User reviews

"Strange Cargo" is a 1940 film starring Joan Crawford and Clark Gable that leaves the usual story lines behind - romantic comedy, kept woman, rags to riches - as it weaves an allegorical tale of escaping prisoners and a Christ-like figure who accompanies them. Gable is Andre Verne, a prisoner on Devil's Island who escapes with several other prisoners (Paul Lukas, Albert Dekker, Eduardo Ciannelli, J. Edward Bromberg and John Arledge). During the evening count, he's almost found missing but another man, Cambreau (Ian Hunter) replaces him in line. He then boards the boat to the mainland with them and Julie (Crawford), probably a prostitute, who is escaping also from a lecherous bounty hunter (Peter Lorre).

The prisoners fall on hard times as they escape through the woods and also while at sea when their water becomes tainted. Cambreau gives each prisoner comfort and helps them to confront the evil that brought them to Devil's Island, helping to bring them peace at last. This is not lost on Julie who sees a chance for redemption. Verne, however, isn't interested.

This is a very simple story beautifully directed by Borzage. The atmosphere of the film is dark and haunting. There is no preachiness. The sheer power of Cambreau and his sense of faith is what brings the prisoners solace. Hunter is majestic in the role. Gable is appropriately tough, and Crawford brings depth to Julie, who thought she knew what she wanted. The rest of the cast is top-notch.

"Strange Cargo" seems like a film that was made in the early '30s with its Christian parable. This was the last film that Crawford and Gable made together. Its powerful message makes this a fitting ending for a fine MGM team.

I confess that I too do not entirely understand all of the message of Strange Cargo - and am not sure that whether or not that is an intentional device used to help each viewer decide meaning for himself/herself(OK, it's a stretch!). The story is simple: French prisoners in French Guyana are tired of the old prison life and routine and eventually make a break for the surrounding jungle amidst virtually no chances of success. We have a rather eclectic group: Clark Gable as arrogant as he comes as the head "Cheese" so to speak, Albert Dekker as Moll who is Gable's only real threat for supremacy, Paul Lukas as a spouse-killing German, Joan Crawford as a wise-cracking woman fallen on hard times(never quite sure whether or not it is established that she is/was a prostitute), and Ian Hunter in a strange role as some kind of super Christian and Samaritan. Aiding the cast is Peter Lorre as "Pig" who is after Crawford with a vengeful lust. The story is straightforward, but what is not is its intent. Each of these prisoners are troubled men with troubled consciences. Hunter's character is almost(or is indeed) a Christ-like figure out to ease each individual's pain and torment. Some men embrace his message prior to death, some live on with the promise of happiness, and one ignores it completely and resumes doing what he had that had gotten him into prison. I guess for me the thematically rich substrate is saying something about the importance of choice and the ease in which each of us can be forgiven if only we want to be forgiven. Director Frank Borzage does a decent job with this symbolic material. Some things might just be too ambiguous. But Borzage keeps the pacing going. Probably the most irritating thing for me was Gable's performance. His character is too pushy, too cocky, too crude to be charming, affable, or interesting at all. I didn't care what happened to him and routinely rooted against him. Joan Crawford fares much better giving a pretty nice performance with some dimension - though not much. Dekker and Lukas are very good; Lorre is good with a throwaway role. For me, Ian Hunetr gives the best, most interesting, and most likable performance as the mouthpiece of Heaven so to speak. His subtle acting really diminishes the possible heavy-handedness inherent in a role like this. Hunter plays his part in a first-rate fashion. Though certainly not one of the greatest films ever made, I found Strange Cargo a very interesting movie with a very interesting message.

In disagreement with other viewers I found nothing UNEASY about this picture. The film, a great one, deals with a "Strange" character (Cambreau)who by his mannerisms and wisdom hint at his being God incarnate. The question then arises as to why God would come among a group of sinners, convicts and scum. The script is well-written and stimulates a great deal of feeling. The writer certainly was able to bring biblical principals to pass on the screen with well- employed similes. If one knows the bible at all, then they would know that Jesus Christ did exactly that and when he asked why he answered that it was the sick who needed a physician... NOT the well. All of the roles are well-acted. This picture is certainly in my top 20.

