![]() ![]() He's one pessimistic fellow that O'Neill. If you're any kind of depressed, The Long Voyage Home or any Eugene O'Neill is not good for your mental health. It turns out to cost one of them his life ultimately. The rest of the crew makes every effort to see he does in fact get home to Sweden. Wayne as Olsen is the innocent of the group, maybe the only time he's ever been that on the screen. It's the only time he ever attempted some kind of accent and he pulls it off. But the Duke holds his own in the ensemble. Hard to believe that John Wayne would be in a film by one of our greatest dramatists. ![]() Turns out he's far from what everyone suspects. Ian Hunter may have given his career performance in this as Smitty. Certainly the second World War in 1940 gave the audiences some real interest. Especially in the part when the crew becomes convinced that Ian Hunter is some kind of spy. The original plays had a World War I background, but it has been updated for World War II. It's the only place where all kinds of people really work for a common goal, stay alive and make the trip. I've always felt that O'Neill was trying to say that if there's any salvation to be had in this old world, it's to be found on the salt water. It's just called the high seas and the seamen on it are an international fraternity, like the S.S. Most of our planet is covered by water and no country owns it. Glencairn are drawn from his own youthful experience. Eugene O'Neill spent many years at sea and the characters of these men on the S.S. That song expresses so well the longing of a whole bunch of rootless men to find some kind of stability in their lives. Those 19th century ballads like I Dream of Jeannie that work so well in something like Stagecoach are substituted for Harbor Lights. One thing Ford always did was use the right kind of music to set the tone for a film. Kerrigan is playing almost the same part in this as he did in The Informer. Probably in mood and style the film of Ford's this comes closest to is The Informer. But the usual Ford trademarks are noticeably absent from The Long Voyage Home. Ford is usually someone who really puts an individual stamp on one of his movies. Glencairn is Dudley Nichols and presiding over it all is the direction of John Ford. The man who did the stitching together of O'Neill's work about the crew of the S.S. The Long Voyage Home is a compilation film of four one act plays by Eugene O'Neill who some will argue is America's greatest dramatist. ![]()
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