Harry Cohn telegraphed director Milestone saying, 'Return to studio. The cost is staggering.' The director would reply, "So is the cast!" Who knows if that's the truth or not but it's certainly funnier than anything else in this film, which is a shame because we're given a very talented cast and most turn in fine performances but in the end there's just not much anyone could do with this screenplay. Considering the troubled production, who knows if there was more to this story that hit the cutting room floor but we're left with a pretty big mess. It seems that the film struggles to connect all the stories but that doesn't matter too much because none of them are overly interesting. I'd say the most interesting one deals with Gilbert but at the same time you have to question why he was given this part. Well, considering John Barrymore was a major alcoholic and ended up spoofing it in his later films I guess you can see why director Milestone would want Gilbert for this role. He certainly looks in pretty rough shape and appears to have aged fifteen-years from what he looked like in a few of his earlier talkies but at the same time he's certainly giving it his all and actually manages to turn in a memorable performance, which would be his last. McLaglen will put a smile on your face in a few of the scenes as will Errol who is constantly getting into trouble. Alison Skipworth, Donald Meeks, Wayne Gibson, Fred Keating and Helen Vinson are some of the supporting performers and they too deliver fine work. The Three Stooges appear as band members but the studio gives them very little to do. In the end, this is a real disappointment considering the talent involved but I'm sure film buffs will get some mild entertainment out of seeing all these familiar faces in one place.

Lewis Milestone, ace director-for-hire, seems to have been having a terrible year in 1934: between the fascinating train wreck of HALLELUJAH I'M A BUM and this one, he seems to have, temporarily at least, lost his way.

Anyway, this picture is another fascinating failure because while there are many wonderful performers and performances in it -- Jack Gilbert, who would die shortly, was not the only actor whose career was on the slide and thus available on the cheap: Victor McLaglen and Wynne Gibson undoubtedly did not command as much money as they would have a few years earlier. Everyone gives fine performances, but they never quite come together as a whole, the way GRAND HOTEL does with its sense of fatality. THE CAPTAIN HATES THE SEA remains a series of vignettes linked by location. Perhaps too much landed on the cutting room floor.

Others have commented on Gilbert, so let me note one of my favorite talents behind the camera: Joseph August. In a third of a century as a director of photography, from William Hart westerns in the 'Teens through PORTRAIT OF JENNIE, he showed you beauty with every shot, and never -- or rarely -- so that you noticed the work that went into it. His traveling shots moved only to tell a story, his compositions focused your attention where it should be, his lighting let you see peoples' faces -- take a look at the Three Stooges, away from the flat light that they worked in for all their shorts. They are suddenly human beings for their few scenes here -- and August was one of the masters of framing. If you have the patience for a second viewing, notice how windows, plants, people, every detail changes the effective shape of the frame, often to superb psychological purpose.

To sum up, this movie as a whole does not work -- normally I would rate it a five out of ten, as another mediocre, derivative work. But the talent on display makes it substantially better than average.