Ship of Fools (film)

1965 film by Stanley Kramer

Ship of Fools

Theatrical poster

Directed by| Stanley Kramer
Screenplay by| Abby Mann
Based on| Katherine Anne Porter's Ship of Fools
Produced by| Stanley Kramer
Starring| Vivien Leigh
Simone Signoret
Jose Ferrer
Lee Marvin
Oskar Werner
Elizabeth Ashley
George Segal
Jose Greco
Michael Dunn
Charles Korvin
Heinz Ruehmann
Lilia Skala
Cinematography| Ernest Laszlo, A.S.C.
Edited by| Robert C. Jones
Music by| Ernest Gold
Color process| Black and white
Technicolor

Production
company

Stanley Kramer Productions

Distributed by| Columbia Pictures Corporation

Release date

* July 29, 1965 (1965-07-29)

Running time

| 150 minutes
Country| United States
Languages| English
German
Spanish
Box office| $3,500,000  (rentals) Anticipated rentals accruing distributors in North America[1]

Ship of Fools is a 1965 American drama film directed by Stanley Kramer, set on board an ocean liner bound for Germany from Mexico in 1933. It stars a prominent ensemble cast of 11 stars — Vivien Leigh (in her final film role), Simone Signoret, Jose Ferrer, Lee Marvin, Oskar Werner, Elizabeth Ashley, George Segal, Jose Greco, Michael Dunn, Charles Korvin and Heinz Ruehmann.

Ship of Fools, which was based on Katherine Anne Porter's 1962 novel of the same name, was highly regarded, with reviewers praising the cast's performance but also noting, at 150 minutes, the movie's overlong (for 1965) runtime. The film was nominated for eight Academy Awards in 1966, including for Best Picture, Best Actor for Oskar Werner, Best Actress for Simone Signoret, and Best Supporting Actor for Michael Dunn. It won for Best Art Direction, Black-and-White and Best Cinematography, Black-and-White.

Ship of Fools was the only English-language film in the nearly 70-year acting career of German film actor Heinz Rühmann, one of the most famous German actors of the 20th century.

## Synopsis

[edit]

The action on the Ship of Fools takes place almost entirely on board a passenger ship in 1933, between Veracruz Mexico and Bremerhaven, Germany. Most of the scenes unfold on the First Class deck or among the upper middle-class passengers, but the ship is carrying 600 displaced workers, far more than the ship is certified to carry and they're assigned to squalid conditions in steerage. They are all being deported back to Spain by the order of the Cuban dictator, Gerardo Machado. Many passengers bound for Nazi Germany are happy, some are apprehensive, while others downplay the significance of fascist politics. Passenger attitudes differ among those who feel "superior", who exclude and demean others, and the "excluded" passengers, who tend to be sympathetic and supportive of others.

## Plot

[edit]

The ship's medical officer, Dr. Schumann, takes a special interest in La Condesa, a Spanish countess being deported from Cuba who has an opiate addiction which he reluctantly accommodates with prescriptions. Under arrest, she is being transported to a Spanish prison in Tenerife for illegally hiding and helping arm agitators. The 600 laborers in steerage, deported to Spain because of the low market price of Cuban sugar, cheer the activist Condesa as she boards the ship under police escort. The Condesa reveals to the doctor that she was motivated by seeing the impoverished conditions under which the 5,000 laborers lived, under patronage of the man with whom she lived in luxury, supported by their labor. While she manipulates the doctor to cope with her sense of doom, her activism is in sympathy with the doctor's humanitarian insistence that the laborers in steerage be treated like human beings rather than cargo. Their shared sympathies soon evolve into love, though both realize it is a hopeless passion. The doctor conceals having a heart condition.

