O.K., so it may not be yellow, but in commander husband Charles Laughton's case, it is green, the color of jealousy, and in his case, psychotically violent and deadly for everybody including his crew and himself. Laughton has just gotten rid of Tallulah's most recent conquest (Cary Grant) by stripping him of his honors and sending him off on another assignment when along comes strappingly handsome Gary Cooper whom Tallulah meets on the street after a near fatal argument with her viperous husband. Tallulah does confess that at one point, she did love here husband, but his Captain Bligh like demands and extreme possessiveness have driven her into the arms of other men, making her the scourge of other navy officer's wives. Immediately suspicious of Cooper, Laughton makes the hasty decision to trap them all on his submarine down in the depths of the ocean where even his most loyal of men might perish thanks to his psychotic rage.
In his first American film, Laughton got special billing, with Tallulah, Cooper and Grant billed in the opening credits among the title and Laughton getting a special introduction after the full cast roll has passed by. Honored with the title of "the esteemed British stage actor", Laughton is not only the commander of his submarine but this film as well. He can go from being a gracious host and strong but caring commander to rantingly mad with little provocation, and when he does, you know that in 1932 they realized what a great actor had just been introduced to Hollywood and American audiences. Tallulah is great as well, and the thought of her being stuck on a submarine with dozens of lonely men aboard brings on all sorts of images. It is unfortunate that Cooper and Grant never share as much as a brief exchange considering their legendary status as leading men. The issue is the script which tries to make us believe that Tallulah's character knows the names of some of the obscure equipment on the submarine and can identify what happened when the ship is stranded at the bottom of the ocean with little chance for everyone to escape. Laughton's final scene is haunting, and the outcome of what happens with Cooper in his court martial trial quite believable.
In his first American film, Laughton got special billing, with Tallulah, Cooper and Grant billed in the opening credits among the title and Laughton getting a special introduction after the full cast roll has passed by. Honored with the title of "the esteemed British stage actor", Laughton is not only the commander of his submarine but this film as well. He can go from being a gracious host and strong but caring commander to rantingly mad with little provocation, and when he does, you know that in 1932 they realized what a great actor had just been introduced to Hollywood and American audiences. Tallulah is great as well, and the thought of her being stuck on a submarine with dozens of lonely men aboard brings on all sorts of images. It is unfortunate that Cooper and Grant never share as much as a brief exchange considering their legendary status as leading men. The issue is the script which tries to make us believe that Tallulah's character knows the names of some of the obscure equipment on the submarine and can identify what happened when the ship is stranded at the bottom of the ocean with little chance for everyone to escape. Laughton's final scene is haunting, and the outcome of what happens with Cooper in his court martial trial quite believable.