User Reviews

Best known for playing early talkie vamps, the underrated and practically forgotten Natalie Moorehead takes on a woman facing atonement after an adult life of graft and vice. She's accused an innocent man of breach of promise, and after winning the suit, heads off on a cruise with an assumed name. The innocent man's son (Jack Mulhall) manages to find her, and seeing an opportunity to expose her and clear his father so his parents will reconcile. But sleazy men from her past interfere, and this results in murder on the high seas.

Having vamped Wheeler and Woolsey, blown out Gable's match and crushed many hearts, Moorehead took on a different style of role. Her A films were far from leads or even supporting, but the poverty row studio's were more than willing to put her as focus. With that sinister looking widow's peak and tall, lanky stature, she wasn't leading lady material. But when you see her on screen, you'll find her unforgettable and like me seek out more of her obscure work.

MURDER ON THE HIGH SEAS is an old murder mystery made in the USA in 1932. Watching it today, it's clear that the film lacks the kind of character that makes such productions classics. This is just low budget, and too familiar to be really interesting.

The film's re-titling is a bit of a cheat given that it takes at least half of the running time before the action moves to a ship. The first half is all set up, and rather complex and long-winded set up it is too. The murder, when it finally does take place, is rather routine, and it's only at the climax that things start getting interesting with some proper detective work going on. The characters are lifeless with the exception of Natalie Moorhead, who is quite delightful and the best thing about this.

Painfully slow early talkie about the son of a rich man trying to clear his father's name when a woman drags his name through the mud. The son knows its the work of a blackmail group and follows them on to a ship across the ocean in the hopes of getting the goods. Its a dull movie thats all build up to the murder in the final five minutes. More a a character study and drama this films title (which in all fairness is its re-issue title) promises so much more than it delivers. To be honest I gave up on the film about half way in but went back and finished it because of some good reviews on IMDb. Clearly they saw something I didn't since I was bored silly. Not really worth a look, it maybe worth trying assuming that you go in with different expectations-like not expecting a murder mystery. A waste of an hour.

Love Bound is a typical B picture from poverty row. The cast is impressive - names of has-beens slogging along with whatever work they could get. Natalie Moorhead and Jack Mulhall top the bill. Moorhead was a femme fatale in early sound, whose work I could never comprehend. She wasn't beautiful and couldn't act. Mulhall was too old for the role. The directing by Robert Hill was uninspired, as you would expect of a poverty row B western director who was paid to do things fast and cheap. The plot didn't make much sense. Somehow, the vamp fell in love with the fake servant after hardly any interaction with him. The vamp's emotions seemed to flip from moment to moment, which made her change to "face" unbelievable. As she walks off into the dark, I felt sure she would change her mind again by morning. The rented sets of the apartments were excellent, but the boat sets were so small they had to be used ad nauseam.

I watched the film particularly to see Richard Alexander. He is listed far down in the cast credits, even though he has the third most time on screen. Alexander worked in big films in late silents and early sound, working for De Mille, Keaton, Murnau, Milestone, and Niblo. But by 1933 he was a B western henchman for the rest of his 300 film career. I always wondered why. Now I know. In this big role, which requires a lot of exposition, he just can't act. And his weight gain leaves him a hulk, rather than a hail fellow well met. Too bad. Now he's only remembered (when remembered at all) for his Prince Barin role in the Flash Gordon serials.

"Love Bound" (1932) was re-titled and re-issued by Hoffberg Productions in 1938. The new title was the far more catchy "Murder on the High Seas". Even so, I would be very surprised if the movie obtained many bookings. At this stage in his career, Jack Mulhall, was reduced to working as an extra, and was certainly not a name that would induce a rush of customers at the box-office. In fact, I can find no record whatever of any 1938 or later bookings at all.

However, as the movie ran only 65 minutes, and was obviously to be had for peanuts, it did play occasionally in fifth=rate theaters and it eventually did turn up where all bad movies always end up, namely on television - which is where I found it!

