Souls at Sea
US (1937): Drama
Based on the true story of the William Brown murders, this combination of seafaring adventure and courtroom drama tells the story of a ship's first mate, Nuggin Taylor (Gary Cooper), who is tried and convicted for mass murder at sea before evidence arrives that the Queen of England enlisted him to sabotage the slave trade. After first being tried for mutiny after he and George Raft set free a slaver's cargo, British agents recruit the firebrand for a mission to disrupt the slave trade to the U.S. Raft dies nobly in this one rather than in a hail of police bullets.
George Raft initially turned down the role of Powdah because he didn't want to die on screen. Both Lloyd Nolan and Anthony Quinn were cast in the role before Raft relented. Henry Hathaway directs a cast that also includes Frances Dee, Henry Wilcoxon, Harry Carey, Robert Cummings and Joseph Schildkraut. (amctv.com)
3 nominations
· Interior Decoration 1937: Hans Dreier & Roland Anderson - Art Direction
· Assistant Director 1937: Hal Walker
· Music Scoring Awards (Best Score) 1937: Boris Morros (Paramount Studio Music Department), Departmental Head, W. Franke Harling & Milan Roder - Score