Dark Waters (1944)

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Why do they put a 'security seal' along the top of the case which tears the front off the box when you try to remove it? I need a new box now

The film was very good... but of course that was made when they could still make things that worked July 30, 2008

Interesting story, excellent cast, fabulous score but desperately in need of restoration work.

"Dark Waters" is a 1944 film that begins with a story of survival after a horrific torpedo attack on a civilian freighter. It soon turns into a Southern Gothic tale with steamy swamps, Spanish moss, Hollywood quick sand with the consistency of oatmeal, and creepy men in tropical white suits.

To escape the war, Leslie Calvin (Merle Oberon) flees Batavia with her parents on an old merchant freighter. Soon into the voyage, the ship is sunk by enemy torpedoes. The few survivors are dying off as they spend several horrific days drifting under the relentless sun with a very small ration of drinking water. Eventually three survivors are found, rescued and taken to a New York hospital for treatment. Leslie can be treated for the physical effects of starvation and exposure, but the psychological trauma is much more difficult to get over.

After she regains consciousness, Leslie receives a warm and charming letter from her mother's sister. Aunt Emily assures Leslie that she is loved and more than welcome in at their Louisiana plantation home, Rossignol.

With no family and nowhere else to go, Leslie telegrams Aunt Emily that she has been discharged from the hospital and is taking a train to Louisiana. But when Leslie arrives at the train station there is no one to meet her. After waiting for hours under the hot sun Leslie faints. She regains consciousness in the care of local physician, Dr George Grover (Franchot Tone).

Dr. Grover, who is familiar with the headline version of Leslie's story, convinces her to allow him to drive her out to Rossignol rather than taking the first train back to New York. When they reach the plantation, Aunt Emily (Fay Bainter) seems confused. She tells them that, while Leslie is very welcome at Rossignol, her telegram never arrived and no one was expecting her. Aunt Emily and Uncle Norbert are already entertaining two house guests, Mr. Sydney (Thomas Mitchell) and Cleeve (Elisha Cook, Jr.).

The doctor leaves instructions that under no circumstances should Leslie be reminded of her recent ordeal; every effort should be made to provide diversion and entertainment. But before Dr. Grover can drive out of sight the other residents of Rossignol are speaking to Leslie about the shipwreck and interrogating her about her experience. Soon Leslie is hearing voices calling to her at night, seeing lights mysteriously turn off and back on, and questioning her very sanity.

"Dark Waters" has an interesting and unusual story. The cast is excellent. Most notable is Thomas Mitchell as a villain, unlike his better known roles as Uncle Billy in It's A Wonderful Life (Two-Disc Collector's Set) (B/W & Color), or Gerald O'Hara in Gone with the Wind (Two-Disc Edition). It also features a Miklos Rozsa score.

This DVD version is a release from the UCLA film and television archive. Little preservation work is evident here. The film is grainy, dust and artifacts move across the picture like animation, the black is too dark and the white seems overexposed. But then, this isn't really a well known film, and they probably figure it doesn't rate the same treatment as Casablanca (Two-Disc Special Edition) or Citizen Kane (Two-Disc Special Edition). Fans of this film will be grateful to have it released on DVD at all.

There are no special features.

Recommended.
June 29, 2008

Merle Oberon shines in gothic Southern thriller

DARK WATERS (directed in 1944 by Andre de Toth) stars Merle Oberon and Franchot Tone in a well-plotted psychological thriller about a young woman driven to madness by murder-minded fortune hunters.

Rich heiress Leslie Calvin (Merle Oberon) survived the German bombing of a cargo ship which claimed the lives of her parents; and after a long stay in hospital, goes to live with her aunt and uncle at their Louisiana plantation. In the steamy bayous she hears dismembered voices calling her name, and other ominous things which cause her to believe she's slowly going mad. Only the reasonings of Dr. Grover (Franchot Tone) help Leslie in living at the gloomy plantation, where her aunt and uncle (Fay Bainter and John Qualen) act in strange ways which lead Leslie to believe that they are imposters.

The moonlight and magnolias of the South are replaced by quicksand and searchlights in DARK WATERS, an altogether enjoyable noir-thriller, enlivened no end by the presence of Merle Oberon. Franchot Tone, Fay Bainter, Elisa Cook Jr., and Thomas Mitchell add to the prestige of the movie.

The DVD print comes from a privately-maintained UCLA film source, in urgent need of restoration and filled with various print damage (water-marking, reel splices, running scratches); and the soundtrack is very muddy and weak in certain areas. Still, that should not deter classic movie enthusiasts from taking a dip into DARK WATERS. Highly-recommended.

(Single-sided, single-layer disc). January 4, 2008

A Fine Swamp Noir, With A Gloomy Mansion, Quicksand, Dark Intentions And, Perhaps, Madness

To grab your attention, there's nothing quite like a screaming face with bulging eyes slowly sinking under quicksand. Few actors could bulge and scream as well as Elisha Cook Jr, and in Dark Waters he's given every opportunity to deserve his fate. Please note that while elements of the plot are discussed, we know the whodunit within the first 15 minutes of the movie. It's the whydunit combined with swamp atmosphere and movie-making craftsmanship that make the movie as good as it is.

