Watch The Captain Hates the Sea For Free

Don't Believe the Hype

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

They drink, they dance, they drink some more. They romance some, then drink. It's highball after horse's neck after the ship's best Irish. Then, they drink. Captain Walter Connelly already seems like he's had a few shooters when he accuses assistant Leon Errol of being drunk. Who should come aboard ship but silent screen has-been, playing, guess what, a disillusioned journalist on a seemingly endless bender. When meddlesome nouvo riche Alison Skipworth shows up at the captains it table and proceeds to rearrange the seating, more drinks flow, simply to make her somewhat tolerable. By the time this cruise is only half way done, the ensemble of this pre- code comedy will have more booze in them than a hillbilly's still.There are far too many characters and story lines going on to sustain interest in this poverty row attempt to emulate MGM's "Grand Hotel" and "Dinner at Eight". At the time, Columbia wasn't among the five majors, but it's obvious from this, that they were working on increasing that number. In its 90 minute length, it focuses on the fight over stolen bonds, the revelation over the secrets of a married woman with a past, attempted suicide and a revolution in a third world country. And that's not between drinks, but during them.Among the ensemble are Victor MacLaglen, Helen Vinson, Wynne Gibson and Fred Keating. Character performers Donald Meek and Walter Catlett offer some amusement. There are some very clever lines, and Connelly is hysterically funny as the cynical title character. But when a film has this much going on, it should come with character cards to describe who is who and how they are involved in the story. And considering how much booze flows, a wine list wouldn't be bad, either.

"The Captain Hates The Sea" is an entertaining but dated offering from Columbia, with touches, as has been noted, of "Grand Hotel" and "The Love Boat". The feel is of a somewhat confined stage play despite taking place at sea, and the overall impression is of a competent but minor picture that is overrated by virtue of the fact that it is the last movie John Gilbert made. He was good but not memorable, but at least proved that he had a good enough voice for talking pictures.Today's moviegoers would be somewhat put off by the cast of actors, who are familiar to us of a certain age but would be strangers to them. They may not have heard of John Gilbert, or Victor McLaglen, Helen Vinson, Leon Errol or the marvelous Alison Skipworth, for that matter. Add in the customs, styles and social disparities between now and then, and you have a filmed museum piece of interest to us older, savvy moviegoers only.I thought it was good enough for a rating of 6, and I will leave it at that.

Most of the actors in this film are second-string actors or people like John Gilbert whose careers are in decline. That's because this film was made by Columbia Pictures--either a very low-budget major studio or the best of the 'Poverty Row' film studios depending on your perspective. Columbia managed to create a lot of lower budget films during the 1930s and 40s and despite lower costs, the writing and acting tended to be pretty good.In many ways, this is a soapy film whose structure is a lot like MGM's prestige film "Grand Hotel"--but set to sea and with these less famous actors. There are many different characters, plots and some romance all thrown together--and now that I think about it, it's even a bit reminiscent of "The Love Boat"--but with less love! I think the best thing about this movie is the cast. John Gilbert has long been unfairly maligned for having a weak voice--though I have never seen a talking picture in which his voice was thin. Despite being a hard-core drinker and nearing a very premature death, he still was in top form here. I also loved seeing Walter Connelly--a wonderful character actor who also unfortunately also had a life shortened by drink. Additionally, Victor McLaglen and several other good actors are on hand. But to me the biggest surprise was seeing tiny cameos by by the Three Stooges as members of a three-man band. What made this particularly interesting is that they played these roles straight--and with their non-Stooge hairstyles, it's hard to see that it's even them! Now placing them in these roles really wasn't that big a stretch. The team had only been with Columbia a short time and they still were relative unknowns--and I'm sure the studio had no idea what to do with them--especially because MGM never really hit on a formula for the boys--prompting their exodus to this new studio.Overall, it's an enjoyable little film despite it's unimpressive pedigree.

This is a poorly paced and scripted little drama, that might have inspired the creators of "The Love Boat". It's all about the passengers and the crew aboard a cruise ship, and their various misadventures and intrigues.It is the cast that redeems this picture from being a forgettable piece of mediocrity. All put in good performances - although I wasn't sure what The Three Stooges were doing in the film!! Alison Skipworth is especially memorable as a rather flirtatious rich widow.But the film is made unforgettable by a magnificent performance from the great silent star John Gilbert, in his final film. Having fallen from super-stardom with the coming of sound, he had descended into alcoholism, and would die just two years after this film was completed. Ironically he portrays an alcoholic trying to reform - and he plays it with such dignity, grace, charm and wit, that he makes us realise today what a great screen actor we lost in John Gilbert. A sad final role perhaps, but he at last proved to the world that he could have been a fine talkie actor.