The Ship of Lost Men (1929)

Vela, cynical captain of a slow, decrepit sailing ship, sells passage out of Germany to fugitives. His crew are no angels either. Cheyne, a young American doctor visiting the ship, is ... See full summary »

Director:

Maurice Tourneur

Writers:

Franzos Keremen (novel), Maurice Tourneur

Stars:

Fritz Kortner, Marlene Dietrich, Robin Irvine

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Fritz Kortner	...	Kapitän Vela - Captain Fernando Vela
Marlene Dietrich	...	Ethel Marley
Robin Irvine	...	William 'T.W.' Cheyne - a Young American Doctor
Vladimir Sokoloff	...	Grischa - der Koch - the Cook (as Wladimir Sokoloff)
Gaston Modot	...	Der Sträfling Morains - Morain - the Escaped Convict
Boris de Fast	...	Der tätowierte - The Tattooed Sailor
Feodor Chaliapin Jr.	...	Nick (as F. Schaljapin)
Max Maximilian	...	Tom Butley
Fritz Alberti	...	Der Kapitän - The Captain of the Luxury Liner L'Amorique
Robert Garrison	...	Der Vermieter - The Landlord
Heinrich Gotho	...	Ein Matrose - A Sailor
Harry Grunwald	...	Ein Matrose - A Sailor
Emil Heyse
Fred Immler
Alfred Loretto	...	Ein Matrose - A Sailor

Storyline

Vela, cynical captain of a slow, decrepit sailing ship, sells passage out of Germany to fugitives. His crew are no angels either. Cheyne, a young American doctor visiting the ship, is shanghaied on a 3-month voyage to Brazil when Vela abruptly embarks. In mid-ocean, Cheyne rescues the survivor of a watery plane crash, lovely American heiress Ethel Marley; he and the ship's cook keep her hidden from captain and crew. But a brutal incident leads to mutiny and murder, putting the two Americans in great danger...building to a cliffhanger climax.

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Plot Keywords:

ship | mutiny | based on novel | 

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller

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Details

Country:

Germany France

Release Date:

10 January 1930 (France)

Also Known As:

The Ship of Lost Men

Filming Locations:

Atelier Staaken, Berlin, Germany

Company Credits

Production Co:

Max Glass Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

121 min

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

User Reviews

Sea Wolf sans Nietzsche

Tourneur's last silent movie shows his full command of the silent film grammar -- much of which he invented -- in his beautiful compositions and still camera, punctuated for excellent effect by purposeful moving and process shots. He never uses the camera to make the viewer gasp at his brilliance, but only to punctuate a psychological point or improve the film's pace.

The story, from the novel by Franzos Keremen, is a commentary on Jack London's SEA WOLF. London's Wolf Larsen is a Nietzschean philosopher. The captain, in this movie, is a schemer among brutes -- a correction to London's drunken maunderings that might have served humanity better. It is the gentle cook, played by Vladimir Sokoloff that is the real hero of the story after the crew mutinies and kills the ship's master.

The movie also stars Marlene Dietrich, a few months before von Sternberg supposedly plucked her from obscurity. She looks a lot like Claudette Colbert in this movie and shows her command of film acting already. Very highly recommended.