China Seas (1935)

Director:

Tay Garnett

Writers:

Jules Furthman (screen play) and
James Kevin McGuinness (screen play) ...
(more)

Release Date:

16 August 1935 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Adventure | Romance

Plot:

When earthy Dolly Portland is rejected by Captain Gaskell in favor of a socialite, she aids Jamesy McCardle, in league with Malay pirates, in his plot to seize his ship.

Plot Keywords:

Captain | Ship | Pirate | Socialite | English

Cast

Clark Gable	...	Alan Gaskell
Jean Harlow	...	China Doll
Wallace Beery	...	Jamesy MacArdle
Lewis Stone	...	Davids
Rosalind Russell	...	Sybil
Dudley Digges	...	Dawson
C. Aubrey Smith	...	Sir Guy
Robert Benchley	...	McCaleb
William Henry	...	Rockwell
Liev De Maigret	...	Mrs. Vollberg (as Live de Maigret)
Lilian Bond	...	Mrs. Timmons (as Lillian Bond)
Edward Brophy	...	Timmons
Soo Yong	...	Yu-Lan
Carol Ann Beery	...	Carol Ann
Akim Tamiroff	...	Romanoff
Ivan Lebedeff	...	Ngah
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Harry C. Bradley	...	(scenes deleted)
Charles Coleman	...	(scenes deleted)
Edward McWade	...	(scenes deleted)
Daisy Belmore	...	Martha, Sybil's Maid (uncredited)
Barlowe Borland	...	Willett, Royal Canada Bank (uncredited)
Emily Fitzroy	...	Mrs. Higgins (uncredited)
Pat Flaherty	...	Second Officer Kingston (uncredited)
Willie Fung	...	Cabin Boy Ah Sing (uncredited)
Chester Gan	...	Rickshaw Boy (uncredited)
Tom Gubbins	...	Ship's Officer / Sergeant of the Guards (uncredited)
Forrester Harvey	...	Chief Steward Ted Gary (uncredited)
John Ince	...	Ship's Pilot (uncredited)
Charles Irwin	...	Bertie the Purser (uncredited)
Tetsu Komai	...	Malay Pirate (uncredited)
Eddie Lee	...	Sailor on Bridge (uncredited)
Richard Loo	...	Chinese inspector at gangplank (uncredited)
Hattie McDaniel	...	Isabel McCarthy, Dolly's Maid (uncredited)
Malcolm McGregor	...	Atkins, Dock Manager (uncredited)
Donald Meek	...	Passenger Playing Chess (uncredited)
Ferdinand Munier	...	Police Superintendent (uncredited)
Beatrice Roberts	...	Ship's Passenger (uncredited)
James Wang	...	Trapshooting Attendant (uncredited)
Bobby Watson	...	Man on Dock with McCaleb (uncredited)

Directed by
Tay Garnett

Writing credits
Jules Furthman		(screen play) and
James Kevin McGuinness		(screen play)
Crosbie Garstin		(from the book by)
Paul Bern		contributor to story (uncredited)
Paul Hervey Fox		contributor to dialogue (uncredited)
Monckton Hoffe		early script writer (uncredited)
John Lee Mahin		contributor to screenplay construction (uncredited)
Maurice Revnes		early script writer (uncredited)

Produced by
Albert Lewin	....	associate producer
Irving Thalberg	....	executive producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Herbert Stothart

Cinematography by
Ray June		(photographed by)

Film Editing by
William LeVanway		(film editor)

Art Direction by
Cedric Gibbons

Costume Design by
Adrian		(gowns)

Production Management
Joe Cohn	....	production manager (uncredited)
Frank Messenger	....	unit manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Harold S. Bucquet	....	second unit director: mob scenes (uncredited)
James C. McKay	....	second unit director: night water scenes (uncredited)
Joseph M. Newman	....	assistant director (uncredited)
William A. Wellman	....	second unit director: pirate scenes (uncredited)

Art Department
James Curtis Havens	....	associate art director (as James Havens)
David Townsend	....	associate art director
Edwin B. Willis	....	associate art director
Elmer Sheeley	....	assistant to art director (uncredited)

Sound Department
Douglas Shearer	....	recording director

Special Effects by
Warren Newcombe	....	special effects (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
James Basevi	....	miniatures (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Clyde De Vinna	....	director of photography: second unit (uncredited)
Ellsworth Fredericks	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
Ray Ramsey	....	assistant camera (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Eugene Joseff	....	jeweller (uncredited)

Music Department
Paul Marquardt	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Charles Maxwell	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Leonid Raab	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Jack Virgil	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
Chick Collins	....	double: Clark Gable (uncredited)
Loretta Rush	....	double: Jean Harlow (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (presents) (controlled by Loew's Incorporated)

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1935) (USA) (theatrical)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1993) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1994) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

87 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | USA:Approved (PCA #899) | Canada:PG (video rating) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | USA:TV-G (TV rating)

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

The film was banned in Malaya and Singapore.

Quotes:

Jamesy MacArdle:Lovin' you is the only decent thing I ever did in my entire life. And even that was a mistake.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Murder, She Wrote: Murder Digs Deep (#2.11)" (1985)

Soundtrack:

Chopsticks

Harlow, magnificent idiot

A pretty good movie with an excellent cast and some decent special effects. Gable is at his best and the same can be said for Beery , Sir C. and Harlow. I haven't seen many Harlow films but I'm assuming that her stock character is the one she portrays here , a sort of bad girl with a heart of gold, a lovable moron who speaks first and thinks later. The kind of woman who (if she were your wife/girlfriend) would ruin a party and make a big scene if she became jealous. In other words the kind of woman most men might stupidly have casual sex with and then realizing what an idiot they were saddled with, run away from as fast as they could. I'm guessing many depression era women could identify with her low class stubborn pride but now she seems like an annoying , shrill, infantile idiot constantly seeking approval. As a portrait of this kind of woman , Harlow is magnificent. You might want to strangle her or throw her overboard but she's always watchable, the bra less gowns help.