China Seas (1935)

Director:

Tay Garnett

Writers:

Crosbie Garstin (book)
Jules Furthman (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

16 August 1935 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Adventure | Romance

Plot:

When earthy Dolly Portland is rejected by Captain Gaskell in favor of a socialite, she aids Jamesy McCardle, in league with Malay pirates, in his plot to seize his ship.

Plot Keywords:

Rickshaw | Captain | Author | Ship Captain | Asian Stereotype

Cast

Clark Gable	...	Captain Alan Gaskell
Jean Harlow	...	Dolly 'China Doll' Portland
Wallace Beery	...	Jamesy MacArdle
Lewis Stone	...	Tom Davids, 3rd Officer
Rosalind Russell	...	Sybil Barclay
Dudley Digges	...	Mr. Dawson, 1st Officer
C. Aubrey Smith	...	Sir Guy Wilmerding
Robert Benchley	...	Charlie McCaleb
William Henry	...	Mr. Rockwell, Junior Officer
Liev De Maigret	...	Mrs. Olga Vollberg (as Live de Maigret)
Lilian Bond	...	Mrs. Timmons (as Lillian Bond)
Edward Brophy	...	Wilbur Timmons
Soo Yong	...	Yu-Lan
Carol Ann Beery	...	Carol Ann, Little Girl Saved From Crushing Piano by Alan
Akim Tamiroff	...	Paul Romanoff
Ivan Lebedeff	...	Ngah
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Harry C. Bradley	...	(scenes deleted)
Charles Coleman	...	(scenes deleted)
Edward McWade	...	(scenes deleted)
Daisy Belmore	...	Martha, Sybil's Maid (uncredited)
Barlowe Borland	...	Willett, Royal Canada Bank (uncredited)
Emily Fitzroy	...	Mrs. Higgins (uncredited)
Pat Flaherty	...	Second Officer Kingston (uncredited)
Willie Fung	...	Cabin Boy Ah Sing (uncredited)
Chester Gan	...	Rickshaw Boy (uncredited)
Tom Gubbins	...	Ship's Officer / Sergeant of the Guards (uncredited)
Forrester Harvey	...	Chief Steward Ted Gary (uncredited)
John Ince	...	Ship's Pilot (uncredited)
Charles Irwin	...	Bertie the Purser (uncredited)
Tetsu Komai	...	Malay Pirate (uncredited)
Eddie Lee	...	Sailor on Bridge (uncredited)
Hattie McDaniel	...	Isabel McCarthy, Dolly's Maid (uncredited)
Malcolm McGregor	...	Atkins, Dock Manager (uncredited)
Donald Meek	...	Passenger Playing Chess (uncredited)
Ferdinand Munier	...	Police Superintendent (uncredited)
Beatrice Roberts	...	Ship's Passenger (uncredited)
James Wang	...	Trapshooting Attendant (uncredited)
Bobby Watson	...	Man on Dock with McCaleb (uncredited)

Directed by
Tay Garnett

Writing credits
Crosbie Garstin		(book)
Jules Furthman		(screenplay) and
James Kevin McGuinness		(screenplay)
Paul Bern		contributor to story (uncredited) and
Paul Hervey Fox		contributor to dialogue (uncredited) and
Monckton Hoffe		early script writer (uncredited) and
John Lee Mahin		contributor to screenplay construction (uncredited) and
Maurice Revnes		early script writer (uncredited)

Produced by
Albert Lewin	....	associate producer
Irving Thalberg	....	executive producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Herbert Stothart

Cinematography by
Ray June

Film Editing by
William LeVanway

Art Direction by
Cedric Gibbons

Costume Design by
Adrian		(gowns)

Production Management
Joe Cohn	....	production manager (uncredited)
Frank Messenger	....	unit manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Harold S. Bucquet	....	second unit director: mob scenes (uncredited)
James C. McKay	....	second unit director: night water scenes (uncredited)
Joseph M. Newman	....	assistant director (uncredited)
William A. Wellman	....	second unit director: pirate scenes (uncredited)

Art Department
James Curtis Havens	....	associate art director
David Townsend	....	associate art director
Edwin B. Willis	....	associate art director
Elmer Sheeley	....	assistant to art director (uncredited)

Sound Department
Douglas Shearer	....	recording director

Special Effects by
Warren Newcombe	....	special effects (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
James Basevi	....	miniatures (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Clyde De Vinna	....	director of photography: second unit (uncredited)
Ellsworth Fredericks	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
Ray Ramsey	....	assistant camera (uncredited)

Other crew
Chick Collins	....	double: Clark Gable (uncredited)
Loretta Rush	....	double: Jean Harlow (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (controlled by Loew's Inc.)

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1935) (USA) (theatrical)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1993) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1994) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Loew's

Runtime:

87 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | USA:Approved (PCA #899)

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

While shooting in the studio two stuntmen were nearly killed as they were washed away by 50 tons of water.

Quotes:

Captain Alan Gaskell: Did you ever see an English river?
Dolly 'China Doll' Portland: No, I'm dumb at geography just like I am at everything else.
Captain Alan Gaskell: Well, it's cool and clear. Put a stream like that alongside any river out here - dirty, yellow, muddy - you'll see the difference.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Bhowani Junction (1956)

Soundtrack:

Chopsticks

A great story and a great cast

A great story and a great cast. If you set aside all the early Hollywood traps about racism and sexism, this is a terrific and watchable romance/adventure.

The story is very similar to Gable's later film, "Mogambo." He's the adventurous cad who loves two women - a beautiful ice-queen who represents his link to civilization (Russell); and the cute but stubborn and uncouth "woman of the world" who has the capacity to betray him when it suits her (Harlow). This movie is very well acted. I've always said that if you give Gable an affectation to fall back on, he does extremely well. Here, he's a barking sea captain, which, almost by accident, gives his performance a better range than it otherwise would have. I don't really like Harlow, but she's good in her role.

The editing is a bit strange - many closeups are too obviously added in later, but I guess I can partially forgive this because of the time it was made. It really shows how Harlow was on a roll when she was with the rest of the cast, though. Because these individual shots do not fit in with the movie at all.

There's some amazing effects during the typhoon sequence, with a steam engine running loose on the deck - and you actually see people get run over and flattened. It's disconcerting even though you realize the camera tricks involved. Very inventive for its day.