The Strange Cargo referred to in the title is in the person of Ian Hunter who is a mysterious other world convict who comes upon a group of them planning to escape from Devil's Island. It's a strange film, Strange Cargo with Clark Gable and Joan Crawford in the very last of eight films they were paired in by MGM.

Crawford dusts off her Sadie Thompson role for her character here. Even with the Code firmly in place it's rather obvious that Crawford is a working girl. She's free, but stranded on that notorious convict island. Gable is essentially the same cynical tough guy he played in so many MGM features at that time.

Ian Hunter is the mysterious stranger among them. These aren't a group of choir boys he comes among. Yet one by one as they die he brings a peace that passeth all understanding as the Good Book says. The escapees all don't die, but all but one come under his influence.

I'm surprised that TCM did choose this one for its theme this June of gays in the cinema. Prison films even during the days of the Code were a bit more open in treatment of homosexuality. The relationship of Albert Dekker and young John Arledge is rather obvious. Dekker in fact chooses a gruesome suicide rather than live without Arledge after he dies.

In fact what's really startling to me was that the heavenly figure that Ian Hunter represents neither condemns suicide or homosexuality. I'm really wondering how the censors of the day let that one slip through.

Paul Lukas has a very interesting part. He's today what we would consider a serial killer, he's married and killed many women for their money. He's cool and cynical and rejects Hunter's entreaties. When Hunter says they will never meet again, the line is loaded with implications.

Strange Cargo is a strange film. It's not bad, but could have been a lot better without code restrictions.

This entertaining conflation of "Rain," "Island of Doomed Men," and "The Passing of the Third Floor Back" throws Joan Crawford and Clark Gable into a lifeboat with the incarnation of Jesus Christ, which is worth the price of the video already. Add a lovesick Peter Lorre (clearly worth ten Gables) pattering after the unreceptive Miss Crawford, who keeps calling him "Monsieur Pig," and you've got substance. Unforgettable camp of the highest order.

Was very intrigued by the idea of the story and its themes. Further sparking my interest were that 'Strange Cargo' was directed by Frank Borzage, a director who deserved and still does deserve more credit, and a great cast, including Clark Gable and Joan Crawford in their eighth and last film paired together. Peter Lorre, Paul Lukas and Albert Dekker are always worth watching, the most familiar for me is Lorre and he especially applies here.

A final pairing that showed them off well and was worthy of their talent. Neither are at their very best sure and both did better films, but 'Strange Cargo' still manages to be interesting and entertaining despite its flaws. It is understandable why people find 'Strange Cargo' a strange film, in a way it is and it is not hard to see where people are coming from with their criticisms, but strange (not a positive adjective a good deal of the time with me) in an intriguing way.

'Strange Cargo' is not without flaws. Do agree that it does get heavy-handed at times, especially towards the end with the allegorical themes being laid on rather too thickly and the spiritual redemption angle could have been made clearer.

Parts of the story do strain credibility and some of the dialogue could have been tighter and more subtle.

The main reason to see 'Strange Cargo' however is the cast, all more than game in their roles. Both Gable and Crawford are very good, Gable has charisma and tough intensity aplenty and by Crawford standards her performance here is quite understated (am not knocking her as an actress by the way, actually like her a lot). Their chemistry sizzles as it should. Lorre is deliciously loathsome if somewhat underused and Lukas gave me the chills. Dekker has fun and Ian Hunter makes an interesting character out of one that could have been potentially bland.

Borzage directs with his usual sensitivity as well as an edge, don't usually associate him with this sort of film but he does very well and directs attentively if sometimes lacking the extra dramatic punch. It's a good looking film and Franz Waxman provides a haunting and moody music score in his usual unmistakable style. The script does provoke thought mostly and the story is compelling, never dull, with its starkness still quite raw, some of the content was daring back then and one can see why.

