An Ame rican submarine crew in Shanghai with a couple hours shore leave remaining pile into "the longest bar in the world". They are soon recalled to their ship and set to sea in a storm only to be broadsided by a friendly vessel, then sink.
Nearly an hour is devoted to the crew coping with th eir situation. They are up to their knees in water. Poisonous fumes from batteries and circuits are filling the air as oxygen levels are depleted. The crew begin nodding off, one by one.
A very unusual film, in that it is presented as a combination talkie and silent. There are intertitles along with audible spoken dialog, background and special FX sounds. Several times a paragraph of dialog will begin with the first word being audible and a sudden injection of an intertitle to silently finish. I thought this was the most interesting aspect of the film. The soundtrack was the most entertaining part.
John Wayne is listed in the credits. I read he is a radio operator, but none of the radio operators I saw resembled Wayne. I couldn't pick him out anywhere else either. It's not likely it is another John Wayne either, since John Ford was using him as an extra in films since the 1920s.
Not a bad story. I am giving this a high rating for the soundtrack alone - I was fascinated by it. Highly recommended if you are interested in the dawn of sound and all of the problems that came with it.
Nearly an hour is devoted to the crew coping with th eir situation. They are up to their knees in water. Poisonous fumes from batteries and circuits are filling the air as oxygen levels are depleted. The crew begin nodding off, one by one.
A very unusual film, in that it is presented as a combination talkie and silent. There are intertitles along with audible spoken dialog, background and special FX sounds. Several times a paragraph of dialog will begin with the first word being audible and a sudden injection of an intertitle to silently finish. I thought this was the most interesting aspect of the film. The soundtrack was the most entertaining part.
John Wayne is listed in the credits. I read he is a radio operator, but none of the radio operators I saw resembled Wayne. I couldn't pick him out anywhere else either. It's not likely it is another John Wayne either, since John Ford was using him as an extra in films since the 1920s.
Not a bad story. I am giving this a high rating for the soundtrack alone - I was fascinated by it. Highly recommended if you are interested in the dawn of sound and all of the problems that came with it.