Leslie Calvin (Merle Oberon) was one of four survivors of a sub attack during World War II. She and her parents were returning to America from Batavia. She wakes up in a Louisiana hospital, distraught, anxious, knowing no one and afraid she's losing her mind. She remembers a sister of her mother, and her doctor encourages her to write. She eventually receives a letter inviting her to stay with her Aunt Emily and Uncle Norbert at a plantation house on Bayou Grandterre, near the small town of Belleville, Louisiana. She sends a telegram saying when she will arrive, but when she gets off the train no one is there to meet her. Her anxiety kicks in, she faints from the heat, and wakes up in the train station being attended to by Doctor George Grover (Franchot Tone). He drives her to the mansion, gloomy and colonnaded, where she meets her aunt and uncle (Fay Bainter and John Qualen) and a Mr. Sydney (Thomas Mitchell). Sydney seems sympathetic and caring; he also seems to run the plantation and to run Aunt Emily and Uncle Norbert. He always wears seedy-looking white suits. He regrets not receiving Leslie's telegram, and Aunt Emily says she doesn't understand what could have happened. Leslie is welcomed warmly and shown her room. Dr. Grover cautions Mr. Sydney on how precarious Leslie's mental health is. As Grover drives off, Mr. Sydney takes Leslie's telegram from his pocket, wads it up and throws it in the trash.

And now in this gloomy mansion on the edge of a swamp, Leslie begins to experience unsettling things...a shutter banging in the night, a lamp she turns off which later comes on, a voice softly calling her into the swamp. Her aunt is sympathetic but dithering. "You're not eating, dear," she tells Leslie. "I do think you should have a hot biscuit." Her uncle is preoccupied. Mr. Sydney is avuncular and watchful. Before long, she also meets Cleeve (Elisha Cook Jr.), the man Mr. Sydney hired to oversee the plantation, a man who urges Leslie to have fun with him, who likes to touch her arm, who blinks a little too fast when he's excited. "It must be awful drowning in quicksand," Cleeve tells her one day. "Water's cleaner at least...faster." "Cleeve," Mr Sydney says, "please...think of Leslie." All she has to depend on is George Grover, a man who is falling in love with her but who may not believe her suspicions. The climax comes in the bayou at night, where the dark water is choked with swamp grass and a solid path can lead to a slow, strangling death in quicksand.

If there's a category called swamp noir, and I see no reason why there shouldn't be, Dark Waters would be a leading example. The film's atmosphere is dark, humid and filled with dread. The mansion not only has seen better days, but so has the old sugar house nearby. It's derelict now and sits right on the edge of the swamp with only a narrow passage leading from shore to the boat dock. Much of the action takes place at night, when many creeping things can hide, a path can be mistaken and a corpse hidden. Merle Oberon and Franchot Tone do fine jobs in the lead roles, but what makes this movie work so well are Mitchell, Bainter, Qualen and Cook. The four never go over the top. While we know bad things are happening, and we know they are part of it, we never find out just how bad things are until the end. Mitchell and Bainter are particularly good. What also makes this movie work is the efficiency and craftsmanship of the screenwriters and the director. They take less than five minutes to establish Leslie's situation, less than 15 minutes to place her in the middle of the plot. From then on, they steadily increase the dread and unease. And then, right in the middle of the movie, they take 10 minutes to put Leslie and George in a Cajun fais do-do, with fiddles, accordions, lots of dancing and the kids of a Cajun family that Leslie met the previous day. It's a great device to ease up on the plot a little and then bring things back with even more tension afterwards.

This is a first-rate and largely forgotten movie. If you like noir and are fond of excellent character acting, this would be a film to add to your collection. The DVD visual and audio are not perfect but much better than you might expect. The DVD is easy to watch. It has no extras. April 22, 2006

Good Gothic Drama

Though the suspense is on the low burner in this Andre De Toth film starring beautiful Merle Oberon and Franchot Tone, those who enjoy a good gothic drama will find much to like here. Nice camera work from Archie Stout and John Mescall and a fine score from Miklos Rozsa help create a mood that is sustained throughout the entire film.

When tragedy aboard a ship during WWII leaves young Leslie in a fragile mental state, wondering why her parents drowned and she survived, she has nowhere to turn until a letter arrives from an aunt and uncle inviting her to stay with them in Louisiana. But the Rossignol estate holds unforseen danger for Leslie, and the peculiar things happening around her cause her to question her sanity.

The beautiful Rosignol is located in the middle of the bayou and the light and shadows of the swamp add to her sense of losing touch with reality. Her aunt and uncle seem strange somehow and Elisha Cook Jr. borders on creepy. Lights go on by themselves at night, a radio not plugged in begins to play, and a voice keeps calling her towards the swamp. Only the budding romance with the country doctor, George (Franchot Tone), offers her any fun and normal moments. Her visits with him to the large family down the road and their happy time at the town dance keep her going.

A turning point comes, however, when Pearson Jackson, a kind long time employee at Rosignol recently fired by Elisha Cook Jr., hears the voice in the swamp calling her name too, and Leslie begins to suspect she is not losing her mind at all. When her aunt, Emily (Fay Bainter), slips up and talks on about what a fine dancer Leslie's mother was, the pieces fall into place. She must get George to believe her before it's too late.

Joan Harrison, who worked on several Hitchcock films, including Rebecca and Suspicion, had a hand in the screenplay here. Those expecting edge of your seat tension will be let down by this offering. If you enjoy a good gothic drama which is more atmosphere and romance, however, you'll like this one due to the attractive cast and good ending. A fine film for a rainy night. March 1, 2006

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