The Last Voyage (1960)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Andrew L. Stone

Writer:

Andrew L. Stone (written by)

Release Date:

19 February 1960 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

AT 12:05...a woman trapped in her cabin! AT 12:22...the passengers on the decks begin to panic! AT 12:41...the desperate rescue attempt with the acetylene torch! AT 1:01...the dramatic life-and-death decision on the bridge!

Plot:

After a boiler explosion aboard an aging ocean liner, a man struggles to free his injured wife from the wreckage of their cabin and ensure the safety of their four-year-old daughter as the ship begins to sink.

Plot Keywords:

Boiler Room | Explosion | Trapped | Ship | Ocean Liner

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win

Cast

Robert Stack	...	Cliff Henderson
Dorothy Malone	...	Laurie Henderson
George Sanders	...	Captain Robert Adams
Edmond O'Brien	...	Second Engineer Walsh
Woody Strode	...	Hank Lawson
Jack Kruschen	...	Chief Engineer Pringle
Joel Marston	...	Third Officer Ragland
George Furness	...	Third Officer Osborne
Richard Norris	...	3rd Engineer Cole
Marshall Kent	...	Quartermaster
Andrew Hughes	...	Radio Operator
Robert Martin	...	2nd Mate Mace
Bill Wilson	...	Youth
Tammy Marihugh	...	Jill Henderson

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Approved (certificate #19361) | Finland:K-16

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

According to maritime historian William J. Miller, the famed French Line was so horrified that their former flagship would be used in such a way that they demanded that the Ile de France's name be removed from the ship's bow and that in no way would any references be made to the French Line.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: In the final shots of the ship sinking, the nearby coastline can be seen reflected in the ship's outside windows.

Quotes:

[Last line]
Cliff Henderson: This is one guy I'm gonna help aboard personally!

Movie Connections:

References Lifeboat (1944)

A gripping film with historical worth.

Viewers of "The Last Voyage" who have branded it a "cinematic turkey" are mislead, in my opinion. This film achieves a realism that is superior to the many disaster genre films that followed it. But more importantly, it is a visual record of one of the finest transatlantic liners ever--the French Line's Isle de France. I don't know of any motion picture that actually used a ship as a floating prop as extensively as Stone's film. The Isle de France represented an important departure in ship design. Earlier liners attempted to disguise the fact that they were ocean-going vessels. The "Isle de France" brought the new art deco and moderne styles to the high seas and utilized some of the finest French designers to craft this ship of state. When the later Normandie was lost, many of her furnishings were transferred to the Isle including furnishings by the famous designer Ruhlman. Here in this film are these exciting interiors for all to see for the last time prior to sending the Isle to the ship breakers. The film also heralds the very twilight of regularly scheduled transatlantic and transpacific liner service as the jet began to rapidly displace this very civilized way to travel.