IMDb RATING
6.2/10
1.1K
YOUR RATING
Conflict ensues when a young man's childhood sweetheart becomes betrothed to his older brother.Conflict ensues when a young man's childhood sweetheart becomes betrothed to his older brother.Conflict ensues when a young man's childhood sweetheart becomes betrothed to his older brother.
IMDb RATING
6.2/10
1.1K
YOUR RATING
- Director
- Writers
- Ben Ames Williams(book "All the Brothers Were Valiant")
- Ted Shane(adaptation)
- Joseph Farnham(titles)
- Stars
Top credits
- Director
- Writers
- Ben Ames Williams(book "All the Brothers Were Valiant")
- Ted Shane(adaptation)
- Joseph Farnham(titles)
- Stars
Jim Mason
- Finchas Finch
- (as James Mason)
Phil Bloom
- Barflyas Barfly
- (uncredited)
Lillian Lawrence
- Townswomanas Townswoman
- (uncredited)
Anna May Wong
- Singapore Womanas Singapore Woman
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- Ben Ames Williams(book "All the Brothers Were Valiant")
- Ted Shane(adaptation)
- Joseph Farnham(titles)
- All cast & crew
- See more cast details at IMDbPro
Storyline
It's the mid-nineteenth century. The neighboring Shore and Crowninshield families of the American east coast have a long tradition of seafaring. Of Jeremiah Shore's four sons, the only one not at sea is the youngest, Joel Shore, solely because of his age. Joel has had a long friendship with the Crowninshield's daughter, Priscilla Crowninshield, that friendship which is now on the brink of romantic love as they become of age, although this new-found love is unspoken on both sides. Joel hopes that when his eldest brother, Mark Shore, captain of the Nathan Ross, returns home from his latest voyage, he will allow Joel to sail with him. Although Mark still sees Joel as the "youngin'" of the family, Joel, through slightly underhanded means, is able to convince Mark that he is man enough to become a sailor. Also on this layover at home, Mark notices that Priscilla has become a beautiful young woman, who he now wants to marry. Mark arranges the engagement with his father and Priscilla's father without Priscilla's knowledge. The public announcement of the engagement shocks both Joel and Priscilla, the latter who has no romantic interest in Mark. On the Nathan Ross' first sailing following the engagement, that sailing to Singapore, Captain Mark makes a decision that unwittingly sets off a series of events that jeopardize both his and Joel's lives, but also tests whether in this situation family and brotherly loyalty or being with the woman you love is more important. —Huggo
- Taglines
- ---A Romance full of the tang of the Seven Seas!
- Genres
- Certificate
- Passed
- Parents guide
Did you know
- TriviaBoth Frank Currier and Edward Connelly died in 1928, the same year the film was released.
- Quotes
Joel Shore: Stand back! Unhand that woman... or my trusty pistol will bark your doom!
- Alternate versionsTurner Classic Movies (TCM) broadcast a version with an uncredited piano music score, and running time of 85 minutes.
- ConnectionsReferenced in Anna May Wong, Frosted Yellow Willows: Her Life, Times and Legend (2007)
Top review
A strange voyage
What interested me most into seeing 'Across to Singapore' was seeing Joan Crawford in one of her earliest films. The story did not sound great and reviews are very, very mixed here, but Crawford was a fine actress and it was interesting to see how she was like very early on in her career when she was still learning her craft and not completely found her style. That was true for a lot of actors and actresses though back then and it's always been apparent come to think of it.
'Across to Singapore' intrigues somewhat and it is watchable, with some things done well. It is a pretty strange film though and is more a curio if anything, primarily to be seen if a fan of Crawford and want to see everything she did. Crawford did do much better than 'Across to Singapore' since. Both in regard to performances and overall film quality, for me this was one of not many cases of her being outshone and that is not something said often.
Some of the sets look quite nice, the storm scenes look impressive, and there is the odd exciting set piece such as the climax. Some of the first half is entertaining, partly because of Ramon Novarro's comic timing.
Novarro does very well here, his character is a reckless one in terms of attitude but he portrays him endearingly and not obnoxiously. Ernest Torrence does curmudgeonly with gusto and Anna May Wong is perfectly alluring.
Crawford however is less convincing. Her character is not a particularly meaty one, Crawford was at her best when she had a character that she could sink her teeth into (literally too), and required a lot more subtlety than seen in her quite histrionic interpretation. The direction doesn't really engage and tends to be merely workmanlike and not much more. 'Across to Singapore' started off well, but by the halfway point all the way through to the end it became generally increasingly silly and muddled. One knows even from reading the quite cliched synopsis that it would be pretty predictable and nothing new is done here, this is standard stuff and silly and unfocused standard stuff at that.
The pace lacks energy and in the second half when the film runs out of ideas pretty much it creaks quite badly. The only chemistry to convince is between Novarro and Torrence, bland everywhere else. Some nice sets aside, the production values look pretty primitive. Evident in some disorganised editing and nothing really stands out in the photography either.
Good from curiosity standpoint but not really recommended. 5/10
'Across to Singapore' intrigues somewhat and it is watchable, with some things done well. It is a pretty strange film though and is more a curio if anything, primarily to be seen if a fan of Crawford and want to see everything she did. Crawford did do much better than 'Across to Singapore' since. Both in regard to performances and overall film quality, for me this was one of not many cases of her being outshone and that is not something said often.
Some of the sets look quite nice, the storm scenes look impressive, and there is the odd exciting set piece such as the climax. Some of the first half is entertaining, partly because of Ramon Novarro's comic timing.
Novarro does very well here, his character is a reckless one in terms of attitude but he portrays him endearingly and not obnoxiously. Ernest Torrence does curmudgeonly with gusto and Anna May Wong is perfectly alluring.
Crawford however is less convincing. Her character is not a particularly meaty one, Crawford was at her best when she had a character that she could sink her teeth into (literally too), and required a lot more subtlety than seen in her quite histrionic interpretation. The direction doesn't really engage and tends to be merely workmanlike and not much more. 'Across to Singapore' started off well, but by the halfway point all the way through to the end it became generally increasingly silly and muddled. One knows even from reading the quite cliched synopsis that it would be pretty predictable and nothing new is done here, this is standard stuff and silly and unfocused standard stuff at that.
The pace lacks energy and in the second half when the film runs out of ideas pretty much it creaks quite badly. The only chemistry to convince is between Novarro and Torrence, bland everywhere else. Some nice sets aside, the production values look pretty primitive. Evident in some disorganised editing and nothing really stands out in the photography either.
Good from curiosity standpoint but not really recommended. 5/10
helpful•31
- TheLittleSongbird
- Mar 17, 2020
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- All the Brothers Were Valiant
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $290,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 25 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
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