A team of international scientists and engineers attempts to build a tunnel under the ocean.A team of international scientists and engineers attempts to build a tunnel under the ocean.A team of international scientists and engineers attempts to build a tunnel under the ocean.
George Arliss
- Prime Minister of Great Britain
- (as Mr. George Arliss)
Walter Huston
- President of the United States
- (as Mr. Walter Huston)
James Carew
- Jim Barton
- (uncredited)
Pat Fitzpatrick
- Geoffrey - As a young child
- (uncredited)
Jacqueline Giovanni
- Young Girl
- (uncredited)
Helen Haye
- Oil Magnate
- (uncredited)
Bryan Herbert
- American Reporter
- (uncredited)
Dennis Hoey
- Worker
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaOne of the plot elements that crops up in the movie is a volcanic area that the tunnelers run into about halfway across the Atlantic. This makes sense, as the Mid-Atlantic Ridge is a very active area. The neat part in relation to the movie is that while the existence of a "Ridge" on the seafloor was known at the time, it was not known that it was so active. It wasn't until the Heezen/Ewing/Tharp mapping of the ocean floor in the 1950s that people discovered that Seismic activity and "Seafloor Spreading" due to magma seepage were going on. That was about 20 years after the makers of the film surmised Magma pockets near the Mid-Atlantic.
- GoofsAlthough the story takes place over a period of about twenty years, none of the principal players shows any sign of aging, despite all the ordeals encountered.
- Quotes
Richard 'Mack' McAllan: There are bigger things than money.
Airways Magnate: We don't deal in 'em.
- Crazy creditsAt the end of the opening credits, a card comes up with "Gaumont-British Picture Corpn. Ltd. were fortunate in securing the services of Mr. George Arliss and Mr. Walter Huston for the parts of Prime Minister of Great Britain and President of the United States."
- ConnectionsEdited from Der Tunnel (1933)
Featured review
Greek tragedy (hubris) as science fiction
An interesting futuristic film on the premise of building a tunnel under the Atlantic ocean to link Britian and the USA. Richard Dix is his usual stalwart presence as McAllan, an engineer who has in this scenario already created a tunnel under the English Channel, uniting France and England as of 1940, five years in the future from when the film was released.
There are the usual disasters, delays and money problems. The crux of the film though rises from the tragic flaw of hubris (pride), which causes tragedy within the family of McAllan due to his dogged determination to put his job/his vision above all else.
A slight problem results from casting both leading women (Madge Evans and Helen Vinson) since they resemble each other so closely, one has trouble following who is on screen. The best moment is the meeting of the two late in the film and the touching and illuminating scene that results.
Leslie Banks is excellent as the best friend. Henry Oscar is a marvelous villain, self-assured and wickedly serene.
Arliss and Huston have two back to back scenes, beginning at 43 minutes in and one hour and fifteen minutes in. They are quite short and constitute cameos.
The real star here is the art direction of the tunnel itself.
It is kept vague as to exactly how the USA and the UK are going to benefit from this tunnel, however. Seems more problematic than somewhat as opposed to sea or air travel.
It's quite gripping and quite enjoyable. Recommended.
There are the usual disasters, delays and money problems. The crux of the film though rises from the tragic flaw of hubris (pride), which causes tragedy within the family of McAllan due to his dogged determination to put his job/his vision above all else.
A slight problem results from casting both leading women (Madge Evans and Helen Vinson) since they resemble each other so closely, one has trouble following who is on screen. The best moment is the meeting of the two late in the film and the touching and illuminating scene that results.
Leslie Banks is excellent as the best friend. Henry Oscar is a marvelous villain, self-assured and wickedly serene.
Arliss and Huston have two back to back scenes, beginning at 43 minutes in and one hour and fifteen minutes in. They are quite short and constitute cameos.
The real star here is the art direction of the tunnel itself.
It is kept vague as to exactly how the USA and the UK are going to benefit from this tunnel, however. Seems more problematic than somewhat as opposed to sea or air travel.
It's quite gripping and quite enjoyable. Recommended.
helpful•90
- bbmtwist
- Aug 7, 2016
Details
- Runtime1 hour 34 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content