Queer Cargo

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Queer Cargo
Queer Cargo film Lobby card (1938-2).jpg
Directed by Harold D. Schuster
Written by
Based onthe play Queer Cargo by Noel Langley
Produced by Walter C. Mycroft
Starring
Cinematography Otto Kanturek
Production
company
Distributed byAssociated British Film Distributors
Release date
  • 6 August 1938 (1938-08-06)
Running time
61 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget£33,923 [1]

Queer Cargo (also known as Pirates of the Seven Seas) is a 1938 British second feature ('B') [2] drama film directed by Harold D. Schuster and starring John Lodge, Judy Kelly and Kenneth Kent. [3] It was written by Patrick Kirwan| and Walter Summers based on the 1932 play of the same title by Noel Langley, and made at Elstree Studios. [4]

Contents

Plot

Captain Harley is forced by his ship's owner to smuggle pearls on his tramp steamer to Singapore. En route, the ship's crew mutinies, and then the ship is attacked by pirates.

Cast

Reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "This somewhat complicated story promises excitement and thrills which never come to anything. In its development it is unconvincing and improbable. There is a good deal of rather brutal fighting. Comedy relief is supplied by Henrietta Travers and her brother, but bricks cannot be made without straw, and laboured and inept dialogue hampers even so experienced a couple as Bertha Belmore and Wylie Watson." [5]

Kine Weekly wrote: "The most impressive feature of the picture is the resourceful blending of authentic shots with studio work. Atmosphere at times is really good but the direction unfortunately lacks the ingenuity and invention displayed by the technical department. Every time the dramatic motif is about to assert itself silly comedy crops up to injure stern and colourful illusion. With all the play's thematic scope, it seldom escapes from the threadbare inhibitions of the theatre. Very ordinary programme fare." [6]

Variety wrote: "Picture of the shipping industry in China seas is rather well done. Good cast helps make for a smooth performance. ... The plot proceeds along to what looks like surefire situations and progression for a popular film. It has practically all the ingredients for general appeal here. It might get by in America on the duals." [7]

References

  1. ↑ Chapman, Llewella. "'The highest salary ever paid to a human being': Creating a Database of Film Costs from the Bank of England". Journal of British cinema and television, 2022-10. Vol. 19, no. 4. Edinburgh University Press. p. 470-494 at 480.
  2. ↑ Chibnall, Steve; McFarlane, Brian (2009). The British 'B' Film. London: BFI/Bloomsbury. p. 10. ISBN   978-1-8445-7319-6.
  3. ↑ "Queer Cargo". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 5 November 2025.
  4. ↑ Wood, Linda (1986). British Films, 1927–1939 (PDF). British Film Institute. p. 99. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 October 2022.
  5. ↑ "Queer Cargo". The Monthly Film Bulletin . 5 (49): 197. 1 January 1938. ProQuest   1305796671.
  6. ↑ "Queer Cargo". Kine Weekly . 258 (1633): 33. 4 August 1938. ProQuest   2338228435.
  7. ↑ "Queer Cargo". Variety . 131 (10): 23. 17 August 1938. ProQuest   1476027375.
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