The Last Voyage (1960)

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:

The ship used by the filmmakers was the S.S. Ile de France, the famous French liner which cruised the Atlantic from 1926 to 1959. She was leased for $4,000 a day. After shooting completed, she was re-floated (having been partially sunk for the film) and was towed to the scrap yard. The SS Ile de France has a more heroic place in history, however. It was the SS Ile de France that played a major role in the rescue of the passengers from the Italian liner Andrea Dorea in 1956, after the latter ship collided with the Swedish ship Stockholm off the coast of Nantucket, Massachusetts. The SS Ile de France was the first ship to arrive at the scene of the collision and immediately began taking onboard the Andrea Dorea's passengers.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): When the Captain finally gives the order to send out an S.O.S., the radio operator twice says the wrong name of the ship.

Quotes:

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

Movie Connections:

Edited into Goliath Awaits (1981) (TV)

A fantastic voyage

We have to say this was a real surprise when it was presented by TCM the other night. Andrew Stone's "The Last Voyage" makes an impressive film that got our attention from the start. Mr. Stone, working with his own screen play, makes a great disaster film about a luxury ocean liner that encounters problems in the middle of the Pacific.

This film looks so real, it's hard to believe it's a filmed account of a real disaster. The old Ile de France was used for the exterior shots and sunk for realism sake. The story is compelling, as well as terrifying. Imagine to find yourself in the middle of an ocean facing death aboard luxurious surroundings!

That is the fate the Hendersons encounter on their way to Japan. Cliff and Laurie are happily married with a small daughter. Everything looks good, but a funereal note is delivered to the captain in the middle of a meal. "Fire in the engine room"! This is only be beginning of the end. We realize this is going to be a horrible experience.

The film feels real. When an explosion occurs, Cliff returns to his cabin only to find Laurie trapped by some steel panels and he can't move her. To make matters worse, he finds his young daughter in a panic holding dearly to her life on a ledge of what used to be her room. The rescue effort of the girl, in a terrifying scene, is one of the most heart wrenching things in the movie. We watch, in horror, at the end, as Laurie is kept alive from drowning,

Excellent acting from all the principals. Robert Stack, Dorothy Malone, George Sanders, Edmond O'Brien, Jack Krushen, Woody Strode and the rest of the cast, makes this a film that delivers a lot of action and keeps us glued to what's happening.

A film to recommend those with a strong heart. A great achievement for the director Andrew Stone.