Across to Singapore

Plot

Across to Singapore was the second screen version of Ben Ames Williams' All the Brothers Were Valiant, first filmed in 1923, and later remade in 1953. The plot is motivated by the deadly rivalry between two seafaring brothers, virtuous deckhand Joel Shore (Ramon Novarro) and wicked Captain Mark Shore (Ernest Torrence). Forced into a marriage with Mark, Priscilla Crowninshield (Joan Crawford) tries to be loyal to her husband but falls in love with Joel instead. Things reach a fever pitch when mutinous first mate Finch (James Mason) strands Shore in Singapore and takes Joel and Priscilla prisoner. Mark catches up with his ship and kills the mutineers, but when he realizes that his wife is now deeply in love with his brother, he considerately sacrifices his own life in the climactic melee. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Review

Despite contemporary views of Ramon Novarro as so lightweight as "to be swept overboard by a single wave," the handsome star does well enough as Ben Ames Williams' young hero. And if it is not quite believable that Ernest Torrence could possibly expect Joan Crawford to reciprocate his ardent passion for her, the veteran character actor is fine as Novarro's brother and rival. As for Ms. Crawford herself, Across to Singapore may have been a well-deserved departure from flapper roles but she is still too wet behind the ears to be much more than an adornment. In fact, Anna May Wong, in a crucial (but unbilled) supporting role, steals the few acting laurels left behind by Novarro and Torrence. Across to Singapore, while no masterpiece and surviving in a rather battered condition, remains an entertaining bit of silent screen hokum. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi

Cast

• Ramon Novarro - Joel Shore
• Joan Crawford - Priscilla Crowninshield
• Ernest Torrence - Mark Shore
• Frank Currier - Jeremiah Shore
• Dan Wolheim - Noah Shore

Duke Martin - Mathew Shore; Edward Connelly - Joshua Crowinshield; Anna May Wong; Jim Mason - Ship's Mate Finch

Credit

Cedric Gibbons - Art Director, William Nigh - Director, Ben Lewis - Editor, John F. Seitz - Cinematographer, Joseph Farnham - Intertitle Writer, Richard Schayer - Screenwriter, Ben Ames Williams - Short Story Author

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