MARIE GALANTE is an interesting relic of 1934 cinema on several counts:
(1) One of the few readily available films (on DVD, anyway) of Spencer Tracy's pre-MGM career.
(2) The first starring role for Ketti Gallian. This was her first major American film, and her only other significant role in Hollywood was as "Lady Denise Tarrington" in the classic Astaire/Rogers musical, SHALL WE DANCE, three years later. After that film, Ketti apparently returned to her native France and, aside from a handful of French productions, did no more movies (though apparently she was also active on stage). Lovely woman, and one wonders why she failed to make it in Hollywood.
(3) Interesting political context: As with many 1930s films involving espionage, the villains are not any identifiable countries but unnamed parties who "profit from war." This was the era in which the First World War was being blamed on munitions manufacturers, "merchants of death" who supposedly encouraged international instability and chaos in order to sell weapons.
(4) It's almost startling to see a Japanese naval officer turn out to be one of the "good guys" in a Hollywood film. Of course, MARIE GALANTE was released seven years before Pearl Harbor. And, of course, he's played by a Caucasian actor (Leslie Fenton).
(5) Other interesting casting: Helen Morgan has a minor role as a saloon singer (and does a couple of songs), Ned Sparks does his cantankerous act, and Sig Ruman plays a fairly straight role, rather than hamming it up.
(6) Henry King's direction and pacing are fascinating -- at times I thought I was watching something by Josef von Sternberg, with all those giant close-ups. Unusually brisk cutting between scenes, too, for a film of this vintage.
(7) Some nice stock footage of the Panama Canal and the U.S. Fleet.
No one should mistake MARIE GALANTE for a great film. Even by 1934 standards it was no more than casual entertainment. (Reportedly, the author of the original novel, Jacques Deval, was so disappointed in the film that he unsuccessfully tried to have his credit removed from it.) But if you're interested in 1930s movies, or if any of the factors listed above grab you, it's worth a rental.
(1) One of the few readily available films (on DVD, anyway) of Spencer Tracy's pre-MGM career.
(2) The first starring role for Ketti Gallian. This was her first major American film, and her only other significant role in Hollywood was as "Lady Denise Tarrington" in the classic Astaire/Rogers musical, SHALL WE DANCE, three years later. After that film, Ketti apparently returned to her native France and, aside from a handful of French productions, did no more movies (though apparently she was also active on stage). Lovely woman, and one wonders why she failed to make it in Hollywood.
(3) Interesting political context: As with many 1930s films involving espionage, the villains are not any identifiable countries but unnamed parties who "profit from war." This was the era in which the First World War was being blamed on munitions manufacturers, "merchants of death" who supposedly encouraged international instability and chaos in order to sell weapons.
(4) It's almost startling to see a Japanese naval officer turn out to be one of the "good guys" in a Hollywood film. Of course, MARIE GALANTE was released seven years before Pearl Harbor. And, of course, he's played by a Caucasian actor (Leslie Fenton).
(5) Other interesting casting: Helen Morgan has a minor role as a saloon singer (and does a couple of songs), Ned Sparks does his cantankerous act, and Sig Ruman plays a fairly straight role, rather than hamming it up.
(6) Henry King's direction and pacing are fascinating -- at times I thought I was watching something by Josef von Sternberg, with all those giant close-ups. Unusually brisk cutting between scenes, too, for a film of this vintage.
(7) Some nice stock footage of the Panama Canal and the U.S. Fleet.
No one should mistake MARIE GALANTE for a great film. Even by 1934 standards it was no more than casual entertainment. (Reportedly, the author of the original novel, Jacques Deval, was so disappointed in the film that he unsuccessfully tried to have his credit removed from it.) But if you're interested in 1930s movies, or if any of the factors listed above grab you, it's worth a rental.