Year of Release: 1934Country of Origin: USA
Director: Henry King
Cast: Spencer Tracy, Ketti Gallian
Plot outline: Unintentionally shanghaied out of her French seacoast village by a drunken captain of a tramp steamer, Marie Galante finds herself penniless and puzzled in a strange land (IMDb).
A white-faced blonde with the mysterious veiled eyes of one who holds fascinating and unbelievable secrets, Ketti Gallian is frail, lovely and very quietly over-whelming. The work in which she appears is an ambitious and interesting story of international intrigue which is better in intention than in actual achievement. Freely adapted from Jacques Deval's novel, Marie Galante tells the strange tale of a stranded French girl who becomes the innocent central figure in a whirling confusion of sabotage and counter-espionage in the Panama Canal zone. In conception and occasionally in execution the plot is an arresting melodrama, with a fresh and vivid approach to the materials of espionage. Unfortunately it suffers from several major flaws, which force the movie steadily into mediocrity after a fine beginning. Unable and unwilling to clarify the meaning and background of the gigantic plot, it leaves the audience with the dissatisfied feeling of unappeased curiosity. Finally, the movie asks its audiences to believe that a girl of presumably average intelligence can be the unwitting dupe of various rogues without once suspecting their intentions. In addition to the excellent Miss Gallian there are attractive performances by Spencer Tracy, Sig Ruman, Leslie Fenton and Arthur Byron. (NYT)
My judgement: **1/2 out of 4 stars
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