Ship of Fools (1965)

Director:

Stanley Kramer

Writers:

Katherine Anne Porter (novel)
Abby Mann (screenplay)

Release Date:

October 1965 (Austria)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | War

Tagline:

EXPLORER, MISTRESS, VAGRANT, LOAFER, ARTIST, TRAMP ... THEY ARE ALL AT THE CAPTAIN'S TABLE!

Plot:

Passengers on a ship traveling from Mexico to Europe in the 1930s represent society at large in that era...

Plot Keywords:

Ship | Traveling | 1930s | Ship's Doctor | German

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 3 wins & 13 nominations

Cast

Vivien Leigh	...	Mary Treadwell
Simone Signoret	...	La Condesa
José Ferrer	...	Rieber (as Jose Ferrer)
Lee Marvin	...	Tenny
Oskar Werner	...	Dr. Schumann
Elizabeth Ashley	...	Jenny
George Segal	...	David
José Greco	...	Pepe (as Jose Greco)
Michael Dunn	...	Glocken
Charles Korvin	...	Capt. Thiele
Heinz Rühmann	...	Lowenthal (as Heinz Ruehmann)
Lilia Skala	...	Frau Hutten
BarBara Luna	...	Amparo (as Barbara Luna)
Alf Kjellin	...	Freytag
Christiane Schmidtmer	...	Lizzi
Werner Klemperer	...	Lt. Huebner
John Wengraf	...	Graf
Olga Fabian	...	Frau Schmitt
Gila Golan	...	Elsa
Oscar Beregi Jr.	...	Lutz (as Oscar Beregi)
Stanley Adams	...	Professor Hutten
Kaaren Verne	...	Frau Lutz (as Karen Verne)
Charles De Vries	...	Johann (as Charles de Vries)
Henry Calvin	...	Fat Man
Peter Mamakos	...	Religious Man
Paul Daniel	...	Carlos
David Renard	...	Woodcarver
Lydia Torea	...	Pastora
Rudy Carrela	...	Ric (as Rudy Carrella)
Silvia Marino	...	Rac
Anthony Brand	...	Guitarist
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
John Alvar	...	Student (uncredited)
Antonio	...	Gypsy Dancer (uncredited)
Eddie Baker	...	Prizak (uncredited)
Vicki Cos	...	Flamenco dance troupe child (uncredited)
Walter Friedel	...	Waiter (uncredited)
Steven Geray	...	Steward aboard Vera (uncredited)
Charles H. Radilak	...	Headwaiter (uncredited)
Rosario	...	Carmen - Gypsy Dancer (uncredited)
Bert Rumsey	...	Second Officer (uncredited)

Directed by
Stanley Kramer

Writing credits
Katherine Anne Porter		(novel)
Abby Mann		(screenplay)

Produced by
Stanley Kramer	....	producer

Original Music by
Ernest Gold

Cinematography by
Ernest Laszlo

Film Editing by
Robert C. Jones

Production Design by
Robert Clatworthy

Set Decoration by
Joseph Kish

Costume Design by
Bill Thomas

Makeup Department
Virginia Jones	....	hair stylist
Ben Lane	....	makeup supervisor

Production Management
Ivan Volkman	....	production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
John Veitch	....	assistant director

Art Department
Ernest Graber	....	property master
Bud Pine	....	construction coordinator
Harold Michelson	....	illustrator (uncredited)

Sound Department
James Z. Flaster	....	sound
Clem Portman	....	sound re-recordist
Charles J. Rice	....	sound supervisor
James Richard	....	sound effects

Special Effects by
John Burke	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Farciot Edouart	....	process photography
Albert Whitlock	....	special photographic effects

Stunts
Bob Herron	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Dick Johnson	....	camera operator (as Richard Johnson)
Martin Kashuk	....	company grip (as Marty Kaschuk)
Seldon White	....	chief electrician

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Joe King	....	costume supervisor
Jean Louis	....	designer: Ms. Leigh's clothes

Music Department
Ned Washington	....	lyrics
Maury Winetrobe	....	music editor

Other crew
Marshall Schlom	....	script supervisor
Boyd Cabeen	....	stand-in (uncredited)
Michelle Triola	....	stand-in (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Stanley Kramer Productions

