Stanley Kramer's movie legacy includes several great films that test the limits of individual freedom against the conventions, social pressures and threats that often dictate how we think and behave. These can come in conflict with our own judgement and conscience. In this movie, set on a German passenger ship in 1933, we encounter tragic figures who are at odds with the accepted standards or have found themselves isolated from the mainstream. The ones who try to follow the line of least resistance become rather pitiful themselves. The narrator Michael Dunn makes it clear in his opening and closing monologues that these characters could be any of us. Michael Dunn plays the role of a midget named Glocken, who is comfortable with living on the margin because his own stature has placed him there since his birth. Vivien Leigh as Mrs. Treadwell has become isolated by a loveless marriage where her husband's behaviour has made her a pariah. She took his money and spends her time on ocean liners leading a solitary life. A Jew on the ship is forced to eat at a separate table with the midget and another German who married a Jew is forced to join them because of the pro-Nazi sentiments of some of the passengers. The Contessa, played by Simone Signoret, is one person who put compassion into action, albeit controversial, supplying peasant workers with arms. In return, she faces a prison sentence. This behaviour seems to the viewer to be commendable given the other characters on the ship and is totally at odds with the passengers who turn away from Jews persecuted in their homeland. We see sad people trying to determine which of their fellow German passengers might have Jewish connections. Another couple are distraught by the near loss of a dog while showing no sympathy for the man who drowned trying to rescue it. The most interesting character is the doctor, played by Oskar Werner, who has a brief romance with Simone Signoret. A man of 41, he has already suffered a heart attack and senses his days may be numbered. He yearns for a life that he has not yet lived and admires the Contessa for her courage. The acting is excellent, particularly Werner, Signoret, and Leigh. Any of these people could be ourselves because of circumstances that unfold in a cruel and unforgiving world. The slow pace of the movie is not everyone's cup of tea but for me, the pace made it that much more enjoyable. Excellent character acting among the cast of characters make this movie a treasure.
Review of Ship of Fools
