Plot
Navy Lieutenant Greg Winters (Alan Hale) is found guilty by a court-martial for pausing briefly to prepare to rescue survivors of the Alatania, a torpedoed ship, rather than attacking immediately the submarine responsible. As a result, he is sidelined for the rest of World War I.
In 1925 New Orleans, lawyer Henry Sykes (Clarence Wilson) hires now civilian Captain Winters for a salvage job on behalf of Evelyn Inchcape (Laura La Plante). Sykes insists on using his own deep sea diver to retrieve something from none other than the Alatania. After a box is brought up, Winters confronts the diver, who turns out to be Karl Ludwig, the commander of the submarine for whom Winters has been searching. He puts Ludwig in the brig, though he soon escapes.
Then Winters goes to see Sykes and Inchcape. Inchcape's wealthy uncle and cousin lost their lives aboard the Alatania. Winters reports he has recovered two wills, one leaving a million dollar estate to Inchcape, the other to the cousin, whom Sykes implies is still alive. Now, after seven years, the uncle can be declared legally dead. Winters is willing to split the money with either party. Despite his professed indifference to Inchcape's beauty and her loathing of men in general, when they are alone, he gives her the first option. She despises him, but he tears the will in her favor in two and gives her half. Later, he sees Sykes at his office and, while pretending to bargain, learns that the cousin is actually dead; Sykes intended to produce an imposter.
Sykes bribes Winters' first mate and some men to betray him. When Winters goes to settle accounts with Ludwig, he is ambushed and knocked out (though Ludwig has no part in it). Sykes kidnaps Inchcape and sets sail on Winters' ship. In a cabin, Sykes attempts to force himself on Inchcape, but she is rescued by Ludwig. They have a talk. Meanwhile, Winters, accompanied by his friend, ineffectual upper class lawyer Percy Atwater (Claud Allister), boards the ship and subdues the crew.
Then he gets his long-awaited bout with Ludwig. Just as Winters is about to choke the life out of his hated foe, Inchcape shows him a letter in which Ludwig's sweetheart informs him that she will be sailing on the Alatania. Ludwig received it after the sinking. Winters acknowledges that Ludwig has suffered enough and lets him go.
Afterward, Winters forces Sykes to marry him and Inchcape, before having the lawyer tossed overboard.
Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh was an English writer of novels, biographies, and travel books; he was also a prolific journalist and book reviewer. His most famous works include the early satires Decline and Fall (1928) and A Handful of Dust (1934), the novel Brideshead Revisited (1945), and the Second World War trilogy Sword of Honour (1952–1961). He is recognised as one of the great prose stylists of the English language in the 20th century.
William Baffin was an English navigator, explorer and cartographer. He is primarily known for his attempt to discover a Northwest Passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific, during the course of which he was the first European to discover Baffin Bay in present-day Canada. He was also responsible for exceptional surveys of the Red Sea and Persian Gulf on behalf of the East India Company.
Alan Hale Sr. was an American actor and director. He is best remembered for his many character roles, in particular as a frequent sidekick of Errol Flynn, as well as films supporting Lon Chaney, Wallace Beery, Douglas Fairbanks, James Cagney, Clark Gable, Cary Grant, Humphrey Bogart, and Ronald Reagan. Hale was usually billed as Alan Hale and his career in film lasted 40 years. His son, Alan Hale Jr., also became an actor and remains most famous for playing "the Skipper" on the television series Gilligan's Island.
The Second Battle of Heligoland Bight, also the Action in the Helgoland Bight and the Zweite Seeschlacht bei Helgoland, was an inconclusive naval engagement fought between British and German squadrons on 17 November 1917 during the First World War.
Fortunes of War is the name given to a series of six novels by Olivia Manning that describe the experiences of a young married couple early in World War II. The series is made up of two trilogies: the books The Great Fortune (1960), The Spoilt City (1962), and Friends and Heroes (1965) compose The Balkan Trilogy, while The Danger Tree (1977), The Battle Lost and Won (1978), and The Sum of Things (1980) compose The Levant Trilogy. The novels were based on Manning's personal experiences during the war.
