Strange Cargo (1940 film)
Encyclopedia
Strange Cargo is a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
feature film
starring Joan Crawford
and Clark Gable
in a story about a group of fugitive prisoners from a French penal colony. The screenplay by Lawrence Hazard was based upon the 1936 novel, Not Too Narrow, Not Too Deep, by Richard Sale
. The film was directed by Frank Borzage
and produced by Joseph L. Mankiewicz
. The film is the eighth and last film pairing of Gable and Crawford.
) has masterminded a jailbreak and takes Cambreau (Ian Hunter
), Telez (Eduardo Ciannelli
), Hessler (Paul Lukas
), Flaubert (J. Edward Bromberg
), Dufond (John Arledge), and Mi'sieu Pig (Peter Lorre
) with him.
Verne joins the escapees, taking Julie with him. The gentle Cambreau exerts a spiritual influence over the others. As they trek through the jungle, most die with only Verne, Julie, Hessler, and Cambreau surviving the ordeal (Hessler--a devil figure--disdains Cambreau's salvation and is last seen slinking off into the jungle, to find another female prey.) Verne initially scoffs at Cambreau's spirituality, but saves him from drowning, and decides to return to the prison to finish his sentence. Julie has grown to love Verne and promises to wait for him.
noted, "Here is a good, raw, stark melodrama which holds suspense from the start. Frank Borzage has given it expert directorial attention...Clark Gable fits his role admirably...The acting is high-grade with Joan Crawford giving her best performance to date."
Variety
commented, "Although the picture has its many deficiencies, the Crawford characterization will give studio execs idea of proper casting of her talents for the future. Direction by Frank Borzage fails to hit the dramatic punches...He has not clearly defined the spiritual redemption angle, which also adds to the audience confusion. The screenplay does not help Borzage out of his predicament."
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
feature film
Feature film
In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
starring Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford , born Lucille Fay LeSueur, was an American actress in film, television and theatre....
and Clark Gable
Clark Gable
William Clark Gable , known as Clark Gable, was an American film actor most famous for his role as Rhett Butler in the 1939 Civil War epic film Gone with the Wind, in which he starred with Vivien Leigh...
in a story about a group of fugitive prisoners from a French penal colony. The screenplay by Lawrence Hazard was based upon the 1936 novel, Not Too Narrow, Not Too Deep, by Richard Sale
Richard Sale (director)
Richard Sale, was an American screenwriter and film director.He started his career writing for the pulps in the Thirties, appearing regularly in Detective Fiction Weekly , Argosy, Double Detective, and a number of other magazines...
. The film was directed by Frank Borzage
Frank Borzage
Frank Borzage was an American film director and actor.-Biography:Frank Borzage's father, Luigi Borzaga, was born in Ronzone, in 1859. As a stonemason, he sometimes worked in Switzerland; he met his future wife, Maria Ruegg , where she worked in a silk factory...
and produced by Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Joseph Leo Mankiewicz was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. Mankiewicz had a long Hollywood career and is best known as the writer-director of All About Eve , which was nominated for 14 Academy Awards and won six. He was brother to screenwriter and drama critic Herman J...
. The film is the eighth and last film pairing of Gable and Crawford.
Plot and cast
Julie (Crawford), a cafe entertainer in a town near a French penal colony, meets Verne (Gable), a prisoner on wharf duty. Verne escapes and goes to Julie's room but is apprehended and returned to prison. Julie is fired for consorting with a prisoner. At the prison, Moll (Albert DekkerAlbert Dekker
Albert Dekker was an American character actor and politician best known for his roles in Dr. Cyclops, The Killers, Kiss Me Deadly, and The Wild Bunch. He is sometimes credited as Albert Van Dekker or Albert van Dekker...
) has masterminded a jailbreak and takes Cambreau (Ian Hunter
Ian Hunter (actor)
Ian Hunter was a British character actor.Among dozens of film roles, his best-remembered appearances include That Certain Woman with Bette Davis, The Adventures of Robin Hood , The Little Princess and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde...
), Telez (Eduardo Ciannelli
Eduardo Ciannelli
Eduardo Ciannelli, sometimes credited as Edward Ciannelli, , was an Italian baritone and character actor with a long career in American films, mostly playing gangsters and criminals.-Early life:...
), Hessler (Paul Lukas
Paul Lukas
Paul Lukas was an Austrian-Hungarian-born actor.-Biography:Born Pál Lukács in Budapest, he arrived in Hollywood in 1927 after a successful stage and film career in Hungary, Germany and Austria where he worked with Max Reinhardt. He made his stage debut in Budapest in 1916 and his film debut in 1917...
), Flaubert (J. Edward Bromberg
J. Edward Bromberg
Joseph Edward Bromberg was a Hungarian-born American character actor in motion picture and stage productions dating mostly from the 1930s and 1940s....
), Dufond (John Arledge), and Mi'sieu Pig (Peter Lorre
Peter Lorre
Peter Lorre was an Austrian-American actor frequently typecast as a sinister foreigner.He caused an international sensation in 1931 with his portrayal of a serial killer who preys on little girls in the German film M...
) with him.
Verne joins the escapees, taking Julie with him. The gentle Cambreau exerts a spiritual influence over the others. As they trek through the jungle, most die with only Verne, Julie, Hessler, and Cambreau surviving the ordeal (Hessler--a devil figure--disdains Cambreau's salvation and is last seen slinking off into the jungle, to find another female prey.) Verne initially scoffs at Cambreau's spirituality, but saves him from drowning, and decides to return to the prison to finish his sentence. Julie has grown to love Verne and promises to wait for him.
Reception
Film DailyFilm Daily
The Film Daily was a daily publication that existed from 1915 to 1970 in the United States.For 55 years, Film Daily was the main source of news on the film and television industries...
noted, "Here is a good, raw, stark melodrama which holds suspense from the start. Frank Borzage has given it expert directorial attention...Clark Gable fits his role admirably...The acting is high-grade with Joan Crawford giving her best performance to date."
Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
commented, "Although the picture has its many deficiencies, the Crawford characterization will give studio execs idea of proper casting of her talents for the future. Direction by Frank Borzage fails to hit the dramatic punches...He has not clearly defined the spiritual redemption angle, which also adds to the audience confusion. The screenplay does not help Borzage out of his predicament."