Men Without Women (1930)

[ethanedwards]

MEN WITHOUT WOMEN

DIRECTED AND PRODUCED BY JOHN FORD
FOX FILM CORPORATION



Information from IMDb

Plot Summary
Aboard the U.S. submarine S13 in the China seas,
Chief Torpedoman Burke goes about his duties.
In actuality, he is Quartermaine, the infamous former commander
of the British ship Royal Scot, which was sunk by Germans
with a Field Marshal aboard.
Quartermaine had told his sweetheart that the Field Marshal
would be aboard, not knowing that she was an informant for the enemy.
When the S13 sinks, Burke takes charge when the commander,
Ensign Price, is unable to command.
Burke must keep his mates alive long enough
on the bottom of the sea for rescuers to arrive.
Written by Jim Beaver

Full Cast
Kenneth MacKenna ... Chief Torpedoman Burke
Frank Albertson ... Ens. Albert Edward Price
J. Farrell MacDonald ... Costello (as Farrell Macdonald)
Warren Hymer ... Kaufman
Paul Page ... Handsome
Walter McGrail ... Joe Cobb
Stuart Erwin ... Radioman Jenkins
George LeGuere ... Curly Pollock
Charles K. Gerrard ... Cmdr. Weymouth (as Charles Gerrard)
Ben Hendricks Jr. ... Murphy
Harry Tenbrook ... Dutch Winkler
Warner Richmond ... Lt. Cmdr. Briddwell
Frank Baker ... Undetermined role
Ivan Lebedeff ... Man in bar with top hat (uncredited)
Robert Parrish ... Undetermined role (uncredited)
Frank Richardson ... Singing sailor in Shanghai (uncredited)
Pat Somerset ... Lt. Digby (uncredited)
Roy Stewart ... Capt. Carson (uncredited)

Duke Morrison ... Radioman on surface (uncredited)

Produced By
John Ford ....
James Kevin McGuinness .... associate producer

Writing Credits
John Ford (story "Submarine") and
James Kevin McGuinness (story "Submarine")
Dudley Nichols (writer)
Otis C. Freeman (titles)

Cinematography
Joseph H. August (as Joseph Augus)

Trivia
* It is sometimes stated, incorrectly, that this picture was based on the play "Submerged" by 'Clay Shaw', who was later acquitted of conspiring to assassinate President John F. Kennedy. When this picture was released Shaw was about 17 years old.

Movie Status
Men Without Women is available of course,
as shown on television, but the print is incomplete
since it's derived from a work print.
Although it runs at 73 minutes,
the film was copyrighted at 7,774' which is just over 86 minutes,
but the general consensus is that it was originally 77 minutes.
In the book John Ford: The Man and His Films,
the author, Tag Gallagher, states,
"The only known surviving prints are of a silent edition with intertitles
. The talking version seems lost."
But the book was published in 1988,
probably before the work print was discovered
and preserved by the Museum of Modern Art.
So the work print has limited sound along with intertitles
in an attempt to best recreate the original sound version.
In summary, the film--the one in circulation--should be listed as incomplete

Filming Locations
Santa Catalina Island, Channel Islands, California, USA
San Diego, California, USA

[ethanedwards]

Men Without Women (1930) is an American drama film directed and written by John Ford,
from the script by James Kevin McGuinness.
The film also starred Kenneth MacKenna, Frank Albertson, and J. Farrell MacDonald.
The sound version is now lost.
Only a print of the "International Sound Version," held by the Museum of Modern Art, survives.[1]

By 1929, Duke had given up the idea
of returning to USC.
His attachment to John Ford, forever deepening.

There was little he would do for Ford, even risking his life!!

During hazardous diving conditions in one of the submarine scenes,
the four hired professional divers refused to dive.

Duke's job as a helper, was handling the air compressor.
Duke knew what was happening, and as the scene
got underway.

Ford said

Jesus, What the Hell

and called out

Duke

and his assistant said

Yessir!

Ford said

Hit the god-damned water

He did the the stunt work for all all four rescues,
no questions asked, his only regret
is that he never got paid for the work

Duke said afterwards

I had to hang on to a heavy weight
which dragged me below sea level
then come up on to camera range

Ford rewarded Duke with a small role.
with a few lines, and even a close up.

Duke said

I don't think Jack started appreciating me until
Men Without Women..
That was the time I started looking at pictures
with a different view.
I was beginning to enjoy this work

Ford also knew there was something special
about Duke!!

Sure he was callow and untutored..
but he had something, that jumped right off the screen at me.
I guess you could call it star power.
I wanted to keep an eye on him

User Review

Early talkie curiosity: uneven but entertaining.
26 November 1999 | by Robert Keser (Chicago, IL)

A sailors-trapped-in-a-sinking-submarine drama: Will they drown? Will the oxygen run out? Will they suffocate from chlorine gas? Will divers get to them in time? And what about that religious fanatic on board? John Ford skillfully ratchets up the tension, but some shaky special effects, unlikely characterizations and broad acting give an uneven effect, compared to later and slicker entertainments like RUN SILENT, RUN DEEP. However, this production has genuine historical value because it shows the difficulties in changing over from silent to sound,: sometimes it's a silent film with sound effects and [tinny] music. Other scenes have dialogue with one character actually speaking while another answers in silent intertitles. Most oddly, sometimes a character starts speaking, then an intertitle shows noticeably different lines, then the character finishes speaking. Not many movies have such a variety of expression.

[Elly]

a couple of screen captures from this film.