This film is given only a five by me - I stayed up late one night to see it, because I wanted to see Hedy Lamarr in one of her most famous performances. It was about 1971, in the summertime (so it was sultry weather - good to see such a tropical film). Hedy was good to watch, although her character's dialog and fate were odd. The other cast members, Frank Morgan and Richard Carlson, acted well. But it was watching Walter Pigeon getting all riled up, not only due to the antics of Todelayo but because he could not stand the word "acclimatize" being used that lasted longest in my memory.
The story is one of jungle rot. Pigeon , Carlson, and Morgan (and other males in the cast) are working on a plantation in Africa, and life there is not made easier by the arrival of Lamarr, a half-breed (as they called so-called non-white temptresses in the days of the Hollywood "code"). She snares Carlson, who stupidly marries her. She only sees him as good for buying her luxuries and giving her a meal ticket.
***SPOILER COMING UP***
When she finally tires of Carlson, Hedy starts poisoning him. Pigeon learns what she is doing, and forces her to drink the poison - and she runs out screaming (supposedly to die alone somewhere in the jungle).
The story is impossibly melodramatic claptrap today - I can't imagine a remake without miles of rewriting. It was produced in 1923 on Broadway by Earl Carroll, a man who is now totally forgotten. While Florenz Ziegfeld had his failings, he is remembered fondly as a great theatrical producer with taste - his "Follies" had many truly beautiful women in them, but also leading comedians like W.C.Fields, Ed Wynn, Will Rogers, Raymond Hatton, Fanny Brice, and music by Jerome Kern, Victor Herbert, George Gershwin. His classy "Glorifying the American Woman" with extravagant costumes really set a standard that is still recalled. Carroll wanted to be Ziegfeld, and created his "Vanities". He too had some good comics working for him, such as Fields (one year), Jimmy Savo, even Jack Benny. But while Ziegfeld dressed up his ladies, Carroll skirted the edge trying to show women as close to naked as possible. Still, for some two decades Carroll remained a well known figure in New York (and later Hollywood) producing. This despite a six month jail sentence in Atlanta Federal Penitentiary (in 1926) for lying to a Federal Grand Jury when it was revealed he used illegal booze at a party.
He did lie (it was not too healthy to reveal who was your friendly bootlegger). Actually the thing people did not realize about Carroll's party was that it was to honor his fellow Pittsburgh citizen, Harry K. Thaw. The murderer of Stanford White was a potential show biz "angel", and when he showed up Carroll yelled, "Here's Harry Thaw! Three cheers for Harry!". That Carroll could say that showed his real lack of character. I doubt if Ziegfeld would have done it.
Carroll (like Ziegfeld) did produce shows that were not his typical reviews. But Ziegfeld produced shows like SHOWBOAT and THE THREE MUSKETEERS. Carroll produced shows like WHITE CARGO. Carroll claimed it was great art - but he knew that a racially mixed love or lust affair was going to bring in many customers (especially men). Carroll always tried to wrap himself with some first amendment shield or high art shield. It fooled nobody.
If you have the time on a wet afternoon, with nothing better to do, then you have reason to catch WHITE CARGO. If you have something better to do, I'd recommend doing it.
The story is one of jungle rot. Pigeon , Carlson, and Morgan (and other males in the cast) are working on a plantation in Africa, and life there is not made easier by the arrival of Lamarr, a half-breed (as they called so-called non-white temptresses in the days of the Hollywood "code"). She snares Carlson, who stupidly marries her. She only sees him as good for buying her luxuries and giving her a meal ticket.
***SPOILER COMING UP***
When she finally tires of Carlson, Hedy starts poisoning him. Pigeon learns what she is doing, and forces her to drink the poison - and she runs out screaming (supposedly to die alone somewhere in the jungle).
The story is impossibly melodramatic claptrap today - I can't imagine a remake without miles of rewriting. It was produced in 1923 on Broadway by Earl Carroll, a man who is now totally forgotten. While Florenz Ziegfeld had his failings, he is remembered fondly as a great theatrical producer with taste - his "Follies" had many truly beautiful women in them, but also leading comedians like W.C.Fields, Ed Wynn, Will Rogers, Raymond Hatton, Fanny Brice, and music by Jerome Kern, Victor Herbert, George Gershwin. His classy "Glorifying the American Woman" with extravagant costumes really set a standard that is still recalled. Carroll wanted to be Ziegfeld, and created his "Vanities". He too had some good comics working for him, such as Fields (one year), Jimmy Savo, even Jack Benny. But while Ziegfeld dressed up his ladies, Carroll skirted the edge trying to show women as close to naked as possible. Still, for some two decades Carroll remained a well known figure in New York (and later Hollywood) producing. This despite a six month jail sentence in Atlanta Federal Penitentiary (in 1926) for lying to a Federal Grand Jury when it was revealed he used illegal booze at a party.
He did lie (it was not too healthy to reveal who was your friendly bootlegger). Actually the thing people did not realize about Carroll's party was that it was to honor his fellow Pittsburgh citizen, Harry K. Thaw. The murderer of Stanford White was a potential show biz "angel", and when he showed up Carroll yelled, "Here's Harry Thaw! Three cheers for Harry!". That Carroll could say that showed his real lack of character. I doubt if Ziegfeld would have done it.
Carroll (like Ziegfeld) did produce shows that were not his typical reviews. But Ziegfeld produced shows like SHOWBOAT and THE THREE MUSKETEERS. Carroll produced shows like WHITE CARGO. Carroll claimed it was great art - but he knew that a racially mixed love or lust affair was going to bring in many customers (especially men). Carroll always tried to wrap himself with some first amendment shield or high art shield. It fooled nobody.
If you have the time on a wet afternoon, with nothing better to do, then you have reason to catch WHITE CARGO. If you have something better to do, I'd recommend doing it.