Souls at Sea

Souls at Sea is a 1937 American adventure film directed by Henry Hathaway and starring Gary Cooper, George Raft, and Frances Dee. Based on a story by Ted Lesser, the film is about a first mate on a slave ship who frees the slaves on the ship after a mutiny overthrows the ships captain. The title of this film was spoofed in the Laurel and Hardy comedy film Saps at Sea 1940.

The conflict reaches its peak on board the ship William Brown. An actual ship involved in a sea tragedy of this period the Jacksonian Age of the 1820s to 1840s, the William Brown hit an iceberg on April 19, 1841, and sank with loss of life. Here it catches fire, due to a little girl, and the ships captain Carey is injured. Cooper taking over has to limit the number of people in the only lifeboat, and as a result is put on trial for murder and defended by Zucco. In real life a seaman, one Alexander Holmes, was tried and convicted of manslaughter, but given only a fine and six months imprisonment. A later film with Tyrone Power called Seven Waves Away also known as Abandon Ship 1957 dealt with the issue of the limits of lifeboat space and decisions of the first mate.In November 1936, silent film star John Bowers heard that his old friend Henry Hathaway was directing Gary Cooper in Souls at Sea off the shore of Santa Catalina. On November 17, the 50yearold actor rented a sixteenfoot sloop and sailed to the island, hoping to land a part in the picture, only to learn that it had been cast. Bowers never returned to shore, and his body was found on the beach at Santa Monica, California. Bowers life and death is identified as inspiration for the character Norman Maine in A Star Is Born 1937. ........

Source: Wikipedia