An ocean liner is found at sea with everyone on board dead. An investigation is begun to find out what happened.
Acting
Jack La Rue's menacing stare could sink actual ships.
Production
Depression-era ship sets that creak with authenticity.
Writing
Pre-Code dialogue that absolutely would NOT fly later.
Director
Paul Sloane
John Halliday
Maximilian Kreig
Charles Ruggles
Blackie Witherspoon
Shirley Grey
Lili Kingston
Neil Hamilton
James Cowles
Jack La Rue
Gregory Cordoff
Verree Teasdale
Millicent Hazlitt
Stanley Fields
Capt. Swanson
Leila Bennett
Lena Klein
Morgan Wallace
Morton Hazlitt
Thomas E. Jackson
Capt. Derick Alison
William Janney
Edward Wilson
Paul Hurst
Boatswain
Frank Hagney
First Mate
Clarence Wilson
Ship's Doctor
Paul Porcasi
Luigi - the Chef
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Made during the brief 'pre-Code' window (1930-1934) when Hollywood could show sex, drugs, and moral ambiguity before censorship crushed everything fun.
This was one of Paramount's 'quota quickies'—cheap films made to fulfill British theater requirements, shot in about two weeks with borrowed sets.
US
