Freedom of the Seas (play)
Encyclopedia
Freedom of the Seas is a 1934
British
war film
directed by Marcel Varnel
and starring Clifford Mollison
, Wendy Barrie
and Zelma O'Neal
. It was adapted by Roger Burford from the English play of the same name by Walter C. Hackett
. It is also notable as David Lean
's first film credit, as focus puller
. It was Varnel's first film in Britain.
. Undashing but courageous, he foils a German sabotage plot.
1934 in film
-Events:*January 26 - Samuel Goldwyn purchases the film rights to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz from the L. Frank Baum estate for $40,000.*February 19 - Bob Hope marries Dolores Reade...
British
Cinema of the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom has had a major influence on modern cinema. The first moving pictures developed on celluloid film were made in Hyde Park, London in 1889 by William Friese Greene, a British inventor, who patented the process in 1890. It is generally regarded that the British film industry...
war film
War film
War films are a film genre concerned with warfare, usually about naval, air or land battles, sometimes focusing instead on prisoners of war, covert operations, military training or other related subjects. At times war films focus on daily military or civilian life in wartime without depicting battles...
directed by Marcel Varnel
Marcel Varnel
Marcel Varnel was a film director. He was born Marcel Hyacinthe le Bozec in Paris, France.Varnel started his working life on the Paris stage but soon became a director of musical comedies. In 1925 he moved to New York working as director in several Broadway operettas, musicals and dramas for the...
and starring Clifford Mollison
Clifford Mollison
Clifford Lely Mollison was a British film and television actor. He was married to the actress Avril Wheatley. His younger brother was the actor Henry Mollison.-Selected filmography:* The Lucky Number...
, Wendy Barrie
Wendy Barrie
Wendy Barrie was a British actress who worked in British and American films.-Early life:Marguerite Wendy Jenkins was born in Hong Kong to British parents...
and Zelma O'Neal
Zelma O'Neal
Zelma O'Neal was an actress, singer, and dancer in the 1920s and 1930s. She appeared on Broadway and in early sound films, including the Paramount Pictures films Paramount on Parade and Follow Thru ....
. It was adapted by Roger Burford from the English play of the same name by Walter C. Hackett
Walter C. Hackett
Walter C. Hackett was an English playwright, several of whose stage works were adapted for film...
. It is also notable as David Lean
David Lean
Sir David Lean CBE was an English film director, producer, screenwriter, and editor best remembered for big-screen epics such as The Bridge on the River Kwai , Lawrence of Arabia ,...
's first film credit, as focus puller
Focus puller
A focus puller, or 1st assistant cameraman, is a member of a film crew’s camera department whose primary responsibility is to maintain image sharpness on whatever subject or action is being filmed....
. It was Varnel's first film in Britain.
Plot
Smith, a mild-mannered clerk, unexpectedly becomes one of the first among his colleagues to sign up on the declaration of World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. Undashing but courageous, he foils a German sabotage plot.
Cast
- Clifford MollisonClifford MollisonClifford Lely Mollison was a British film and television actor. He was married to the actress Avril Wheatley. His younger brother was the actor Henry Mollison.-Selected filmography:* The Lucky Number...
as Smith - Wendy BarrieWendy BarrieWendy Barrie was a British actress who worked in British and American films.-Early life:Marguerite Wendy Jenkins was born in Hong Kong to British parents...
as Phyllis Harcourt - Zelma O'NealZelma O'NealZelma O'Neal was an actress, singer, and dancer in the 1920s and 1930s. She appeared on Broadway and in early sound films, including the Paramount Pictures films Paramount on Parade and Follow Thru ....
as Jennie - H.F. MaltbyH.F. MaltbyHenry Francis Maltby was a prolific writer for the London stage and British cinema from after the First World War, until the 1950s. He also appeared in many films.-Life and career:...
as Harcourt - Tyrell DavisTyrell Davis-Selected filmography:* His Glorious Night * Let Us Be Gay * Strictly Unconventional * The Magnificent Lie * The Road to Singapore * Temptation's Workshop * Our Betters...
as Cavendish - James CarewJames CarewJames Carew was an American actor who appeared in many films, mainly in Britain. He was born in Goshen, Indiana in 1876 and began work as a clerk in a publishing firm...
as Bottom - Cecil Ramage as Berkstrom
- Henry WenmanHenry Wenman-Selected filmography:* The Silver King * Bachelor's Baby * Money for Nothing * Two White Arms * Brother Alfred * Freedom of the Seas * There Goes Susie * Brewster's Millions...
as Wallace - Frederick Peisley as Jackson
- Frank Atkinson as O'Hara
- Charles PatonCharles PatonCharles Paton was an English film actor. He appeared in 105 films between 1927 and 1951, including Freedom of the Seas...
as Gamp
External links
- Review from the New York Times