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The Captain Hates the Sea

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The Captain Hates the Sea
Directed byLewis Milestone
Screenplay byWallace Smith
Arnold Belgard
Based onThe Captain Hates the Sea
1933 novel
by Wallace Smith
Produced byLewis Milestone
StarringVictor McLaglen
Wynne Gibson
Alison Skipworth
John Gilbert
Helen Vinson
CinematographyJoseph H. August
Edited byGene Milford
Distributed byColumbia Pictures
Release date
  • November 2, 1934 (1934-11-02)
Running time
92 minutes[1]
85 minutes
(Sony Pictures Television Print)
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The Captain Hates the Sea is a 1934 comedy film directed by Lewis Milestone and released by Columbia Pictures.[2][3] The film, which involves a Grand Hotel-style series of intertwining stories involving the passengers on a cruise ship, was the last feature film of silent film icon John Gilbert and the first Columbia feature to include The Three Stooges (Curly Howard, Moe Howard and Larry Fine) in the cast as the ship's orchestra. The film also stars Victor McLaglen, Arthur Treacher, Akim Tamiroff, Leon Errol and Walter Connolly.[4][5]

Plot

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Alcoholic newspaperman Steve Bramley boards the ship San Capador for a restful cruise, hoping to quit drinking and begin writing a book. Also on board are Steve's friend Schulte, a private detective hoping to nab criminal Danny Checkett with a fortune in stolen bonds. Steve begins drinking, all the while observing the various stories of other passengers on board, several of whom turn out not to be who they seem to be.

Cast

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Production

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During production, the film went over budget due in large part to the alcohol-fueled partying by Gilbert, McLaglen, Errol, Catlett and Connolly. Harry Cohn, the head of Columbia, became alarmed and sent a cable to Lewis Milestone that read: "Hurry up! The cost is staggering!" Milestone, in turn, sent a cable to Cohn that read: "So is the cast!"[6][7]

The exterior footage of the San Capeador (filmed at San Pedro Harbor) would be recycled in the Three Stooges' short Dunked in the Deep.[8]

A DVD of The Captain Hates the Sea was released on August 2, 2011, by Sony.[5]

References

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  1. ^ threestooges.net
  2. ^ Variety film review; December 4, 1934, page 12.
  3. ^ Harrison's Reports film review; December 1, 1934, page 191.
  4. ^ New York Times review
  5. ^ a b Film Threat review
  6. ^ Medved, Harry & Michael. "The Hollywood Hall of Shame," Perigree Books, 1984. ISBN 0-399-50714-0
  7. ^ Thomas, Bob, "King Cohn: The Life and Times of Harry Cohn," G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1967.
  8. ^ Solomon, Jon (2000). The Complete Three Stooges: The Official Filmography and Three Stooges Companion. Glendale, California: Comedy III Productions, Inc. p. 309. ISBN 0971186804.
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