The Worst Film Ever

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

This rather endless film with an ensemble cast tells the story of a boatload of Jewish people sent to the Americas by Germany. Because of a lack of credentials, they were unable to disembark in any of the countries, including the U.S. Of course, anti-Semitism was alive and well in the States. Nazi Germany did not have a corner on the market. We have the individual stories of a number of individual passengers. It was not long before the Captain of the ship realized they were not going to be allowed into any country. As the news trickled down, we got to see the angst and fear in these passengers. This is based on real events in 1937 and the truth of the matter is that the large majority of these people were slaughtered when they returned to their home country. The problem for me is that the movie is quite dull and way too long.

A tragic story from WWII where a group German Jews were allowed to sail to Cuba away from all the worries of the Nazi regime in Germany.To their horror the passengers are not allowed to get off the ship once they arrive in Cuban territory, so they are set to return to Europe where death awaits them.This movie is very memorable, I remember watching it many years ago and I still remember the story very clearly. The fact that the movie is based on an actual event is frightening, because it is difficult to imagine that this kind of cruelty against human beings still exists in our world.I believe that this movie must've been a huge hit back in the 70's, it is definitely a classic movie worth watching.

In 1974 the movie " Voyage of the Damned " a book written by Gordon Thomas and Max Witts became the inspiration for the film directed by Stuart Rosenberg. Within it's dramatic pages, lies the true story of the MS St. Louis and it's infamous cargo of nearly 1000 Jewish Passengers. The all star cast which includes Max Von Sydow as Capt. Schroeder, Malcolm McDowell, James Mason, Nehemiah Persoff, Orson Wells, Jose Ferrer, Fernando Rey and Ben Gazzara make this film a must see movie. For the Germans of World War II, this incident was a Propaganda event designed to illustrate to the world, that not even the United States did not want to Jews. Instead, the moving film touches the heart of any viewer sufficiently up on their history of the murderous reign of the Nazis. The end result of the all-star-cast and its touching script is the creation of a Cinematic Classic. Hailed as such, one cannot feel the desperation and longing of the passengers to find peace in a world so full of men anxious to ignore the plea of their fellow humans. Easilly recommended. ****

Faye Dunaway, and a slew of British and/or internationally-known actors and actresses too many to mention, are in this movie about a ship of Jews who were ordered out of Germany but can't get in Cuba, which was their destination. Based on a real incident, it's hard to say that's it's a good movie for entertainment's sake, knowing someone's suffering and bad experience is the basis for this. But, it is very engrossing and thoroughly watchable without it being heavy-handed or bogged down in tediousness. I'm sure the dramatics of this story was embellished on (Lee Grant and Sam Wanamaker and daughter), but, on the whole, it was very eye-opening and educational for someone who knows hardly anything about the personal treatment of Jews just prior to WWII. It's put on a more personal, individual level than say "Schindler's List," which may make some viewers feel overwhelmed by the massacre feel to it.The acting is of course superb by all, especially by Wendy Hiller and Luther Adler who both give much integrity to their roles as an aging couple leaving their homeland, which was habitable before a certain someone rose to power and made life miserable for the Jews.Ben Gazzara is on land and is in the midst of trying to help them to get off the ship, but he is caught in legal red tape. Orson Welles provides another highlight of the film, as he is exceptional as a man of influence but is constantly telling Gazzara his hands are tied. Welles always did have a way about him and could make the simplest lines sound like poetry.If you've never seen "Voyage of the Damned," then it's time you learn about the history of us all and the ultimate fate of those on that solitary ship that sailed and floated and wandered for a month.....