To conclude, interesting and entertaining. 7/10 Bethany Cox

A beautiful movie with a mostly A-list cast, far superior to the source novel. "Strange Cargo" has almost non-stop action, yet the central allegory is never lost in action, nor is the storyline swamped by allegory. In less capable hands it might've been a maudlin movie, but instead is a finely crafted parable where a mysterious Christ-like figure (Hunter), introduced while taking Clark Gable's place in a prisoner head-count, accompanies and guides a mixed-nut boatload of escapees from Devil's Island. He's never an intrusive or moralizing figure, nor does he employ clever wordplay or ecstatic preachments, but assists each of the escapees as each individually confronts the internal corruption that led them to Devil's Island -- and the film's makers have the courage to show some of the men dealing with that confrontation, and some turning away from it, without giving judgment to the rightness or wrongness of either choice. This movie proves the potential for making a truly solid, entertaining and non-mawkish movie on orthodox Christian themes without the foolish baggage of robes and sandals (or insipid and sermony scripts). The movie's only disappointment is that Peter Lorre is not one of the escapees but a loathsome bounty hunter who has too few scenes. His character doesn't appear in the book, but deepens the parable. Overall, "Strange Cargo" is a movie that can be enjoyed for the plot alone, but which courageously adds layers, like those of an onion, that can be savored by the discerning. It's astounding this movie hasn't become a "cult" favorite, but perhaps its tendency to prompt introspection isn't much appreciated these days.

Clark Gable (Verne) is a prisoner on Devil's Island who has a track record for making escapes. And getting caught. Joan Crawford (Julie) is a singer in a bar on the Island. We are not told why she has ended up here but we can guess that she has had a wicked past. When Gable is found in her room she is expelled from the island and told to leave by the same way that she entered, meaning illegally through the jungle. She becomes a fugitive along with Gable and a handful of other prisoners as they make an escape attempt. Meanwhile the Prison Commandant Frederick Worlock (Grideau) awaits them at the port on the mainland that they are heading to, along with slimy Peter Lorre (Pig) whose ulterior motive involves shacking up with an uninterested Crawford.

It's an interesting film that concentrates on a set of prisoners whose strange cargo comes in the form of prisoner Ian Hunter (Cambreau). He is the all-knowing morality man who allows each prisoner to look at themselves and make their peace before heading to their destinies. He appears from nowhere and has a Christ-like drowning scene at the end of the film where he hangs on to a cross in stormy waters.

At work, we used to have a post messenger called 'Verne' who delivered files to our desks twice a day. He used to turn up on our floor and throw them at you, believing that was an acceptable way to carry out his duty. He'd just fling them at you and if they missed or hit the floor, so be it. Well, the way that Gable's portrayal of his character 'Verne' delivers his dialogue is just as brash. He just throws it at you. I didn't find him particularly likable. Gable plays it very macho and spouts a lot of dialogue with the use of the word "baby" stuck on at the end when he addresses Crawford. Crawford wins the acting award as she provides her character with some depth and you do wonder as to why she has ended up on the island. There seems to be more to her character, whereas Gable is just a meat-head. He has a rivalry with Albert Dekker (Moll) for leadership of the escaping group – guess who wins? Unfortunately, Dekker ruins his role by attempting an English accent from nowhere. No-one English speaks like that, Dekker! I think he was trying cockney?

For me, the most memorable scene was when murderer Paul Lukas (Hessler) realizes his destiny. I think the film could have been better if it had concentrated on his character and his unwillingness to play by Hunter's rules. As it is, we get a love story playing against this conflict of good versus bad. It makes for a happy Hollywood ending with a morality message, but you've got to give full marks to Lukas. Hunter is just not relevant. Another good scene occurs on a boat to the mainland when Gable has to try the infected water. I would have just refused as it means certain death. How will he get out of that one? Perhaps he'll just keep shouting dialogue in a cocky manner, as he does in a climatic scene with Ian Hunter during a storm. Terrible acting from Gable.

Overall, I liked this film as it gives a twist to the story of escaped convicts by throwing in a religious redemption element in the form of Hunter. But, it's a shame we didn't concentrate more on the story of Lukas. At the end, you can decide who really wins. Not many are left with their freedom.

What a shocker! Even as a committed Gable fan, I was not prepared for the simple greatness of this movie. Why it is not considered to be a Gable classic, I do not know.

