Ship of Fools
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Movie Reviews of Ship of Fools
Movie Review: A wonderful film with so much humanity
Summary: 5 Stars
So much humanity in this film.
It is wonderfully acted, written, there is irony, tenderness, despair, all the chaos
of feelings of some passengers on a boat, trapped in the horror of crawling Nazism.
A real classic.
Movie Review: Excellent Ship of Fools
Summary: 5 Stars
I loved this one. Just as I remembered it years ago. Would recommend it to anyone.Movie Review: The world is a "Ship of Fools"
Summary: 5 Stars
Just excellent. They don't make movies like this anymore and it is a shame.Movie Review: Shipboard Microcosm Ignited by Werner and Signoret
Summary: 4 Stars
An ocean liner in a movie usually signals some impending disaster as our cinematic sensibilities have become accustomed to special-effects-laden epics like "The Poseidon Adventure" and "Titanic". That's what probably makes director Stanley Kramer's 1965 "Ship of Fools" look all the more old-fashioned with its omnibus international cast and heavy emphasis on dialogue, and neither an iceberg nor a tidal wave to be seen within its lengthy 149-minute running time. In fact, the whole point of the film is to show a diverse group of people share a 1933 voyage between Veracruz and Bremerhaven in the midst of the rise of the Third Reich in Germany. Consequently the film focuses on messages of political intolerance, anti-Semitism, racism and class distinctions. It all sounds heavy, which fits snugly into Kramer's oeuvre, but actually what still resonates after forty years is a literate script by the estimable Abby Mann and the presence of well-cast actors, some quite exceptional in their roles.
Vivien Leigh is the nominal star, but she doesn't dominate the story. Looking gaunt and acting especially brittle, she gives age-fearing Mary Treadwell a Tennessee Williams makeover complete with a scene of desperate drunkenness beginning with an impromptu Charleston and ending with a merciless beating of Lee Marvin's even more drunken character with her shoe. Leigh's work was so infrequent at the time that this sadly became her last film. Marvin effectively plays Bill Tenny, an obnoxious Texan reliving his baseball glory days and lumbering around the ship looking for women. His best scene is in an empty dining room with Carl Glocken, embodied by the superb Michael Dunn, the story's narrator and an erudite man who happens to be a dwarf (a "sawed-off intellectual" according to Tenny). José Ferrer portrays an abrasive anti-Semitic publisher with his typical stentorian fervor, who ironically has to share a cabin with Jewish salesman Julius Lowenthal, played with contrasting gentility by Heinz Rühmann. Their scenes are rather comical until they come to bond, and Lowenthal spouts his Pollyanna view of the fate of the Jews in Germany. A very young and brooding George Segal and an ingenuous Elizabeth Ashley play David and Jenny, lovers conflicted about their differing priorities.
But best of all are the mature illicit lovers, Oskar Werner as Schumann, the married, ailing ship's doctor and Simone Signoret as La Condesa, the drug-addicted woman en route to a Cuban prison for her role in leading Mexicans to a social uprising. Their scenes together elevate the film into something quite remarkable as their relationship moves from hesitant, almost light-hearted seduction to deep-seeded love, all performed with emotional economy that makes their inevitable parting even more painful to watch. Werner bares Schumann's soul with precision until his final breath, and Signoret combines her unique blend of world-weariness and subtle coquettishness into a morally ambiguous yet magnetic character. Kramer paces the film well, and he also has some nice cinematic shots, like the sight of hundreds of Cuban refugees awaiting the ship to dock, but the constant use of fake backdrops lends an unwelcome staginess to the proceedings. All in all, this is a worthwhile journey to take, in particular, to see Werner and Signoret at their zenith.
Movie Review: haunting character study of pre-war Germany
Summary: 4 Stars
Based on the book by Katherine Anne Porter, SHIP OF FOOLS features Vivien Leigh in her final movie role, plus a star-studded international cast. This fascinating drama, set in 1933 on a cruiseliner from Mexico to Germany, presents a haunting allegory of the impending Holocaust.
On a ship bound for the port of Bremerhaven in Germany, we meet a colourful selection of passengers. Among them, disenchanted divorcee Mary Treadwell (Vivien Leigh); "La Contessa" (Simone Signoret), a drug-addicted political prisoner; and anti-semite Herr Rieber (Jose Ferrer). A vacationing American couple (Elizabeth Ashley and George Segal), and a group of money-minded flamenco dancers (led by Barbara Luna) are also on board. The story is dark and disturbing as we slowly become overwhelmed by the lives of the characters, who create a cross-section of Germany's citizens (and the political climate which helped give rise to the Third Reich).
As a metaphor of pre-war Germany, SHIP OF FOOLS hits the mark superbly. The characters are totally unaware that as their boat sails closer into Germany, they will ultimately enter a storm from which many will never return. That inner-storm is most evident in the monstrous character of Rieber, and Jose Ferrer plays the role with a megalomaniacal fervor which is frightening to witness.
Playing the emotionally expired Treadwell, Vivien Leigh invests her performance with an almost Chaplinesque fragility. The scene where she breaks into a frenzied Charleston was a throwback to her showstopping turn in the Broadway musical "Tovarich"; she's simply magical to watch in this movie, and although she's billed first in the credits, by no means is she the "star" of this ensemble piece. Simone Signoret and Oskar Werner provide the wounded center of the film, with the thwarted affair between "La Contessa" and the ship's Doctor, plagued with heart trouble. Michael Dunn is completely charming as Carl, a dwarf who acts as the audience's guide into the story. Elizabeth Ashley and George Segal are memorable too, playing a couple who clearly aren't meant to be together, but remain so out of a mutual need and pity. There are so many great characters to like (and hate) in SHIP OF FOOLS that you'll find your own favourites.
This is a haunting and emotionally-involving drama you'll want to revisit again and again. I was greatly-impressed by SHIP OF FOOLS. (Single-sided, dual-layer disc).