AKA - Das Schiff der Verlorenen Menschen
A young American doctor gets caught on a battered ship sailing from Hamburg to Brazil.
The captain is a cruel tyrant, the crew are cutthroats or criminals on the run.
Into their midst falls a female aviatrix (early Marlene Dietrich) who ignites passions.
One of the last Silents, this is moody, darkly lensed, and slow as a wintry puddle.
Viewers longing for things to happen will wait and wait and wait.
Many times, when a film plods, I study costumes and sets.
Not here, with minimalist interiors and so dark, even shadows are few.