Jack Mulhall (Richard Randolph), Natalie Moorhead (Verna Wilson), Clara Kimball Young (Mrs Randolph), Montagu Love (John Randolph), Edmund Breese (Howell), Tom Ricketts (the baron), Alice Day (Lucie), Bill Mong (De Leon), Dick Alexander (Larry, alias J.B. "Lucky" Morrison), Roy D'Arcy (the real "Lucky" Morrison), Lynton Brent (Jimmy).

Director: ROBERT F. HILL. Screenplay: George Plympton. Story: Lou Gilbert. Adaptation and dialogue: Robert F. Hill. Photography: E. Fox Walker. Lighting effects: Edward Cox. Film editor: Earl Neville. Art director: E.R. Hickson. Music: Lee Zahler. Assistant director: Gordon S. Griffith. Production supervisor: Albert Herman. Sound recording: Balsley and Phillips. Producer: J.H. Hoffberg. (Notice that Hoffberg, the distributor, gives himself a credit as the producer!)

Not copyrighted 1938 by Hoffberg Productions, Inc. No New York opening. No record of any release dates. 65 minutes.

SYNOPSIS: Not a mystery-thriller, but a serio-comic romance: Gold- digger Verna Wilson and her blackmailing partner Juan De Leon frame businessman John Randolph. His son sets out to clear his dad's name by assuming the identity of millionaire Richard Raymond and pursuing his quarry on an ocean liner.

NOTES: Computer hounds should not confuse the Alice Day of this movie with the white Alice Day of Viennese Nights, Ladies in Love, In the Next Room, Little Johnny Jones, etc.

VIEWER'S GUIDE: Okay for all - especially somnambulists!

COMMENT: Efficiently made but a dull, almost action-less independent offering which seems twice as long as its actual length. Admittedly,Fans of the exotic Natalie Moorhead will derive some joy from the slow unreeling of the talky script. The lighting is nice too.

Peerless Pictures was just another of the fly by night production companies that sprang up in the early 1930s. This one lasted less time than most (8 movies) and it's most prestigious movie (if you can call it that) was "House of Danger" (1934) with the popular Onslow Stevens. Apart from the Stevens movie it seemed to exist to employ actors who were down on their luck like Laura La Plante, James Murray or in this case Jack Mulhall and Natalie Moorehead. Hard to believe that in 1930 Mulhall made 9 movies starring for Warners and Columbia and in 1931 he was struggling for work in studios like International - his age probably worked against him but I bet he didn't see it coming. And where would movies be without Natalie Moorehead - from the time she entered films in 1929 she made dozens of films, mostly as the Vamp and what a Vamp she made. Heroine's husbands or sweethearts were never safe when Miss Moorehead made her appearance.

News has just come over the wireless that Miss Verna Wilson (Moorehead) has been awarded $100,000 in the sensational "Heart Balm" case - for the other two players, Mr. and Mrs. Randolph, the outlook is grim. Mother (Clara Kimball Young) is just about to leave her husband so she can regain her self respect but Dick (Mulhall) convinces her to give it another try - he just knows that dad didn't have anything to do with that woman and he is going to do all in his power to win back the family's good name plus expose the blackmailer!! Having his chauffeur, Larry (Richard Alexander) pose as oil baron "Lucky" Morrison, they both take the liner for Europe and bait the hook, hoping to trap the platinum gold-digger who is also aboard, fleeing her jealous husband Jimmy who has just escaped from prison.

Considering it is just under an hour in length, it does take quite a while for the movie to get going - the twist being that Larry really falls for her, acting like a "lovesick schoolboy" according to Dick but Verna has actually fallen for Dick!! She doesn't realise that Dick is the son of the Randolphs, then his mother disappears, overcome by shame, and there is then a race to get Verna to confess. Will she? won't she? - at this point I was still waiting for the "Murder on the High Seas" (the rerelease title). The original title "Love Bound" was a much better one. Just loved the way in the middle of a fight one of the protagonists stops to fix his hair!!! Alice Day played the tiny role of Claudia. She was the older sister of Marceline Day but even though she was a 1928 Wampas Baby she never approached her younger sister's fame.