Distributors

• Columbia Pictures (1965) (USA) (theatrical)
• Columbia Pictures Corporation (1965) (UK) (theatrical)
• Columbia Films (1965) (France) (theatrical)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1968) (USA) (TV)
• Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Mill Creek Entertainment (2012) (USA) (DVD)
• RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video (USA) (video)
• Sony Pictures Television (USA) (TV)

Special Effects

• Film Effects of Hollywood

Other Companies

• Pacific Title  titles (as Pacific)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

149 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | German | Spanish

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | Spain:7 | Canada:PG (Ontario) | UK:12 (2007) | UK:A (1965) | Portugal:M/12 (Qualidade) | Netherlands:18 (orginal rating)

Company:

Stanley Kramer Productions

Trivia:

Oskar Werner would make a similar film 11 years later. Voyage of the Damned (1976) also was about a boatload of refugees heading back to Germany before the outbreak of the Second World War. It would prove to be Werner's final film.

Goofs:

Continuity: As the passengers disembark at the end, Johann pauses on the steps to watch Amparo walk by, when Tenny appears walking down the steps behind Johann. Immediately the film cuts to a shot of the gangplank above, where Tenny is seen just leaving the ship.

Quotes:

Bill Tenny:[Drunk] You know what I think?
Glocken:No.
Bill Tenny:I think you're a sawed-off intellectual.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Cheers: Yacht of Fools (#6.16)" (1988)

Soundtrack:

Tales from the Vienna Woods

A grand, glossy excursion, with a flavorful international cast keeping the weighty boat afloat.

One of my favorite indulges over the years has been "Ship of Fools," a 1965 glossy, episodic entertainment done strictly grand scale. Based on Katherine Anne Porter's epic novel, the Oscar-nominated "Best Picture" centers on a sundry group of travelers circa 1933 who clash "Grand Hotel" style on a German ocean liner bound, via Mexico, for Germany (and impending doom it would seem) just as strong Nazi sentiment was breeding. The ship becomes a microcosm of pre-WWII life and mores, with a plethora of subplots alternately swelling and ebbing throughout - situations that alter the course of some of its passengers and crew members, for better or worse.

From the clever opening collage of credits (don't miss this part) set to a catchy, flavorful Latin score to its fascinating all-star disembarkation at the end, it's smooth sailing for most of this trip, guided with an assured hand by the always capable Stanley ("Judgment at Nuremberg") Kramer, with certain cast members (Simone Signoret, Oskar Werner, Vivien Leigh, Lee Marvin, Michael Dunn) coming off better than others (José Ferrer, Elizabeth Ashley, George Segal).

A number of compelling vignettes acted out by the choice, eclectic ensemble make up for the sometimes turgid melodramatics that occur on board as our "ship of fools" are forced to examine their own pride and prejudice while victimized by others. Who can forget the tormented Simone Signoret and Oskar Werner (both Oscar-nominated) as the morphine-addicted political prisoner and dutiful ship's physician who provide the film with its most poignant and tragic shipboard romance. Their clandestine encounters are exquisitely written and beautifully realized. Or Vivien Leigh's coy, aging elitist, Mary Treadwell, who delivers a brilliantly despairing monologue in front of a makeup mirror that, in turn, sets up a wildly climactic shoe-bashing scene with Lee Marvin's besotted baseballer when he viciously assaults, then profusely apologizes to the now-humiliated matron after mistaking her in the dark for a cooch dancer. Or José Greco & company's steamy, frenetic flamenco sequence during a raucous, after-hours party. Or dwarf actor Michael Dunn's sublime Greek Chorus that effectively bookends the movie (the Oscar-nominated Dunn subsequently played evil Dr. Loveless on TV's "Wild, Wild West" series). These glorious scenes and more help to balance out the less serviceable ones, particularly those involving Jose Ferrer's boisterous, irritating Nazi bigot who borders on caricature, and Elizabeth Ashley and George Segal's turbulent lovers who come off dull and forced.

Ernest Laszlo's lustrous black-and-white cinematography was suitably Oscar awarded, while the whole look, feel and tone of the movie is decidedly old-style theatre at its best. This movie has remained one of my all-time favorite wallows.