Mare Nostrum (1926)

The story of a female German spy who willingly sacrifices her life for her country.

Director:

Rex Ingram

Writers:

Vicente Blasco Ibáñez (by), Willis Goldbeck (scenario)

Stars:

Apollon Uni, Álex Nova, Kada-Abd-el-Kader

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Apollon Uni	...	The Triton (prologue) (as Uni Apollon)
Álex Nova	...	Don Esteban Ferragut (prologue) (as Alex Nova)
Kada-Abd-el-Kader	...	Don Esteban's Son - Ulysses (prologue)
Hughie Mack	...	Caragol (prologue)
Alice Terry	...	Freya Talberg
Antonio Moreno	...	Ulysses Ferragut
Mademoiselle Kithnou	...	Ferragut's Wife - Dona Cinta (as Mle. Kithnou)
Mickey Brantford	...	Ferragut's Son - Esteban (as Michael Brantford)
Rosita Ramírez	...	Ferragut's Niece - Pepita
Frédéric Mariotti	...	Toni - the Mate (as Fredrick Mariotti)
Pâquerette	...	Doctor Fedelmann (as Mme. Paquerette)
Fernand Mailly	...	Count Kaledine
Andrews Engelmann	...	Submarine Commander (as André von Engelman)

Storyline

German spies, using Freya Talberg as bait, convince neutral Spaniard Ulysses Ferragut to navigate a ship to refuel German U-boats, telling him they would never fire on passenger ships. But one torpedoes the ship his son, Esteban, was on, killing him and many others. He sets out to punish the ones responsible.

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Plot Keywords:

infidelity | femme fatale | possessive female | manipulative female | lesbian subtext | 

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Genres:

Drama | War

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 August 1926 (USA)

Also Known As:

Our Sea

Filming Locations:

Madrid, Spain

Box Office

Gross USA:

$620,079, 31 December 1927

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn Pictures Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min (TCM print)

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Michael Powell worked as an apprentice on this film, a position secured for him by Harry Lachman.

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Quotes

Title Card: Between Europe and Africa, stretching from Gibraltar to the Syrian coast, lies the Mediterranean, land-locked and tideless, known to the ancients as Mare Nostrum - "Our Sea".

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Connections

Featured in The South Bank Show: Michael Powell (1986)

User Reviews

Reasonably entertaining

A decent enough film, but it's unlikely to blow you away. Set during WWI, a Spanish sea captain (Antonio Moreno) traveling in Italy meets and falls in love with a young German woman (Alice Terry). One problem is that he's married, and has a young son. Another is that the German woman and her older colleague (Mademoiselle Paquerette) are both spies, and convince him to help the Germany navy out in a way whose ramifications he can't fully appreciate. The film is thus about guilt and paying for the choices one makes in life, and director Rex Ingram pulls no punches. I loved the scenes on location in Naples, Pompeii (with Vesuvius smoking the background), Marseilles, and Barcelona. The scenes with U-boat attacks were tense, and the German officers suitably sinister. It's a little on the melodramatic side, and there are some rather big coincidences to help the plot get to where it's going. Even at 102 minutes, the film is belabored, and elements like the prologue could have been cut. There's something missing to truly recommend it, but on the other hand, it's well made and reasonably entertaining 92 years later.