Selected passengers—mostly Germans—are invited to dine each night at the captain's table. Some are amused and others offended by the anti-Semitic rants of a German (originally Austrian) businessman, Rieber, who begins an affair with Lizzi, who admires him until learning he is married. Rieber pontificates on topics such as "how we can expunge foreign influences and restore Germany to its national greatness" and the desirability of "exterminating the unfit at birth". The captain is reassured by Rieber's rants, believing that nobody can ever take his party seriously. Though Jews and dwarfs are excluded from the table, the Hutten’s dog, Baby, is allowed. When an animal-loving steerage laborer drowns saving Baby, who was thrown overboard by mischievous children, the Huttens worry about Baby and ignore the dead rescuer.

The Jewish Lowenthal is seated at a side table with a dwarf named Glocken, and the two bond over their social exclusion. Later Freytag, a German passenger, is shocked to find himself forbidden from the captain's table when Rieber learns Freytag's wife is Jewish. Eventually Freytag discloses that he is separated from his Jewish wife, having found his marriage too detrimental for his career. Lowenthal, displaying the Iron Cross he earned in World War I, counsels Glocken regarding tactical accommodation to the Nazis, stating that Germany has been good for the Jews and the Jews have been good for Germany, "We are Germans first and Jews second...There are nearly a million Jews in Germany. What are they going to do, kill all of us?" Glocken tells him that he may be the biggest fool on the ship.

An American artist couple, David and Jenny, have a passionate but rocky relationship. David is disconsolate at his lack of success as a socially committed artist; the independent Jenny finds his art unsellable and is not sufficiently willing to build him up. He is dismissive of her artistic talent, which she herself undervalues. David expresses that whoever shares his life will need to accept that his art will always supersede her. Jenny fears that their life together will be endlessly fighting with neither willing to put the other’s needs before their own.

Passengers are entertained nightly by a troupe of flamenco musicians and dancers, whose leader pimps the women in the troupe. Johann, an unpaid caregiver to Herr Graf, his invalid uncle, ignores the wholesome and insecure Elsa, who is traveling with her parents. Instead, Johann is attracted to one of the dancers, who rejects him for inability to pay. Johann threatens his stingy uncle if he does not give him money which has been promised to him in his uncle's will. He loses his virginity to one of the dancers, who treats him with gentleness when he pays.

Mary Treadwell, a divorced fading beauty hoping to recapture her youth in Paris, is "too far from the cradle" to interest the captain. She disdains the lieutenant who shows interest, dismissing him first as doing his duty to "unattended" women and later as insignificant. When fellow American, former baseball player Bill Tenny is seated at her table, she finds him crass. Bill expresses surprise at the open hostility toward the Jews onboard; she sarcastically replies that "maybe he was too busy lynching Negroes to take time out for the Jews." Tenny pesters one of the flamenco dancers, believing that buying a magnum of champagne entitles him to her favors. She gives him the cabin number of the "snotty" Mrs. Treadwell. In a drunken stupor, Tenny accosts Mrs. Treadwell, who momentarily responds passionately until she realizes that he has mistaken her for a prostitute; she then slaps him repeatedly, crying out for help.

The ship arrives in Tenerife where the deported workers from steerage disembark. The doctor briefly considers staying with the Condesa, but the captain calls him foolish, contending that the Condesa manipulated him for drugs. After an emotionally painful farewell with the doctor, the Condesa is forced to exit the ship under Civil Guard escort. When the captain tells the distraught doctor she isn’t worth his anguish, the doctor replies, "When I think of the things I have seen on this ship, the stupid cruelties, the vanities…she looked into the garbage dump, she did something about it, and we are the intelligent, civilized people who carry out orders we are given no matter what they may be." The doctor dies of a heart attack before the ship reaches Bremerhaven; upon arrival his body is unloaded in a coffin with his estranged wife and sons in attendance.

At disembarkation, as in a parade, most characters proceed with "business as usual", having learned nothing on the voyage. The last passenger to leave the "Ship of Fools" is Glocken, who speaks directly to camera, as he did in the opening minutes of the film. Glocken asks the film's audience if they are thinking, "What has all this to do with us? Nothing", then exits into the crowd.

