CHINA SEAS (MGM 1935) Warner Home Video
Tay Garnett’s China Seas (1935) continued Clark
Gable’s reign as the undisputed ‘king’ at the box office. Only five years earlier,
Gable had emerged from the soup of young hopefuls as a very rough-hewn diamond,
given over to L.B. Mayer’s dream factory polish. Gable was a quick study. Despite
his loving-cup ears and false teeth, the young buck was almost magically
transformed into the hunk du jour every woman wanted and every guy wanted to
be. However, Gable, far from buying into his own publicity, remained modest and
congenial, more at home conversing with studio technicians and chauffeurs than
hobnobbing with the studio-made deities of his ilk and generation. Only part of
Gable’s public allure could be pegged by his physical transformation. The rest
of his overt masculine appeal radiated pure animal magnetism of the elusive and
unquantifiable kind; something about the way Gable carried himself, with a sly,
stubborn grin teasing its way beneath that pencil-thin moustache, across those
apple-shaped cheeks, the glint of petty larceny twinkling in those eyes, the
lazy half-cocked eyebrow suggesting infinitely more than any amount of dialogue
could. Gable’s enigma secured, even celebrated, Mayer wasted no time putting
his studio-sanctioned stud into all manner of product as the guy’s guy – not quite
Superman, but still able to conquer any problem, tackle every guy, and make
love to all women without so much as breaking a sweat.
China Seas is half adventure/half romance, and all thrills, reuniting
MGM’s most bankable male star with their most resilient sexpot – the blonde Venus,
Jean Harlow. Heart-breaking to realize Harlow had barely 2-years to live,
succumbing to uremic poisoning, age 26, on June 7, 1937. By all accounts,
Harlow in life was the antithesis of that mythological sex-bomb she conveyed on
the screen – so described as a ‘darling, naïve girl’ by editor, Margaret
Booth. Indeed, Harlow remained unspoiled, first by aspiring film producer, Howard
Hughes’ nefarious attempts to transform her image into a harsh and devastating
harpy/vamp, and then, in 1932, shielded by Metro’s publicity man, Howard
Strickling, from the very public scandal that erupted after her mentor and
husband of barely 2-months, Paul Bern was found dead of an apparent suicide inside
the bathroom of the couple’s Benedict Canyon home. Although rumors abounded about Harlow’s involvement,
Bern’s ‘official’ cause of death was later deemed as suicide, although further speculation
has since inferred Bern’s ex-common-law wife, Dorothy Millette, who jumped to
her own death from a ferry just days later, likely shot Bern in a fitful rage
before taking her own life. At MGM, Harlow’s screen persona as the tart-mouthed
platinum goddess was assured after she appeared in Red-Headed Woman
(1932), Red Dust (1932), Dinner at Eight (1933) and Reckless
(1935), her fan mail rivaling such grand dames as Joan Crawford, and Greta
Garbo.
Gable and Harlow first became acquainted after MGM’s
V.P. Irving Thalberg hired Francis Marion to write The Secret Six
(1931), a movie to costar two of the studio’s biggest stars then, Wallace Beery
and Lewis Stone. Except Thalberg also wanted parts in it for Gable, his ‘new
find’ – then, barely 30, and Harlow, 10 years Gable’s junior. Ultimately, this
would be the first of six screen pairings for Gable and Harlow, her emotionally
raw indifference, the perfect complement and/or foil to Gable’s rough-around-the-edge
manly grace. As Beery could be boorish and unaccommodating, Gable and Harlow established
their own alliance during the making of this picture. It would endure for the
rest of their lives. But the Gable/Harlow chemistry truly came into its own in Victor
Fleming's daring drama, Red Dust (1932). And although speculation ran ramped
Gable and Harlow were cutting their collar and cuffs behind closed doors, still’s
photographer, Clarence Sinclair Bull has always denied anything other than air
existed in their otherwise platonic friendship. I suppose this is why they call
it acting. But Gable and Harlow, similarly from the mid-West, shared in their
ennui for these studio-crafted personas - the stud and sex kitten respectively.
