- China Seas (film)
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China Seas 
VHS coverDirected by Tay Garnett Produced by Irving Thalberg
Albert LewinWritten by Crobie Garstin (book)
James Kevin McGuinness
Jules FurthmanStarring Clark Gable
Jean Harlow
Wallace Beery
Lewis Stone
Rosalind Russell
Robert BenchleyMusic by Herbert Stothart Cinematography Ray June
Clyde De Vinna (2nd unit}Editing by William LeVanway Distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Release date(s) August 9, 1935 Running time 87 minutes Country United States Language English China Seas is a 1935 adventure film starring Clark Gable as a brave sea captain, Jean Harlow as his brassy paramour, and Wallace Beery as an extremely suspicious-looking character. The oceangoing epic also features Lewis Stone and Rosalind Russell, while humorist Robert Benchley memorably portrays a character reeling drunk from one end of the film to the other.
The lavish MGM epic was written by James Kevin McGuinness and Jules Furthman from the book by Crosbie Garstin, and directed by Tay Garnett. This is one of only four sound films with Beery in which he didn't receive top billing.
Contents
Cast
- Clark Gable as Alan Gaskell
- Jean Harlow as Dolly Portland
- Wallace Beery as Jamesy McArdle
- Lewis Stone as Tom Davids
- Rosalind Russell as Sybil Barclay
- Dudley Digges as Dawson
- C. Aubrey Smith as Guy Wilmerding
- Robert Benchley as Charlie McCaleb
- Akim Tamiroff as Paul Romanoff
- William Henry as Rockwell
- Liev De Maigret as Mrs. Vollberg (as Live de Maigret)
- Lilian Bond as Mrs. Timmons (as Lillian Bond)
- Edward Brophy as Timmons
- Soo Yong as Yu-Lan
- Carol Ann Beery as Carol Ann
- Ivan Lebedeff as Ngah
- Hattie McDaniel as Isabel McCarthy, Dolly's Maid (uncredited)
Production
Clark Gable had several temper tantrums on the set, which were tolerated by MGM studio chief Louis B. Mayer because the star had recently won an Academy Award for Best Actor in It Happened One Night (1934) on a loan-out to Columbia Pictures, and he did not want to risk losing him. Mayer even tolerated that Gable risked his life by refusing a stunt double in a sequence in which he assisted numerous Chinese extras in roping in a runaway steamroller that crashed up and down the decks of the cantilevered studio ship.[1]
Clark Gable and Jean Harlow had worked together as supporting players four years earlier in the Wallace Beery vehicle The Secret Six, and Beery and Gable both starred that same year in Hell Divers. Wallace Beery had received top billing in both Pre-Code films.
External links
- China Seas at the Internet Movie Database
- China Seas at AllRovi
- China Seas at the TCM Movie Database
References
- ^ Higham, Charles (Dec 1994) [1993]. Merchant of Dreams: Louis B. Mayer, M.G.M., and the Secret Hollywood (paperback ed.). Dell Publishing. p. 265. ISBN 0-440-22066-1.
Films directed by Tay Garnett 1930s Bad Company (1931) · One Way Passage (1932) · China Seas (1935) · Professional Soldier (1935) · She Couldn't Take It (1935) · Slave Ship (1937) · Stand-In (1937) · Trade Winds (1938) · Eternally Yours (1939) · Slightly Honorable (1939)1940s Seven Sinners (1940) · Cheers for Miss Bishop (1941) · My Favorite Spy (1942) · Bataan (1943) · The Cross of Lorraine (1943) · Mrs. Parkington (1944) · The Valley of Decision (1945) · The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946) · Wild Harvest (1947) · A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1949)1950s The Fireball (1950) · Soldiers Three (1951) · Cause for Alarm! (1951) · One Minute to Zero (1952) · Main Street to Broadway (1953) · The Black Knight (1954)1960s A Terrible Beauty (1960) · Cattle King (1963)1970s Categories:- 1935 films
- 1930s adventure films
- American films
- Black-and-white films
- English-language films
- Films directed by Tay Garnett
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films
- Pirate films
- Romantic drama films
- Films produced by Irving Thalberg
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