Down to Their Last Yacht

Down to Their Last Yacht is a 1934 comic adventure produced and distributed by RKO Pictures.[1]

Down to Their Last Yacht
Directed byPaul Sloane
Written byHerbert Fields
Lou Brock
Screenplay byMarion Dix
Lynn Starling
Produced byLou Brock
Pandro S. Berman
StarringMary Boland
Polly Moran
CinematographyEdward Cronjager
Edited byArthur Roberts
Music byRoy Webb
Distributed byRKO Pictures
Release date
  • August 31, 1934 (1934-08-31)
Running time
64 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Plot

edit

After the stock market crash of 1929, the Colt-Stratton family is forced to rent their yacht to the nouveau riche at the behest of Nella Fitzgerald (Polly Moran), including gambler Barry Forbes (Sidney Blackmer) and his sidekick Freddy Finn (Sterling Holloway). When Freddy rigs the yacht's roulette wheel to respond to his saxophone, he is caught, but moments later, Captain "Sunny Jim" Roberts (Ned Sparks) runs the yacht aground on the South Sea Island of Malakamokolu, ruled by Queen Malakamokalu (Mary Boland), a White woman, who takes the passengers as forced labor. Tiring them, she offers to release them if Barry stays to marry her. However, once she hears Freddy play his saxophone, she falls in love with him and plans to blow up the yacht with a bomb. Barry manages to rescue the passengers, not the boat, and they accept their new home in the tropics.

Cast

edit

Production

edit

Two separate units were used to speed the production, one directed by producer Lou Brock and the other by director Paul Sloane. Sam White was hired to direct retakes, supervised by Brock, which involved re-shooting a quarter of the film. Brock was given carte blanche on the film, which went considerably over budget; it turned out to be his last production for RKO.[2]

Reception

edit

The New York Times review of the film called the movie "a sorry melange of Hollywood native dancing, theme-song singing and preposterous comedy."[3]

The film was a box-office disappointment for RKO.[4]

References

edit

Notes

  1. ^ The American Film Institute Catalog Feature Films: 1931–40
  2. ^ "Notes" on TCM.com
  3. ^ F.S. N. (September 24, 1934). "Down to Their Last Yacht (1934) South Seas Fantasy". The New York Times.
  4. ^ D. W. (Nov 25, 1934). "TAKING A LOOK AT THE RECORD". The New York Times. ProQuest 101193306.
edit