Synopsis
It will burn itself in your memory forever!
A carny builds a gambling empire at the expense of his family's wellbeing.
Directed by Harry Lachman
A carny builds a gambling empire at the expense of his family's wellbeing.
La nave di Satana, Das Schiff des Satans, La nave de Satán, A Nave de Satã, L'Enfer, Dantes inferno
More of a modern morality tale that references Dante's Inferno than an adaptation of the source material. The sequence where we see the imagined inferno is nicely shot and there are some great sets in the film. Sadly, there is a moment of black face which is done as a gag when the lead comes out of his stoker job (similar to the gas used when there are explosions in old cartoons). It's not enough to ruin the entire film but it is worth mentioning.
An early Spencer Tracy vehicle about a man's rise and fall who's ultimately undone by greed and desire for power. The plot's rather pedestrian and moralistic. But what elevates it is it's tie-in to the message of Dante's Inferno (the "hell" section of the Divine Comedy) as it's presented in its carnival theme, its two - not one but two! - large-scale disasters, and a dream sequence where Tracy imagines the tortures of the damned. Also the film debut of Rita Hayworth in a fabulous nightclub dance number (more on that later).
Tracy plays Jim Carter, a guy down on his luck who takes a job at a carnival. He takes over a failing "educational" sideshow about Dante's Inferno and…
Blackface strikes again. Just awful. That aside, there some very nice visuals and the story was much better than I thought it was going to be. Thought Claire Trevor was fantastic. Definitely one of my favorite performances from her. Was also Rita’s very brief but lovely, supposed screen debut, even though there were two other films she was in that were released earlier. (Under The Pampas Moon and Charlie Chan in Egypt)
i really had to sit for a whole hour watching whatever this was just to see baby rita dance. the things i do for her…
A mightily impressive, if a tad overstated, modern moral fable, loosely based around the epic poem of the title, which integrates rise-and-fall business drama, domestic drama, courtroom drama, disaster film, and even some horror into a solid but overstuffed narrative.
Spencer Tracy plays a Depression-era stumblebum, filled with naked ambition and unbridled greed, who happens into a job ballyhooing a smalltime carnival attraction based on Dante's Inferno. He quickly snowjobs the kindly old man who owns it and marries his niece (Claire Trevor), then, he parlays the attraction into his own entertainment empire, built on the backs of suckers and naifs. But his avarice leads to unforeseen consequences that threaten to destroy everything that he holds dear.
The most impressive…
Starts off on the wrong foot with some extended black face and spends most of its runtime on didactic morality drama. But the short-lived Hellscape sequence showcases some truly breathtaking composition and effects. I also didn’t expect any full on disaster sequences, but this delivers two that ultimately prove more horrifying than its supernatural fantasy segment. I can’t believe this passed Hays Code censorship.
Spencer Tracy stars as the carny shyster who screws people over en route to building and then maintaining a fairground with a Dante's Inferno-themed centerpiece, before navigating his own redemptive inferno during the final act. The film is heralded for a ten-minute depiction of hell, but for me the earlier section of the movie is the best part: in which Tracy flexes his naturalistic talents and opens his pet project with a wonderfully Melies-esque floor show complete with trick photography.
5 stars for the "genuine" vision of the Inferno as envisioned by the great Dante, lasting maybe 10 minutes, a spectacle & a wonder - spirits flying through the air were jaw-dropping. The gimcrack version of Dante's Inferno isn't too shabby either. They're attached to a pretty rote ambitious-heel-gets-comeuppance story, but it's punchy & pacy w/a brief (& quickly over) disaster sequence. Only other thing I've seen by director Harry Lachman was Dr. Renault's Secret, also better than anticipated. Cinematography is by Rudolph Mate - he shot Vampyr. This is his first American film & full of gorgeous textures, impressive back-screening & lush, carny atmosphere. Bonus for those familiar with the Divine Comedy is Pop's sententious exposition of Dante's lessons for humanity in what's apparently his lone masterpiece.
Fun as hell!!! I made a wise decision watching this alongside Nightmare Alley. This is like its silly cousin and more focused on the spectacle than the story. The hell sequence by Rudolph Maté is amazing and, from what I understand, not recycled from the 1924 film also titled Dante's Inferno. There are dozens and dozens of oiled-up bare asses! Flesh and fire everywhere!!!
Overqualified with art directors and set designers, Harry Lachman's rendering of Hell cheapened by commercialism folds back on itself as a Hollywood version of Danté. Plus the morality tale in which it is wrapped is poorly scripted. It is a thirties, post-depression cautionary tale about the pursuit of wealth, with fiery disasters and writhing bodies — it is shame it wasn't made a couple of years earlier in the pre-code era, which would have allowed more nudity. It is a bizarre piece of self indulgence that has its arresting moments visually, notably the ten minute dream sequence which depicts one of the most explicit and literal versions of Hell committed to celluloid. There are also a couple of spectacular disaster…
Impressive drama about a con man (Spencer Tracy) who gets a job at a carnival when an elderly man (Henry B. Walthall) hires him as a barker. The two men create the "Dante's Inferno" show, which Walthall uses to warn people but Tracy sees it as a way to get rich. Soon he will stop at nothing for the all mighty dollar but this will soon backfire when his wife (Claire Trevor) has to betray her own morals for him.
There are a few faults in the film but overall this is a pretty strong little gem that contains three great sequences that make it a must see. The first one is the carnival attraction that has some rather amazing…