''Voyage of the Damned'' is a 1976

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super- ...

directed by

Stuart Rosenberg Stuart Rosenberg (August 11, 1927 – March 15, 2007) was an American film and television director whose motion pictures include ''Cool Hand Luke'' (1967), ''Voyage of the Damned'' (1976), '' The Amityville Horror'' (1979), and ''The Pope of Gree ...

, with an all-star cast featuring Faye Dunaway, Oskar Werner,

Lee Grant Lee Grant (born Lyova Haskell Rosenthal; October 31, during the mid-1920s) is an American actress, documentarian, and director. She made her film debut in 1951 as a young shoplifter in William Wyler's '' Detective Story'', co-starring Kirk Doug ...

, Max von Sydow,

James Mason James Neville Mason (; 15 May 190927 July 1984) was an English actor. He achieved considerable success in British cinema before becoming a star in Hollywood. He was the top box-office attraction in the UK in 1944 and 1945; his British films inc ...

, and Malcolm McDowell. The story was inspired by actual events concerning the fate of the

ocean liner An ocean liner is a passenger ship primarily used as a form of transportation across seas or oceans. Ocean liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes (such as for pleasure cruises or as hospital ships). Ca ...

carrying Jewish refugees from Germany to

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribb ...

in 1939. It was based on a 1974 nonfiction book of the same title written by Gordon Thomas and Max Morgan-Witts. The

screenplay ''ScreenPlay'' is a television drama anthology series broadcast on BBC2 between 9 July 1986 and 27 October 1993. Background After single-play anthology series went off the air, the BBC introduced several showcases for made-for-television, f ...

was written by

Steve Shagan Stephen H. Shagan (October 25, 1927 – November 30, 2015) was an American novelist, screenwriter, and television and film producer. Shagan was born in Brooklyn, New York to Rachel (née Rosenzweig) and Barnard H. "Barney" Shagan.

and David Butler. The film was produced by

ITC Entertainment The Incorporated Television Company (ITC), or ITC Entertainment as it was referred to in the United States, was a British company involved in production and distribution of television programmes. History Incorporated Television Programme Compan ...

and released by Rank Film Distributors in the UK and Avco Embassy Pictures in the US.

Plot

Based on historic events, this dramatic film concerns the 1939 voyage of the German-flagged , which departed from

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...

carrying 937 Jews from Germany, ostensibly bound for

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

, Cuba. The passengers, having seen and suffered rising

antisemitism in Germany Antisemitism (also spelled anti-Semitism)—prejudice, hatred of, or discrimination against Jews— has experienced a long history of expression since the days of ancient civilizations, with most of it having originated in the Christian and pre-C ...

, realised this might be their only chance to escape. The film details the emotional journey of the passengers, who gradually become aware that their passage was planned as an exercise in

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...

, and that it had never been intended that they disembark in Cuba. Rather, they were to be set up as pariahs, to set an example before the world. As a

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

official states in the film, when the whole world has refused to accept the Jews as

refugee A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution.

s, no country can blame Germany for their fate. The Cuban government refuses entry to the passengers, and the liner heads to the United States. As it waits off the

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...

coast, the passengers learn that the United States also has rejected them, leaving the captain no choice but to return to Europe. The captain tells a confidante that he has received a letter signed by 200 passengers saying they will join hands and jump into the sea rather than return to Germany. He states his intention to run the liner aground on a reef off the southern coast of England, to allow the passengers to be rescued and reach safety there. Shortly before the film's end, it is revealed that the governments of Belgium, France, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom have each agreed to accept a share of the passengers as refugees. As they cheer and clap at the news, footnotes disclose the fates of some of the main characters, suggesting that more than 600 of the 937 passengers, who did not resettle in Britain but in the other European nations, ultimately were deported and were murdered in

Nazi concentration camp From 1933 to 1945, Nazi Germany operated more than a thousand concentration camps, (officially) or (more commonly). The Nazi concentration camps are distinguished from other types of Nazi camps such as forced-labor camps, as well as con ...