## Cast

[edit]

* Vivien Leigh as Mary Treadwell
* Simone Signoret as La Condesa
* Jose Ferrer as Rieber
* Lee Marvin as Tenny
* Oskar Werner as Dr. Schumann
* Elizabeth Ashley as Jenny
* George Segal as David
* Jose Greco as Pepe
* Michael Dunn as Glocken
* Charles Korvin as Capt. Thiele
* Heinz Rühmann as Lowenthal
* Lilia Skala as Frau Hutten
* Barbara Luna as Amparo
* Christiane Schmidtmer as Lizzi
* Alf Kjellin as Freytag
* Werner Klemperer as Lt. Huebner
* John Wengraf as Graf
* Olga Fabian as Frau Schmitt
* Gila Golan as Elsa
* Oscar Beregi as Lutz
* Stanley Adams as Hutten
* Karen Verne as Frau Lutz
* Charles de Vries as Johann
* Lydia Torea as Pastora
* Henry Calvin as Fat Man
* Peter Mamakos as Religious Man
* Paul Daniel as Carlos
* David Renard as Woodcarver
* Rudy Carrella as Ric
* Silvia Marino as Rac
* Anthony Brand as Guitarist
* Minta Durfee as Ship passenger (uncredited)
* Mushy Callahan as Ship passenger (uncredited)
* Eddie Baker as Prizak (uncredited)
* Steven Geray as Steward aboard Vera (uncredited)

## Songs

[edit]

Music by Ernest Gold
Lyrics by Jack Lloyd

* "Heute abend geh'n wir bummeln auf der Reeperbahn" ("Tonight we're going for a stroll on the Reeperbahn")
* "Irgendwie, irgendwo, irgendwann" ("Somehow, somewhere, sometime")

## Production

[edit]

Vivien Leigh's personal experiences influenced her portrayal of Mary Treadwell[2]

Katherine Anne Porter's novel Ship of Fools was published in 1962.[3] The essayist and short story author's only novel was the culmination of a 20-year-long project that was based on her reminiscences of a 1931 ocean cruise she had taken from Veracruz to Germany.[4]

Producer David O. Selznick wanted to purchase the film rights, but United Artists owned the property and demanded $400,000. The novel was adapted for film by Abby Mann. Producer and director Stanley Kramer, who ended up with the film, planned to star Vivien Leigh but was initially unaware of her fragile mental and physical health.[Note 1] The film proved to be her last film and in later recounting her work, Kramer remembered her courage in taking on the difficult role, "She was ill, and the courage to go ahead, the courage to make the film--was almost unbelievable."[4] Leigh's performance was tinged by paranoia and resulted in outbursts that marred her relationship with other actors, although both Simone Signoret and Lee Marvin were sympathetic and understanding.[6] In particular, during one scene shoot, she hit Lee Marvin so hard with a spiked shoe, that it bruised his face.[7]

At the conclusion of filming, screenwriter Mann reportedly threw a party for almost the entire cast and crew except Gila Golan, whose performance Mann was reputedly not happy with.[8]

## Reception

[edit]

Although well received by audiences, Ship of Fools was compared to Grand Hotel. "Preachy and melodramatic" was another criticism,[by whom?] although the cast was universally praised.[9]

Bosley Crowther of The New York Times said of the film:

> Stanley Kramer has fetched a powerful, ironic film ... there is such wealth of reflection upon the human condition in Ship of Fools and so subtle an orchestration of the elements of love and hate, achieved through an expert compression of the novel by Mr. Kramer and his script writer, Abby Mann, that it is really not fair to tag it with the label of any previous film. It has its own quiet distinction in the way it illuminates a theme.