Ploughing the ground for later epics, such as McQueen's Papillon, this tale manages to touch a deeper and more fertile vein. Combines all the elements of a Hollywood classic from the Golden Age such as danger, drama, romance and desperation and yet without any aspect being a makeweight. Even more remarkable is the effortless ease with which the film places our deepest questions beside a gritty and genuinely exciting story. This film offers so much for Gable and Crawford fans but is definitely a must see for anyone!

In 1940,Frank Borzage gave two great movies in a row.In these trouble times ,it was a true tour de force to achieve that."Strange cargo" and "mortal storm" are admirable works,works of redemption,full of compassion for the human race .Hats off to you,M.Borzage,you who are often ignored when they list their favorite directors.

A user wrote that "strange cargo" was ahead of its time.It's so obvious that even now,it remains demanding ,deep,and absorbing.When you see where the adventures movie has gone,the likes of Indiana and co,you wonder that some works like that have been produced. "Strange cargo" anticipates the cinema future.In several respects it's John Huston before John Huston,but with more faith in the human nature. I would go as far as saying the first part is some kind of Bunuel's "la mort en ce jardin"(1956),but a Christian(!) Bunuel.The users who saw the Spanish director 's underrated film will be struck by the analogies between the two works .Gable's and Crawford' characters resemble George Marchal's and Simone Signoret's in "la mort en ce jardin".Or rather the other way about.

The main difference is the indomitable faith in God that Cambreau displays in the whole movie.His face radiates like a Christ,and Ian Hunter outshines the two stars Gable and Crawford.His performance ,subdued and sober,but always mesmerizing ,fascinates.There are unforgettable scenes:the beach ,where he opens the gates of eden for some kind of thief ;the cask of fresh water;his strange predictions;Clark Gable screaming "I'm God!" after throwing him into the water.The movie often verges on fantastic,but a spiritual and sustained fantastic,not drivel such as "IJ and the last crusade".

"Strange cargo" was followed by "mortal storm" ,which iseven more superior to it.Here ,Borzage anticipates on Minnelli "the four horsemen of the Apocalypse" 1961) and Visconti (la caditi degli dei 1969).His love for the human race is still beaming:in a world gone mad where nazi hate oozes everywhere,there will be several Cambreau to heal the wounds :Mr.and Mrs Roth,Martin,Freya and the old Mrs Breitner.

Do not miss his earlier works ,pacifist ones of course :"three comrades " and "no greater glory".Should they give a Nobel price of cinema,Frank Borzage would have been a strong contender in his lifetime.

This is a vastly underrated film. The fact that the Catholic Church condemned it in 1940, is in my estimation, one of the highest compliments you can give a script. And the reason they condemned it was not for the relatively lame sex scenes with Crawford. Those scenes were no worse than Colbert's scenes in It Happened One Night. No, the real reason the Catholic Church banned this film in 1940 was because the protagonist (Ian Hunter) was much more Chirst-like than the official doctrines of the Catholic Church at the time. The philosophical content of the film is considerable. The performances of all three leading players, including Gable and Crawford are outstanding.

Gable shows his darker side in this film, and it is interesting to his character unfold. Crawford, on the other hand, seems to have the crisper dialogue in this wonderfully written screenplay. She is absolutely perfect for this role, as it was not too much of a stretch from her real-life persona. I am not a big Crawford fan, but she does a great job in this film. Her and Gable were a real-life item off the big screen as well. She was not a beautiful woman, like several of her contemporary actresses, but she was certainly in total control of all the assets she did have. She had a harder heart than an IRS bill collector. Don't miss this gem of a film.

This is an uncomfortable Film to endure. It has a storyline that ventures from prison escape, to jungle trek, to slutty, wet romance, to Religious Allegory with transitions that are not at all smooth. The Star Power here is on hand to help through the deep concerns with playful bickering and cynical indignation.

In fact, it is a wonder this thing got made at all. What with its, hardly ever filmed heavy handed, Christ analogies the Studio took a chance here at alienating at the least and angering at most many ticket buyers and Social groups. There is a deep Philosophical concern in this otherwise routine Adventure that won't be found in the usual escapism.