Cast

* Faye Dunaway as Denise Kreisler * Max von Sydow as Captain Schroeder * Oskar Werner as Professor Egon Kreisler * Malcolm McDowell as Max Gunter *

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...

as José Estedes *

as Dr. Juan Remos *

as Lili Rosen *

Katharine Ross Katharine Juliet Ross (born January 29, 1940) is an American film, stage, and television actress. Her accolades include one Academy Award nomination, one BAFTA Award, and two Golden Globe Awards. A native of Los Angeles, Ross spent most of her ...

as Mira Hauser * Ben Gazzara as Morris Troper * Luther Adler as Professor Weiler * Michael Constantine as Luis Clasing * Denholm Elliott as Admiral Canaris * José Ferrer as Manuel Benitez * Lynne Frederick as Anna Rosen * Helmut Griem as Otto Schiendick * Julie Harris as Alice Fienchild * Wendy Hiller as Rebecca Weiler *

Paul Koslo Paul Koslo (born Manfred Koslowski; June 27, 1944 – January 9, 2019) was a German-born Canadian actor. Career Koslo started his career in such 1970s films as '' Nam's Angels'' a.k.a. ''The Losers'', '' Vanishing Point'' and ''The Stone Ki ...

as Aaron Pozner * Nehemiah Persoff as Mr. Hauser *

Fernando Rey Fernando Casado Arambillet (La Coruña (Spain), 20 September 1917 – Madrid (Spain), 9 March 1994), best known as Fernando Rey, was a Spanish film, theatre, and television actor, who worked in both Europe and the United States. A suave, i ...

as President Bru * Leonard Rossiter as Commander Von Bonin * Maria Schell as Mrs. Hauser *

Victor Spinetti Vittorio Giorgio Andre "Victor" Spinetti (2 September 1929 – 19 June 2012) was a Welsh actor, author, poet, and raconteur. He appeared in dozens of films and stage plays throughout his 50-year career, including the three 1960s Beatles films ...

as Dr. Erich Strauss * Janet Suzman as Leni Strauss *

Sam Wanamaker Samuel Wanamaker, (born Wattenmacker; June 14, 1919 – December 18, 1993) was an American actor and director who moved to the United Kingdom after becoming fearful of being blacklisted in Hollywood due to his communist views. He is credited a ...

as Carl Rosen * Keith Barron as Purser Mueller * Ian Cullen as Radio Officer *

David Daker Colin David Daker (born 29 September 1935) is an English actor. He is best known for his role as Harry Crawford in the hit series ''Boon''. He also played Tommy Mackay in ''Only Fools and Horses'' and Jarvis in ''Porridge''. He has made two app ...

as First Officer * Brian Gilbert as Laurenz Schulman * Constantine Gregory as Navigation Officer (credited as Constantin de Goguel) *

Georgina Hale Georgina Hale (born 4 August 1943) is an English film, television and stage actress. She is best known for her roles in the films of director Ken Russell, including '' The Devils'' (1971), '' The Boy Friend'' (1971), and '' Mahler'' (1974), for ...

as Lotte Schulman *

Don Henderson Donald Francis Henderson (10 November 1931 – 22 June 1997)Ancestry/Find My Past (his birth was registered in the December 1931 quarter) was an English actor. He was known for playing both "tough guy" roles and authority figures, and is remem ...

as Engineering Officer * Bernard Hepton as Milton Goldsmith * Anthony Higgins as Seaman Berg * Donald Houston as Dr. Glauner *

Frederick Jaeger Manfred Frederick Jaeger (9 May 1928 – 18 June 2004) was a German-born British film, television, theatre and radio character actor. Biography Jaeger was born in Berlin, Germany, but moved to England following Adolf Hitler's rise to power. H ...

as Werner Mannheim * David de Keyser as Joseph Joseph * Della McDermott as Julia Strauss *

Günter Meisner Günter Meisner (18 April 1926 – 5 December 1994) was a German film and television character actor. He is remembered for his several cinematic portrayals of Adolf Hitler and for his role as Arthur Slugworth in ''Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Fa ...