Crowther also singled out the work of Oskar Werner.[10] Similarly, Variety noted, "Director-producer Stanley Kramer and scenarist Abby Mann have distilled the essence of Katherine Anne Porter's bulky novel in a film that appeals to the intellect and the emotions."[11]

The film was banned in Francoist Spain because of its anti-fascist stance.[12]

On Rotten Tomatoes, Ship of Fools holds a rating of 58% from 24 reviews.[13]

## Awards and nominations

[edit]

Award  | Category  | Nominee(s)  | Result  | Ref.

|
|
|
|

Academy Awards | Best Picture | Stanley Kramer | Nominated  | [14]
[15]
Best Actor | Oskar Werner | Nominated
Best Actress | Simone Signoret | Nominated
Best Supporting Actor | Michael Dunn | Nominated
Best Screenplay – Based on Material from Another Medium | Abby Mann | Nominated
Best Art Direction – Black-and-White | Art Direction: Robert Clatworthy;
Set Decoration: Joseph Kish | Won
Best Cinematography – Black-and-White | Ernest Laszlo | Won
Best Costume Design – Black-and-White | Jean Louis and Bill Thomas | Nominated
British Academy Film Awards | Best Foreign Actor | Oskar Werner  | Nominated  | [16]
Best Foreign Actress | Simone Signoret  | Nominated
Golden Globe Awards | Best Motion Picture – Drama | Nominated  | [17]
Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama | Oskar Werner  | Nominated
Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama | Simone Signoret  | Nominated
Laurel Awards | Top Male Supporting Performance  | Michael Dunn  | 4th Place  |
National Board of Review Awards | Top Ten Films | 4th Place  | [18]
Best Actor | Lee Marvin (also for Cat Ballou) | Won
New York Film Critics Circle Awards | Best Actor | Oskar Werner  | Nominated  | [19]
Writers Guild of America Awards | Best Written American Drama | Abby Mann  | Nominated  | [20]

Vivien Leigh won the L'Étoile de Cristal for her performance in a leading role.[21][Note 2]

The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:

* 2005: AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores – Nominated[22]

## Home media

[edit]

The film has been issued on VHS, laserdisc and DVD. The film's standalone DVD release is an open matte 1.33:1 transfer with no supplements.[23] The film was later reissued in widescreen with supplements in a Stanley Kramer box set from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.[Note 3] Currently, the film is also available in a budget-priced two-disc, four-movie collection DVD licensed from Sony to Mill Creek Entertainment.[Note 4] All four films are presented in their original theatrical aspect ratios and are anamorphically enhanced. The film has been released on Blu-ray in a double feature pack with the film Lilith via Mill Creek.[24]

## See also

[edit]

* List of American films of 1965

## References

[edit]

### Notes

[edit]

1. ^ At one point in the pre-production, Katharine Hepburn was considered for the role of Mary Treadwell, but dropped out and was replaced by Leigh.[5]
2. ^ L'Étoile de Cristal was the French equivalent of the Oscar.[21]
3. ^ The Sony re-release was bundled with The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T, The Wild One, The Member of the Wedding, and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner.
4. ^ Other films that are included are Bobby Deerfield, Baby the Rain Must Fall and The Chase.

### Citations

[edit]