China Seas marked the first picture Gable and Harlow made
together in nearly two years; the studio, having kept each star busy, building their
publicity and careers apart. Based on Crosbie
Garstin's 1930 novel, the picture’s infectious blend of ardor, drama and
sea-faring escapism made for a star-studded and blistering combo; Harlow,
typically cast as a woman of questionable standing, Dolly Portland (a.k.a. ‘China
Doll’), desperately in love with Gable’s case-hardened ship’s Captain Alan
Gaskell. When Dolly finds out Gaskell has thrown her over for sophisticate,
Sybil Barclay (Rosalind Russell), she briefly aids the villainous, Jamesy
McArdle (Beery) in his diabolical plot to seize the ship. Irving Thalberg had
actually endeavored to bring China Seas to the screen much sooner. But
for some strange reason, it failed to materialize, despite 4-solid years of
work by nearly two-dozen writers and a handful of directors and supervisors
consulted along the way. Gable was marginally disagreeable throughout the shoot,
his outbursts tolerated by studio chieftain, Louis B. Mayer, who had previously
tried to teach his star a lesson by loaning him out to poverty-row Columbia to
make It Happened One Night (1934) – the movie to ultimately earn Gable
his one and only Best Actor Academy Award! As Mayer’s plan to create a more
contrite Gable backfired, he now found himself in unfamiliar territory, forced
to grovel – a little – to keep Gable happy. In this case, it meant allow Gable
to ‘risk’ his life, doing his own stunt work – for which Gable was adamant.
In retrospect, China Seas is a rather formulaic
attempt to recapture the sexual powder keg and spirit of adventure in Red
Dust. It must have stuck in Wallace Beery’s craw, the two co-stars he had
maligned on the set of The Secret Six were now, in fact, the real/reel
stars of the show. The picture kicks off with our introduction to Alan Gaskell
(Gable), an uncompromising, gambler and sea captain of the tramp steamer, Kin
Lung, making regular trips from Singapore to Hong Kong. Tensions are amplified
after Gaskell gets wind of local pirates, disguised as women passengers, involved
in weapon’s smuggling aboard his vessel. Enter Dolly Portland (Harlow) – an old
flame whom Alan describes as a ‘professional entertainer’. Meanwhile, another of Alan’s ex’s, Sybil Barclay
(Rosalind Russell) has newly arrived from Sussex with plans to marry Alan when
the steamer docks in Singapore. Alas, Dolly is desperate to win Alan back. Meanwhile,
Jamesy McArdle (Wallace Beery) has aligned with the pirates to steal 250,000 in
gold bullion from the Kin Lung’s cargo hold. Discovering this sinister plot,
Dolly’s attempts to warn Gaskell are deflected. After a particularly perilous
typhoon cripples the ship, more Malay pirates board, eager to raid the ship.
Instead, they soon discover the cargo hold is empty. Suspecting Gaskell,
McArdle orders him tortured to reveal the whereabouts of the gold. This,
Gaskell absolutely refuses to do. Frustrated, but forced to depart without
their loot, McArdle and the pirates are bombed by 3rd Officer Davis.
McArdle commits suicide. Later, when the Kin Lung docks in Singapore, Gaskell
finally recognizes the potency of Dolly’s love. Moreover, he loves her still,
saying goodbye to Sybil and revealing to all that the gold was safe, hidden below
decks.
China Seas will not win any awards for movie of the year. What
it was, is, and shall likely remain is salvageable and saucy; a stirring good
yarn, richly endowed by Gable and Harlow doing what they did best. There is a machinery
at work here, and one in which all of its pistons are firing in unison –
seemingly without any effort at all. It is, to be sure, all a clever smoke
screen. A lot of effort, money, hard work, and, long hours went into the meticulous
craftsmanship that was Metro’s stock in trade. In the days when MGM acquired
talent the way the rest of us do paperclips, by the handful, China Seas endures
as a reminder of that awe-inspiring, factory-like precision Mayer and Thalberg
liberally applied to take even basic material and elevate its stature into
movie-land art of the highest order. Harlow
and Gable are a joy to observe, and Garnett’s direction moves the action along
like gangbusters. So, prepare to set sail for the eastern skies, albeit, under
the decidedly western auspices of L.B. Mayer’s dream factory. China Seas
floods the movie screen with adventure, optimism and oodles of class.
Warner Home Video delivers a very good-looking DVD.
The B&W image sports an impeccably rendered gray scale with fine details
evident throughout. Blacks are deep and solid. Whites are almost pristine. Several
scenes appear to have been culled from dupe negatives, sporting exaggerated
film grain. Age-related artifacts are present but do not distract. Overall,
this is a pleasing visual presentation, rounded out by a nicely balanced 1.0
Dolby Digital mono audio. Extras are reduced to three vintage short subjects
and the film’s theatrical trailer.
FILM RATING (out of 5 - 5 being best)
3.5
VIDEO/AUDIO
3.5
EXTRAS
2
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