Platinum Blonde is a 1931 American pre-Code romantic comedy motion picture starring Jean Harlow, Robert Williams, and Loretta Young. The film was written by Jo Swerling and directed by Frank Capra. Platinum Blonde was Robert Williams' last screen appearance; he died of peritonitis three days after the film's October 31 release.
The Ordeal of Gilbert Pinfold is a novel by the British writer Evelyn Waugh, first published in July 1957. It is Waugh's penultimate full-length work of fiction, which the author called his "mad book"—a largely autobiographical account of a period of hallucinations caused by bromide intoxication that he experienced in the early months of 1954, recounted through his protagonist Gilbert Pinfold.
The Cat and the Canary is a 1927 American silent horror film adaptation of John Willard's 1922 black comedy play of the same name. Directed by German Expressionist filmmaker Paul Leni, the film stars Laura La Plante as Annabelle West, Forrest Stanley as Charles "Charlie" Wilder, and Creighton Hale as Paul Jones. The plot revolves around the death of Cyrus West, who is Annabelle, Charlie, and Paul's uncle, and the reading of his will 20 years later. Annabelle inherits her uncle's fortune, but when she and her family spend the night in his haunted mansion they are stalked by a mysterious figure. Meanwhile, a lunatic known as "the Cat" escapes from an asylum and hides in the mansion.
Tugboat Annie Sails Again is a 1940 American comedy romance film directed by Lewis Seiler. The picture is a sequel to Tugboat Annie (1933). Marjorie Rambeau took over the late Marie Dressler's role, and the supporting cast features Alan Hale Sr., Jane Wyman, and Ronald Reagan.
Brigadier-General Sir Percy Molesworth Sykes, was a soldier, diplomat, and scholar with a considerable literary output. He wrote historical, geographical, and biographical works, as well as describing his travels in Persia and Central Asia.
The Blue and the Gray is a television miniseries that first aired on CBS in three installments on November 14, November 16, and November 17, 1982. Set during the American Civil War, the series starred John Hammond, Stacy Keach, Lloyd Bridges, and Gregory Peck as President Abraham Lincoln. It was executive produced by Larry White and Lou Reda, in association with Columbia Pictures Television. A novel of the same name by John Leekley was published as a companion to the series in 1982, based on a story by John Leekley and Bruce Catton and the teleplay by Ian McLellan Hunter. The title refers to the colors of the uniforms worn by United States Army and Confederate States Army soldiers respectively.
Hugo Richard Charteris, 11th Earl of Wemyss and 7th Earl of March DL, styled Lord Elcho from 1883 to 1914, was a British Conservative politician.
Claud Allister was an English actor with an extensive film career in both Britain and Hollywood, where he appeared in more than 70 films between 1929 and 1955.
The Smiling Ghost is a 1941 film directed by Lewis Seiler and starring Wayne Morris, Alexis Smith, and Alan Hale. The film is in the horror comedy genre, which was popular in the 1940s.
Clarence Hummel Wilson was an American character actor.
Commander William Thomas Turner, OBE, RNR was a British merchant navy captain. He is best known as the captain of RMS Lusitania when she was sunk by a German torpedo in May 1915.
The Midshipmaid is a 1932 British comedy film directed by Albert de Courville and starring Jessie Matthews, Frederick Kerr, Basil Sydney and Nigel Bruce. The film is based on the 1931 play of the same title by Ian Hay and Stephen King-Hall. it was released in the U.S. as Midshipmaid Gob. John Mills makes his film debut in a supporting role. It was shot at the Lime Grove Studios, with sets designed by the art director Alfred Junge.
Dangerous Innocence is a 1925 American silent romantic comedy film written by Lewis Milestone and James O. Spearing based upon the 1923 novel Ann's an Idiot by Pamela Wynne. Directed by William A. Seiter for Universal Pictures, the film starred Laura La Plante and Eugene O'Brien.
Madame Behave is a 1925 American silent comedy film directed by Scott Sidney starring cross-dressing actor Julian Eltinge. The film is an adaptation of the play Madame Lucy by Jean Arlette and was produced by Al Christie with distribution through Producers Distributing Corporation.
John Jeremiah Jacob was an American businessman, financier, real estate developer, and philanthropist active in Kentucky. He was involved in banking, as well as in commerce, real estate, and infrastructure: railroads, canal, bridge, and utilities.
