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Souls at Sea

Play trailer Poster for Souls at Sea 1937 1h 30m Action Play Trailer Watchlist
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Tomatometer 1 Reviews 54% Popcornmeter 50+ Ratings
After learning that the ship he's working on is carrying slaves, sailor and abolitionist "Nuggin" Taylor (Gary Cooper) engineers the release of his vessel's human cargo. English officials seeking to end the slave trade note his heroism, and soon Taylor agrees to help the British raid a slave ship commanded by the no-good Lt. Tarryton (Henry Wilcoxon). Taylor soon falls for Tarryton's sister, Margaret (Frances Dee), but his romantic life is placid compared to the challenge that lies ahead.

Critics Reviews

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Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews This obscure film is so wonderful because Raft and Cooper are dynamite together. So who knew both laconic actors could be so animated and such a joy to watch together! Rated: B+ Jun 21, 2015 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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j F Gary Cooper was enchanting, the film had exciting parts and the movie's special effects still are effective today. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 09/26/24 Full Review Audience Member I was hoping for a melodrama instead, but the emphasis here is on the narrative rather than on action. But I am pleased to report that my headline is accurate, because "Souls At Sea" is a very interesting story about a subject barely touched upon in Hollywood's long, colorful history. Reading through other reviewers takes on the film, it qualifies more accurately as a semi-historical drama, although not the first story Hollywood has taken liberties with. The temptation is to call "Souls At Sea" a 'seafaring yarn', but, as I said, it is heavy on talk and light on second unit work. In any case, this offbeat movie has Gary Cooper faced with a moral dilemma as an abolitionist involved in the slave trade in the middle of the 19th century. His sidekick is George Raft, in as sympathetic a role as he ever had and one of his best acting jobs (never one of his strong points). Frances Dee is an ingenue on board the ship in question, and George Zucco plays a good guy for a change. Particularly effective is the background music which won an AA nomination for composer Milan Roder. Henry Wilcoxon is an effective bad guy and Olympe Bradna, whose film appearances were too few, is touching as a maidservant and love interest for George Raft. Very well done, as is the norm with a Henry Hathaway picture. The story is so absorbing that the viewer nearly forgets about the lack of action scenes. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/08/23 Full Review Audience Member paramount's answer to 1935's 'mutiny on the bounty' (from MGM). Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/21/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Souls at Sea

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Cast & Crew

Movie Info

Synopsis After learning that the ship he's working on is carrying slaves, sailor and abolitionist "Nuggin" Taylor (Gary Cooper) engineers the release of his vessel's human cargo. English officials seeking to end the slave trade note his heroism, and soon Taylor agrees to help the British raid a slave ship commanded by the no-good Lt. Tarryton (Henry Wilcoxon). Taylor soon falls for Tarryton's sister, Margaret (Frances Dee), but his romantic life is placid compared to the challenge that lies ahead.
Director
Henry Hathaway
Producer
Henry Hathaway, Grover Jones
Production Co
Paramount
Genre
Action
Original Language
English
Release Date (DVD)
Feb 4, 2013
Runtime
1h 30m
Sound Mix
Stereo