Producer: Lucien Hubbard. Copyright 21 May 1935 by Metro Goldwyn Mayer Corp. New York opening at Loew's State: 2 June 1935. Australian release: 24 December 1935. 7 reels. 70 minutes.
SYNOPSIS: A killer is loose on a U.S. Navy cruiser.
COMMENT: Producer Lucien Hubbard has managed to give this one a feeling of opulence by cleverly using stock shots and process screens, as well as by employing such a large number of cameo players and extras to mill about, one often has the feeling they are spilling over the edges of the frame. There's also a grand climax, in which Taylor battles the mysterious killer who is revealed to be just about the last person you might expect.
Young Taylor, Arthur Byron, Jean Hersholt and Mischa Auer contribute fine performances. On the other hand,Ted Healy, Nat Pendleton and Una Merkel are an absolute pain. Not entirely their fault. It's the lousy script that intersperses the drama with a lot of ridiculous verbal and visual horseplay.
Even director Edward Sedgwick who was known as an expert handler of comedy can do absolutely nothing to relieve the tedium of the many boring Healy-Pendleton-Merkel encounters. The "comedy" also acts to destroy much of the atmosphere on the cruiser, which otherwise seemed such a promising setting for a mystery thriller.
A bit of "romance" doesn't help either. Especially when Jean Parker is given such atrocious "Spig" Wead lines as her fade-out realization that Navy men are men who relate in a special way to each other and their ship.
SYNOPSIS: A killer is loose on a U.S. Navy cruiser.
COMMENT: Producer Lucien Hubbard has managed to give this one a feeling of opulence by cleverly using stock shots and process screens, as well as by employing such a large number of cameo players and extras to mill about, one often has the feeling they are spilling over the edges of the frame. There's also a grand climax, in which Taylor battles the mysterious killer who is revealed to be just about the last person you might expect.
Young Taylor, Arthur Byron, Jean Hersholt and Mischa Auer contribute fine performances. On the other hand,Ted Healy, Nat Pendleton and Una Merkel are an absolute pain. Not entirely their fault. It's the lousy script that intersperses the drama with a lot of ridiculous verbal and visual horseplay.
Even director Edward Sedgwick who was known as an expert handler of comedy can do absolutely nothing to relieve the tedium of the many boring Healy-Pendleton-Merkel encounters. The "comedy" also acts to destroy much of the atmosphere on the cruiser, which otherwise seemed such a promising setting for a mystery thriller.
A bit of "romance" doesn't help either. Especially when Jean Parker is given such atrocious "Spig" Wead lines as her fade-out realization that Navy men are men who relate in a special way to each other and their ship.