|
Strange Cargo (1940) Costarring:
Gable is Verne, a thief who has been imprisoned for years in a dirty jail on
an island in New Guinea. Out on work duty one day, he comes across Julie
(Crawford), a cafe singer. She turns him in when he breaks out to try and be
with her. She is then banished from the island for harboring a criminal.
When Verne manages to escape again along with fellow inmates, Julie joins
them on their voyage to the mainland. Both are uneasy by the presence of
Cambreau (Hunter), a mysterious Christ-like figure who recites scriptures
and begs them to repent their ways. Julie struggles with her love for Verne
and whether or not to continue on with him in a life of crime or to come
clean. Lorre appears as the devious Monsieur Pig, who wants Julie all to
himself.
Watch a clip
Reviews Photoplay Magazine, May 1940: The original name of this was "Not Too Narrow, Not Too Deep" and it referred to the graves people dig themselves. There is much of death about the film. It is a weird, allegorical preachment having to do with escaping convicts in the jungles surrounding a tropical prison camp. Clark Gable plays the toughest of the convicts, Joan Crawford a brothel gal. She is kicked off the island, has no money for steamer fare and joins the band. Through all the tribulations of these miserable people strides a Christlike figure in the person of Ian Hunter, who struggles to bring about their regeneration. Miss Crawford gives a suburb dramatic portrayal and goes off the glamour standard for the first time. Hunter looks benevolent and Gable seems a little embarrassed with a role that would embarrass practically anybody. Peter Lorre is M. Pig and most expressive about it. Quote-able Gable " Yeah, maybe one of them rats in there slipped me one. I've got a couple of hiddenweapons at that--here and here. Nobody can take them away from me." first line "Yeah, it's tough. You've plugged up every hole I've ever made but you know I'm gonna make another one." "I'm a thief by profession, not a convict. There's nothing worth stealing around here except freedom. and I'm after some of that." "You've got class, kid. Or is it because I haven't seen any women lately?" "Don't try that again. 'Cause if you do I'll break a couple of your bones. If you've got any." "I don't know what you'll look like tomorrow but right now, baby, you're the most beautiful dame in the world. Does that mean anything to you?" "Yes my dear brethren, the day of salvation is at hand." "Garbage, but good enough for a man when he's starving. So you'll do too, baby." "Oh, so I'm a swine for robbing the dead!" "A woman would be a chump to fall for a guy like me, wouldn't she? What could she win?" "It's a great spot for a dame. Bring a guy up to a point where he can't see anything else in the world except her. You had me where there's nothing I wouldn't have done for you. I'd have gone on being a thief or I'd have tried it the other way if that is what you wanted. How does that sound?" "All of a sudden things look different, don't they baby?" "Did you hear that? Did you hear what he said, Cambreau? In heaven and on earth, in all the world, there's nobody that can save you but me! So when you say your prayers, say them to me, Cambreau! I'm the only God you can call on now! I'm the old temple, remember? you were right when you said God was in me, God's in everybody! Gippy's God, I'm God, you're---" "What do you think?" last line Behind the Scenes Gable's role had first been offered to Spencer Tracy, who turned it down. Crawford suggested Gable for the role. Filming began in mid-September 1939. While Gable worked on this film, wife Lombard was working on the nursing drama Vigil in the Night. It had been a few years since Gable and Crawford had starred together and their relationship had grown strained. Many say this was because Crawford was jealous of Gable's recent marriage to Carole Lombard. Crawford would whisper things to Gable during scenes and he would stomp off, looking irritated. Her longtime hairdresser quit the film because he couldn't stand the tension and the cruel way they treated each other. Crawford's wardrobe consisted of three ready-to-wear dresses which cost under $40 and for most of the film she wore no makeup. The jungle scenes were filmed on MGM's backlot. The very same jungle was used in Gable's films Red Dust and Too Hot to Handle. The beach scenes were shot on Pismo Beach, California. While shooting a scene where Gable and Crawford are running through the jungle, they pass a snake hanging in a tree. After they shot the scene once, Crawford suddenly realized that the snake was real. "That son of a bitch is alive!"When informed that the snake's mouth had been tied shut with a rubber band, she said "And what happens if the rubber band snaps!" and refused to shoot the scene again.
|