1. ^ "Top Grossers of 1965". Variety, January 5, 1966, p. 36.
2. ^ Bean 2013, p. 155.
3. ^ Porter 1984, p. 3.
4. ^ a b Steinberg, Jay. "Articles: Ship of Fools." Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved: September 3, 2022.
5. ^ Andersen 1997, pp. 552–553.
6. ^ David 1995, p. 46.
7. ^ Walker 1987, p. 281.
8. ^ "Ottawa Citizen - Google News Archive Search".
9. ^ Epstein 2013, p. 149.
10. ^ Crowther, Bosley. "Review: Ship of Fools". The New York Times, July 29, 1965. Retrieved: October 10, 2013.
11. ^ "Review: Ship of Fools". Variety, December 31, 1964. Retrieved: October 10, 2013.
12. ^ "Huelva homenaje hoy a los hermanos Salao, Justo y Carmen"[permanent dead link]
13. ^ "Ship of Fools". Rotten Tomatoes.
14. ^ "The 38th Academy Awards (1966) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Retrieved September 4, 2011.
15. ^ "Awards: Ship of Fools". The New York Times. Retrieved: October 10, 2013.
16. ^ "BAFTA Awards: Film in 1966". BAFTA. 1966. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
17. ^ "Ship of Fools – Golden Globes". HFPA. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
18. ^ "1965 Award Winners". National Board of Review. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
19. ^ "1965 New York Film Critics Circle Awards". New York Film Critics Circle. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
20. ^ "Awards Winners". wga.org. Writers Guild of America. Archived from the original on 2012-12-05. Retrieved 2010-06-06.
21. ^ a b Bean 2013, p. 279.
22. ^ "AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores Nominees" (PDF). Retrieved 2016-08-06.
23. ^ Krauss, David. "Columbia TriStar Home Video presents Ship of Fools (1965)." Archived 2018-07-11 at the Wayback Machine Digitallyobsesed.com, January 21, 2004. Retrieved: October 11, 2013.
24. ^ "ship of Fools DVD". CD Universe. Retrieved: October 11, 2013.

### Bibliography

[edit]

* Andersen, Christopher P. An Affair to Remember: The Remarkable Love Story of Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy. Glasgow, Scotland: William Morrow & Co., 1997. ISBN 978-0-68815-311-3.
* Bean, Kendra. Vivien Leigh: An Intimate Portrait. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Running Press, 2013. ISBN 978-0-76245-099-2.
* David, Catherine. Simone Signoret. New York: Overlook Press, 1995. ISBN 978-0-87951-581-2.
* Epstein, Dwayne. Lee Marvin: Point Blank. Tucson, Arizona: Schaffner Press, Inc., 2013. ISBN 978-1-93618-240-4.
* Porter, Katherine Anne. The Collected Stories of Katherine Anne Porter. New York: Harcourt Brace, 1979. ISBN 978-1-56188-767-5.
* Porter, Katherine Anne. Ship of Fools. New York: Back Bay Books, Revised edition 1984. ISBN 978-0-31671-390-0.
* Walker, Alexander. Vivien: The Life of Vivien Leigh. New York: Grove Press, 1987. ISBN 0-8021-3259-6.

## External links

[edit]

* Ship of Fools at IMDb
* Ship of Fools at the TCM Movie Database
* Ship of Fools at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
* Ship of Fools at AllMovie
* Ship of Fools at Rotten Tomatoes
* Original soundtrack of music from Ship of Fools

* v
* t
* e

Katherine Anne Porter

Fiction|

| Novels|

* Noon Wine (1937)
* Ship of Fools (1962)

|

Collections|

* Flowering Judas and Other Stories (1935)
* Pale Horse, Pale Rider: Three Short Novels (1939)
* The Leaning Tower and Other Stories (1944)
* The Old Order: Stories of the South (1955)
* The Collected Stories of Katherine Anne Porter (1965)

Short stories|

* "María Concepción" (1922)
* "Holiday" (1960)

Nonfiction|

The Collected Essays and Occasional Writings of Katherine Anne Porter (1970)

Adaptations|

* Ship of Fools (1965)

* v
* t
* e

Films directed by Stanley Kramer

* Not as a Stranger (1955)
* The Pride and the Passion (1957)
* The Defiant Ones (1958)
* On the Beach (1959)
* Inherit the Wind (1960)
* Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)
* It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963)
* Ship of Fools (1965)
* Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967)
* The Secret of Santa Vittoria (1969)
* R. P. M. (1970)
* Bless the Beasts and Children (1971)
* Oklahoma Crude (1973)
* Judgment: The Trial of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg (1974) (TV)
* The Domino Principle (1977)
* The Runner Stumbles (1979)

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