It can be quite impressive in its glowing representation of a Saviour that is straight out of the New Testament and placed in the middle of Street Walkers, Murderers, and Thieves in a Jungle setting. There is a Supernatural feel among raw Nature and its handling of redemption is always within a setting of Angelic reflection and soft spoken words.

This Movie will be a matter of taste for most as it can be seen as overdone and dense, melodramatic and melancholy. But it cannot be denied as a truly offbeat affair and for those seeking something unusual from the usual Star and Studio System, this is it.

Verne (Clark Gable) is a thief with three years left in his sentence at a jungle penal colony. He never stops trying to escape despite the dangers of the jungle. Showgirl Julie (Joan Crawford) arrives in the nearby town. Verne escapes again and flirts with Julie. She turns him in but gets fired anyways. M'sieu Pig (Peter Lorre) apprehends the fugitive. He escapes once more with six other convicts. Starved and tired, he finds food and shelter from Julie. She also needs to escape and joins him in his jungle trek.

I really don't care about the other fugitives. I couldn't wait for the movie to get back to the big stars whenever it concentrates on the preacher or the others. There is also a lack of intensity with the jungle. I expected more. Then there are the characters. They are very chaotic and irrational at times. It's hard to get my hands around these people. Some of them look too similar. The dialogue is rather melodramatic. The plot is definitely trying to do something intriguing but it's a strange blend. With the shark, it would have been more intense if the characters don't bring it up first. The Jesus theme is odd. These are great stars. Peter Lorre always delivers. Verne is frustrating. There is something here but it doesn't ever seem to get the intensity.

This is one of my favorite movies from the '40s. It's such a strange film for the time. Clark Gable and some other convicts escape from a Devil's Island-type penal colony. They are joined by a convict (Ian Hunter) none of them seem to know but who has a strange way about him. Gable also brings along a prostitute (Joan Crawford) who turned him in on his last escape attempt. The convicts and Joan embark on a dangerous journey to escape the island. Along the way they begin to suspect there is something almost supernatural about Hunter's character. As a matter of fact, he is heavily implied to be Jesus Christ! This sounds like something prime for mockery but it actually works really well.

Clark Gable is just great in this, from a pure entertainment perspective. He spends the whole movie barking at people and being a tough guy. I especially love all of his scenes with Joan Crawford, saying things like "come here baby" and planting one on her. It's a macho cheesy role for Gable but I loved every minute of it. Crawford turns in an underrated performance and looks absolutely stunning. I don't think Joan would ever look this pretty on screen again. The best thing about it is she looks relatively plain here. No shoulder pads, no Groucho Marx eyebrows, no heavy makeup or matronly hairstyles. She's positively radiant.

The cast is amazing. In addition to Gable and Crawford, there's Ian Hunter's brilliantly enigmatic turn as Cambreau. Paul Lukas and Albert Dekker turn in two of the best performances of their careers. Peter Lorre plays the creepy Pig who has eyes on Joan. John Arledge is nicely sympathetic as Dekker's "friend." There's certainly some room for interpretation with that part of the movie. It's a good-looking film. Director Frank Borzage never made an ugly movie that I'm aware of. He epitomized MGM glamour. Great Franx Waxman score, too. Just a phenomenal movie. Deserves much wider recognition than it has received.

Director Frank Borzage ("Seventh Heaven", "Street Angel", "Lucky Star", "The Mortal Storm", "Three Comrades", etc.) was rather famous for making pictures with a spiritual, yet practical edge to them. Here he succeeds once again in Strange Cargo (1940), which almost could have been a precode, it was that good.

The story involves a group of convicts and a prostitute who are making a break from a prison island to gain their freedom and new lives, traveling through dangerous jungles to reach the sea and a waiting boat. Although most of them hate each other at the beginning, strange events cause them to re-examine their lives and even make incredible sacrifices for one another along the way.

The cast is generally excellent, particularly Ian Hunter, who plays the good man, Cambreau, who acts as a Godly peacemaker, a Jesus symbol, to the evil, unsympathetic characters who abound in this film. His character proves that even a mere mortal man with a great and firm faith, a man not a priest or a minister, could lead sinful people to repentance with gentle words from the scripture and from his personal examples of good deeds. Either that, or his character was simply a male angel. The Bible says you can meet angels unawares.

