Rulers of the Sea
{{short description|1939 film by Frank Lloyd}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Rulers of the Sea
| image = Rulers of the Sea.jpg
| caption = Film poster
| director = Frank Lloyd
| producer = Frank Lloyd
| writer = Frank Cavett
Richard Collins
Talbot Jennings
| narrator =
| starring = Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.
Margaret Lockwood
Will Fyffe
George Bancroft
| music = Richard Hageman
| editing = Paul Weatherwax
| cinematography = Theodor Sparkuhl
| studio = Paramount Pictures
| distributor = Paramount Pictures
| released = {{Film date|1939|11|08}}
| runtime = 96 minutes
| country = United States
| language = English
| budget =at least $1,500,000{{cite magazine|magazine=Variety|url=https://archive.org/details/variety134-1939-06/page/n110/mode/1up/search/%22margaret+lockwood%22?q=%22margaret+lockwood%22|date=21 June 1939|title=Filmmakers Put to Sea|page=7}}
| gross =
}}
Rulers of the Sea is a 1939 American historical drama film directed by Frank Lloyd and starring Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Margaret Lockwood and Will Fyffe.[https://web.archive.org/web/20090113221806/http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/49020 BFI.org] The film's story is based on the voyage of the {{SS|Savannah}}, the first steamship to cross the North Atlantic, from Britain to the United States. The film was made by Paramount Pictures, but featured Lockwood and Fyffe who were two of the leading stars of the British Gainsborough Pictures studios. The supporting cast features Alan Ladd.
Plot
{{no plot|date=February 2023}}
Cast
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
- Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. as David 'Davie' Gillespie
- Margaret Lockwood as Mary Shaw
- Will Fyffe as John Shaw
- George Bancroft as Captain Oliver
- Montagu Love as Malcolm Grant
- Vaughan Glaser as Junius Smith
- David Torrence as Donald Fenton
- Lester Matthews as Lt. Roberts
- Alec Craig as Foreman MacNeil
- Barlowe Borland as Magistrate
- Wilson Benge as Campbell
- Harry Allen as Murdock
- Barry Macollum as Miller
- David Cavendish as First Officer Lewis
- David Clyde as Second Mate Evans
- Charles McAvoy as O'Brien
- Alan Ladd as Colin Farrell
- Lawrence Grant as Mr. Negley
- John Power as Captain of 'Dog Star'
- William Haade as A Stoker
{{div col end}}
Production
The film was one in a series of million-dollar "spectacles" from Paramount. It was based on the history of the Cunard Line.{{Cite news|title=PARAMOUNT LISTS NEW PRODUCTIONS: 1937–38 Schedule-Includes 22 'Million-Dollar' Films, the Company Announces BUDGET IS UP $10,000,000 Provides for an Unprecedented Number of Musicals-50 to 60 Features Planned Some of the Features Cartoon and Short Subjects|date=June 11, 1937|work=New York Times|page=26}} This subject matter was inspired by the success of the movie Lloyd's of London, which led to a series of movies revolving around the history of companies. (Others from this time include Spawn of the North (1938), Western Union (1940), and Hudson Bay Company (1940).){{Cite news|title=BIG BUSINESS CRASHING FLICKER INDUSTRY: Commercial Growth Glorified in Films Steel, Rails, Shipping, Banking Are Few of Subjects Promised|author=Scott, John.|date=Mar 27, 1938|work=Los Angeles Times|page=C1}}
The film used the writer and director of the hit MGM film Mutiny on the Bounty (1935), Talbot Jennings and Frank Lloyd.{{Cite news|title=SCREEN NEWS HERE AND IN HOLLYWOOD: Lloyd Will Direct 'Rulers of the Sea,' Another in Series of 'Paramount Epics' METRO IS SEEKING CANTOR Don Ameche to Play Role of D'Artagnan in Fox Version of 'Three Musketeers' Of Local Origin|date=Sep 6, 1938|work=New York Times|page=17}}
Will Fyffe, British film star, was borrowed from Gainsborough Pictures in the US to play engineer John Shaw.NEW FILMS ABOUT SCOTLAND: MICHAEL POWELL'S ORCADIAN THRILLER
The Scotsman 11 Apr 1939: 13 Filming started on his arrival in Hollywood on 19 April 1939.{{Cite news|title=SCREEN NEWS HERE AND IN HOLLYWOOD: Negotiations Under Way for Purchase of Film Rights to Dreiser's 'Sister Carrie' 'DARK VICTORY' WILL OPEN Premiere Today for Picture in Which Bette Davis and George Brent Are Stars Of Local Origin|author=DOUGLAS W. CHURCHILL|date=Apr 20, 1939|work=New York Times|page=21}} Margaret Lockwood had also been borrowed from Gainborough.
The film used two real ships,{{Cite news|title=Frank Lloyd Sets Off On New Voyage: Hollywood Letter Two Technical Experts Builds Own Ship|author=Frank Daugherty Special to The|date=Sep 22, 1939|work=Christian Science Monitor|page=10}}
the sailing vessel being Metha Nelson.
The film was made with the British audience in mind, so Paramount were worried on the declaration of war.{{Cite news|title=PRODUCERS GIRD FOR WAR: The Cinema Capital Contemplates Its Probable Effects Upon the Industry|author=DOUGLAS W. CHURCHILL|date=Sep 10, 1939|work=New York Times|page=X3}}
Reception
Fairbanks Jr called it "a very boring story... very static. Lost a bundle."{{cite book |last1=Bawden |first1= James|last2=Miller |first2=Ron |date= 4 March 2016|title=Conversations with Classic Film Stars: Interviews from Hollywood's Golden Era |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tkKWCwAAQBAJ&q=douglas+fairbanks+jnr+interview&pg=PA91 |publisher=University Press of Kentucky |page=101 |isbn=9780813167121}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb title|0031883}}
- {{TCMDb title|88740}}
- [https://archive.org/details/variety135-1939-09/page/n110/mode/1up/search/%22margaret+lockwood%22?q=%22margaret+lockwood%22 Review of film] at Variety
{{Frank Lloyd |state=collapsed}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rulers Of The Sea}}
Category:1930s English-language films
Category:Films directed by Frank Lloyd
Category:Films set in the 19th century
Category:Paramount Pictures films
Category:American black-and-white films
Category:American historical drama films
Category:1930s historical drama films
Category:Films set in Scotland