Required viewing for any disaster movie aficionado
The disaster movie is alive and…just alive, I guess, albeit barely if this past weekend’s meager take of Skyscraper, the much-hyped Dwayne Johnson vehicle and latest entry in the genre, is any indication. I’ve always felt that disaster films have been given an unfair reputation as disposable fodder. If done right, such genre pieces have the ability to offer up exciting spectacle and genuine moments of humanity.
While both look to be as in short supply in Skyscrape as they were in Johnson’s previous genre effort San Andreas, the disaster genre as a whole should never be underestimated. Any film lover need only look at a previous entry, 1960’s The Last Voyage, to see a prime example of how disaster films serve as a testament to the power and grandness of motion pictures.
Taking place in just over an hour and a half (and never wasting a second of it), The Last Voyage is set on the S.S. Claridon, a luxury liner well past her sell-by date, where a full band of passengers are en route to Japan, including Diplomat Cliff Henderson (Robert Stack), his wife Laurie (Dorothy Malone), and their young daughter Jill (Tammy Marihugh). When a sudden fire in the boiler room cannot be contained, it leads to an explosion which pins Laurie’s legs under a sheet of steel. As the highly decorated Captain Adams (George Sanders) tries to avoid chaos at any cost, Second Engineer Walsh (Edmond O’Brien) and crew member Hank Lawson (Woody Strode) try to keep the hull from bursting as the ship begins to sink.
Because the term disaster genre had yet to be coined, it made sense that The Last Voyage should chart its own course (no pun intended) in terms of thrills. Even the first 30 seconds of the film spell danger as Adams receives word about the fire down below. From there, it’s an instant race against time as the Captain tries to hold his ship together without admitting that things are worse than they seem. The beauty of The Last Voyage is how it relies on good, old-fashioned explosions, water tanks, and stunt people in order to have its energetic moments hit home. Writer/director Andrew Stone also does right in terms of timing. Not many of The Last Voyage’s heart-pounding moments are impossible to predict, giving off a glorious “anything goes” feeling. Likewise, because of the sheer uncertainty and unpredictability, there’s the very rational fear that none of the characters are safe from the quickly approaching doom, from Julie climbing over a half broken board in an effort to reach safety, to Laurie unable to move as she becomes submerged in water.
I’d be curious to find out if James Cameron had given The Last Voyage a watch prior to shaping the script for Titanic since the film contains the same kind of sensitive character depth as the future classic. While the action and thrills are good and plenty, there is certainly no shortage of room for some real human moments where true character and resolve are tested. Seeing Cliff try to remain brave for Laurie’s sake as he finds himself virtually invisible to anyone and everyone with the ability to help his wife is pure agony. The way Laurie’s mentality journeys from someone who is stuck to someone who is trapped is like a mini character study all its own. One scene in particular sees the character temporarily give into her fear to such a degree that it reaches a level of excruciation far above and beyond any explosion. Yet it’s in the character of Captain Adams where surprising levels of human torment can be found. For much of the film, Adams believes that the ship can be saved and refrains from letting a panic ensue until it has to. For him, though, it’s more than just the saving of the ship; its an evaluation of himself and the years he has devoted to the sea and what all of them mean at this crucial moment.
Due to Stone’s love for both action and character, The Last Voyage resulted in a collection of tremendous performances from its cast. Not one of the players feels wasted in the least as they all turn in some high caliber work. Stack makes for the perfect heroic lead, summoning up courage and instinct at every turn. Sanders was never more sensitive and conflicted in a truly complex role of a man faced suddenly faced with a crossroads in the midst of a desperate situation. O’Brien is an endless well of intensity, perfectly keeping up with the film’s more adrenaline-filled moments, and NFL star Strode proves a more than capable and endearing presence in one of his early film roles. Yet it’s Malone who breaks everyone’s heart and takes the film to places unexpected. Though she’s under steel for 90% of The Last Voyage’s run time, the actress takes Laurie to some emotionally gripping places as she begins to realize she may not make it out alive. Were the film better received, an Oscar nomination would have certainly been in the cards for the actress.
For whatever reason, The Last Voyage was not a hit when first released; in fact, it managed to actually lose a considerable amount of money for the studio. Some feel (understandably so) that the plot of the film borrowed too heavily from the real-life disaster of the Andrea Doria four years earlier for people’s tastes. While the idea of a Hollywood film turning a life-claiming tragedy into entertainment is nothing new today, in 1960 it may have been just enough to alienate whoever the movie’s potential audience may have been.
There is also the notion that perhaps the film was just a bit ahead of its time, as the era of Irwin Allen and his Towering Poseideons were still a decade yet to come, while praise for such films were limited to higher pedigree such as San Francisco and A Night to Remember. Still, as much as the genre has since been embraced, there has been little love from disaster movie fans shown to The Last Voyage. I first heard about the film when I picked up a copy of The Disaster Movie Encyclopedia, which had given the film a rather affectionate write-up which instantly made me want to seek it out. It was a far cry from the film’s initial reception, but proof positive of its embodying of virtually everything which makes the disaster movie such a ride.
The Last Voyage is now available on DVD as part of the Warner Archive Collection.