This is one reason why I love the movies from old Hollywood; they weren't afraid to tackle subjects about spirituality vs. sin. Today they don't think sin exists anymore in Hollywood (ha!) so there is no need to moralize about anyone's changed behavior.

Joan Crawford had some good scenes in this film, but it takes awhile for the audience to feel sympathy for her. A couple of times I thought I was watching her again in Rain, a film she hated because it didn't do well at the box office. Joan simply does not strike me as a spiritual person, so she really had to ACT to play a remorseful person who changed for the better. It never really rings true though, although she tried her best.

I did enjoy seeing silent film actress Betty Compson, even briefly, as Joan's friend. How sad that more of her minor sound films have survived, but her silent classics have been lost. She was a very big star in her day, but by the 1930's she was forced into mostly B pictures.

Clark Gable seems an uncouth, rough choice for the prisoner Verne, and his last scene in the boat with Cambreau made me laugh, and I don't feel I should have been laughing at such a dramatic moment. He missed the mark for me. Like Joan, I don't think Gable was a spiritual person either, so they were a good match here, in an odd kind of way. I would really have loved to have seen two other actors play these parts.

Perhaps one of the best performances here is from Paul Lukas, as Hessler, the atheist. It's amazing how quickly I can pick out the atheist characters in films; they seem to have a brittle, angry edge to them, a continual chip on their shoulders, they are never at peace, and Paul displayed these qualities in abundance in this film. He is the only character who refuses to change after his encounters with Cambreau. Watch his face in his last scene and close-up. For one instant he is reconsidering the path he will take, sinner or saint, but then shouts "No!" to himself and walks away angrily into his atheist night. Very powerful and realistic, although sad at the same time.

Others here raved about Peter Lorre's performance as "Pig" but it didn't really impress me. His character seemed like just a silly spider in the background, one that should have simply been stepped on right at the beginning, rather than tolerated for too long. He didn't seem threatening enough to me.

Overall, a fascinating, thought provoking film, not for the squeamish. If you are looking for something different, and you are not afraid to face your own prejudices against people of faith, see Strange Cargo.

Hollywood, the home of hype, glamor and the search for profits, is scarcely ruled by spiritual values, and so it comes as no surprise that its attempts at investigations of the spiritual life are thin and often silly (better to go farther afield--to the films of Bresson, Dreyer, Rossellini and Bergman, for probing depictions of the spirituality). "Strange Cargo" is no exception. This odd hybrid of adventure film, love story and religious parable trivializes the very insights it tries to communicate. That a figure of providence and salvation would work to match Verne (Clark Gable at his most cockily mannered and self-regarding) and Julie (Joan Crawford, snarling and spitting out every other word in an attempt to be the Queen of Tough Dames) seems ludicrous at best. Is this the Patron Saint of the Star System at work, matching warring egos before sending them off to further penal servitude on the M-G-M lot? BUT. . .there are good supporting performances here, and visually arresting moments: the shadowy prison barracks; the escaping boat by moonlight, or against a painterly cloudscape; Julie walking along the seafront as the wind whips up; Julie and Monsieur Pig (Peter Lorre) bargaining for Verne's freedom as the storm builds; an unusually ennobling gay prison romance between two convicts. . .Above all, there is Paul Lukas's dignified and detached performance as Hessler, a murderer who can appreciate Cambreau's virtues, yet turns his back on him. In the film's most arresting moment, Hessler, having left Cambreau, stands outside the cabin. We hear the wind through the jungle, see the shadows on his face, which conveys a moment of fear and self-doubt. Then he exits into the night. In this moment, Hessler achieves an ambiguity, depth and existential strength that none of the other characters manage to achieve. is the film's secret that its deepest sympathies are allied with Hessler?

When I first saw this movie, over 30 years ago, I was captivated by it and still am. Unfortunately they do not show it often enough. Gable, Crawford, Lorre, Lukas all great and surely missed. Truely one of the lost gems of the Golden Age. Have not seen in years and can not wait until it is shown again.