Pacific Liner
US (1939): Drama
Victor McLaglen, Chester Morris, Wendy Barrie, Alan Hale and Barry Fitzgerald are featured in this unremarkable saga from RKO Radio. This film has more potential than actual interest. It's something of a potboiler set in the boiler room of a pacific freight liner. Cholera breaks out and the captain and his staff keep the information isolated below decks as the boiler crew deals with fear and mutiny. McLaglen does his usual bravado work as the man in charge of the workers and Morris provides the sensitivity as the ship's doctor. There's also Wendy Barrie for love interest. It's pretty claustrophobic and never really goes for the storyline or character potential in the set up. This makes it something of a B film. Odd note: Robert Russell Bennett wrote a brief and undistinguished score (except for the main title and a dance sequence, all the music takes place in the last fifteen minutes of the film) and somehow earned an Oscar®: nomination for it. Most undeserved. See it if you're looking to pass the time, otherwise don't bother. (Arne Andersen, IMDb)
1 nomination
· Music Scoring Awards (Original Score) 1938: Robert Russell Bennett