as Robert Hoffman (credited as Guenter Meisner) * Jonathan Pryce as Joseph Manasse * Marika Rivera as Madame in Bordello * Ina Skriver as Singer * Milo Sperber as Rabbi * Philip Stone as Secretary * Adele Strong as Mrs. Schulman * Genevieve West as Sarah Strauss * Laura Gemser as Estedes' friend (uncredited)

Production

The book was published in 1974. The ''Los Angeles Times'' called it "a human document of rare and discerning power". The book was a best seller, and the authors earned an estimated £500,000 from it. Rights to the book were acquired in 1974. It was originally envisioned as an ABC Movie of the Week but its budget of $7.3 million was too expensive. The film was the first feature of Associated General Films. Dunaway was paid $500,000 plus a percentage of the profits. The movie was filmed on board the chartered Italian ocean liner ''Irpinia'', which was fitted with two false

funnels A funnel is a tube or pipe that is wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, used for guiding liquid or powder into a small opening. Funnels are usually made of stainless steel, aluminium, glass, or plastic. The material used in its constr ...

in order to resemble ''St. Louis.'' It was also shot on location in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, Spain (standing in for Cuba), St. Pancras Chambers in London, and at the EMI Elstree Studios in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire.

Actual death toll

The true death toll is uncertain. The 1974 book that was the basis of the film estimated a much lower number of deaths. By using statistical analysis of survival rates for Jews in various Nazi-occupied countries, Thomas and Morgan-Witts estimated the fate of the 621 ''St. Louis'' passengers who were not given refuge in Cuba or the United Kingdom (one died during the voyage): 44 (20%) of the 224 refugees that settled in France likely were murdered in the

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...

, 62 (29%) Holocaust murders amongst the 214 that reached Belgium, and 121 (67%) Holocaust murders amongst the 181 that settled in the Netherlands, for a total of 227 (37%) of the refugees that came under occupation were likely murdered by the Nazis. In 1998, Scott Miller and Sarah Ogilvie of the

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) is the United States' official memorial to the Holocaust. Adjacent to the National Mall in Washington, D.C., the USHMM provides for the documentation, study, and interpretation of Holocaust h ...

traced the survivors from the voyage, concluding that a total of 254 refugees or 40.9 percent were murdered by the Nazis.

Release

The film opened on 22 December 1976 in four theatres in New York and Los Angeles.

Box office

According to

Lew Grade Lew Grade, Baron Grade, (born Lev Winogradsky; 25 December 1906 – 13 December 1998) was a British media proprietor and impresario. Originally a dancer, and later a talent agent, Grade's interest in television production began in 19 ...

who helped finance the film, the movie "should have done better" at the box office. He wrote in his memoirs "I thought it was one of the most moving and important films I'd seen in a long time. I just couldn't understand why it didn't become a success" adding that "strangely enough, it did outstanding business in Japan."

Alternate version

The complete, uncut version of the film was 182 minutes long. It was released only once, on the Magnetic Video label in 1980.

Awards and nominations

Soundtrack

The

film score A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to e ...

was composed, arranged and conducted by

Lalo Schifrin Boris Claudio "Lalo" Schifrin (born June 21, 1932) is an Argentine-American pianist, composer, arranger and conductor. He is best known for his large body of film and TV scores since the 1950s, incorporating jazz and Latin American musical eleme ...

and the

soundtrack album A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television show. The first such album to be commercially released was Walt Disney's ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs' ...

was released on the Entr'Acte label in 1977.

Track listing

Personnel

- arranger, conductor * London Studio Orchestra

References

External links

* * * * {{Authority control 1974 books 1976 films 1976 drama films American drama films British drama films Embassy Pictures films Films based on non-fiction books Films directed by Stuart Rosenberg Films featuring a Best Supporting Actress Golden Globe-winning performance Films scored by Lalo Schifrin Films set in 1939 Films set in Hamburg Films set in Havana Films set on ships Films shot at EMI-Elstree Studios Films shot in Barcelona Holocaust films History books about the Holocaust International response to the Holocaust ITC Entertainment films Jewish emigration from Nazi Germany Seafaring films based on actual events 1970s English-language films 1970s American films 1970s British films