Classic Films in Focus: THE PRISONER OF SHARK ISLAND (1936)

Like most biographical and historical movies, The Prisoner of Shark Island (1936) takes liberties with its source material, but for the most part it does so in the service of a more compelling narrative. The film's director, John Ford, has always been associated with a certain kind of romanticized historical moment, and Ford's hallmarks turn up in every facet of this period drama, including its themes, its use of music, and its cast. With Ford at the helm and Nunnally Johnson on the screenplay, The Prisoner of Shark Island delivers an exciting story inspired by the experiences of Dr. Samuel Mudd, the physician who set the broken leg of John Wilkes Booth and subsequently found himself imprisoned at Fort Jefferson on the desolate islands of Florida's Dry Tortugas. In the middle of the riveting action, classic film fans will find a number of favorite stars, including Warner Baxter, Gloria Stuart, Harry Carey, and John Carradine, whose performance as a vicious prison officer is especially effective.

Warner Baxter takes the lead as Dr. Samuel Mudd, who unwittingly aids Lincoln assassin Booth one fateful night in 1865. Tried by a biased court to appease an angry public, Mudd avoids execution but is sentenced to life in prison at Fort Jefferson, where horrific conditions make any term likely to end in death. Mudd's devoted wife, Peggy (Gloria Stuart), and father-in-law (Claude Gillingwater) strive to free him without success, even though a former slave, Buck (Ernest Whitman), serves as an inside man to assist Mudd in the prison. When yellow fever breaks out on the island, Mudd has the opportunity to save those who have treated him so cruelly and prove himself a better man.

Although most of the movie was shot on sound stages, Fort Jefferson was and is a real location, a perfect inspiration for this kind of harrowing prison tale. In its finest moments the picture captures the desperation of men trapped in such a place, especially when fever sweeps the island and critical supplies run dangerously low. Warner Baxter plays Mudd with vigor and intensity; he has particularly good scenes during his escape attempt and his bout with yellow fever. Whatever we might make of the real Samuel Mudd, this one clearly descends from the Count of Monte Cristo and the Man in the Iron Mask. Such characters require fierce antagonists, and Mudd gets a very sharp one in John Carradine's Sergeant Rankin, who delights in tormenting the doctor at every opportunity. Several shots offer Carradine's distinctively hawkish features in breathtaking closeup to make the most of every line and nuance in the actor's face, where we read his intelligence, energy, and cruelty as only a performer like Carradine can render them. Gloria Stuart makes a lovely sufferer in her scenes of anguish over Mudd's fate, while Harry Carey has a very solid role as the island's commandant, a good man who ultimately corrects the injustice done to Mudd.

Race ultimately proves a thornier problem for The Prisoner of Shark Island than historical fidelity, and the movie's depiction of black characters may explain why it is less celebrated today than other Ford films. Ford tries to show Mudd as a humane former slave owner and even a faithful friend to Buck, but at the same time he populates the screen with stereotypes who reinforce racist assumptions. In the picture's worst scene, Mudd approaches a mob of terrified black soldiers who have holed up together to avoid the yellow fever outbreak. Even though they are armed, the soldiers obey Mudd because they perceive him as a Southern master due to his voice and bearing. The encounter suggests that Mudd possesses an authority over the black soldiers that his Northern, non-slaver captors lack. It's not a particularly surprising attitude, given that Gone with the Wind (1939) and other movies about the Civil War South engage in the same tactics, but for the modern viewer such material can be very hard to take. In spite of those issues, the movie has enough going for it that it deserves some serious attention, especially from Ford fans, and it might usefully serve in a thoughtful discussion about Ford's engagements with race in his later, better known films.

Be sure to note the brief appearance of Frank McGlynn Sr. as Abraham Lincoln; the actor portrayed the president at least a dozen times, and you can also see him in the role in The Littlest Rebel (1935) and The Plainsman (1936). For contrast, try Ford films like Young Mr. Lincoln (1939) or the much more progressive Sergeant Rutledge (1960). Silent movie veteran Warner Baxter is not as familiar today as many other leading men of his era, but he won the Oscar for Best Actor for In Old Arizona (1928), and you'll find him in 42nd Street (1933) and the series of Crime Doctor pictures. See Gloria Stuart in The Old Dark House (1932), The Invisible Man (1933), and Titanic (1997). If you want to learn more about the real history of Samuel Mudd and Fort Jefferson, visit the National Park Service site for Dry Tortugas, or better yet make a special trip to see the island for yourself.


PS - I was inspired to watch The Prisoner of Shark Island by my own trip to Dry Tortugas National Park. Here are some photos of the real site that you can compare with the film's recreation of it. No, there were no sharks in the moat!

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

That's me, with Carl Sandburg (sort of).

Newcomers to this blog might sometimes suspect that its owner is a victim of multiple personality disorder, but the Virago is merely an enthusiast about many things. Just in case you were wondering, here are six of my very favorite things, any of which might turn up in a blog post at any time.

1) Literature - If you trust the evidence of a collection of framed diplomas, I am really a PhD in English literature, which might explain the piles of books stuffed into every nook and cranny of the family residence. I taught college English courses for more than 15 years, and I now have a head full of poetry, theory, and strong opinions about the proper use of the comma. There's also a dissertation lying around here somewhere - it's about British nationhood and late 18th-century courtship novels. The blog occasionally delves into literary topics, and the blogger occasionally nurses delusions of becoming a great novelist.

You can never watch enough movies!

2) Movies - Literature and film go together like chocolate and peanut butter, and I'm a big fan of both combinations. Classic movies take the spotlight because they're just cooler and more entertaining to watch. I like classic movies so much that I wrote a book about them, which I would very much like for people who aren't related to me to buy (I'd like for all of my relatives to buy copies, too, just so they know). I started teaching film units in my college courses around 1995, and now I teach lifetime learning courses about classic film at my local library, for a great program called LearningQUEST. The only thing better than watching a great classic movie is sharing it with other people!

My club does an annual show at a local toy store.

3) Popular Culture - The first two obsessions have oozed naturally into the third, where literature and film make their influence on society felt. I love all kinds of popular culture, from Muppets to Joss Whedon to comic books, and I write about all of those things from time to time. With my frequent partner in crime, Anissa Graham, I have edited two books about Jim Henson's creations and contributed to a third anthology about modern culture's perspectives on Sherlock Holmes. We have about half a dozen ideas for future books, which is crazy because we both have quite enough to do already, but popular culture studies is just too much fun to resist.

4) LEGO - Yes, I am an AFOL, an Adult Fan of LEGO. I belong to a very active local adult club, and we build huge LEGO towns for shows a couple of times a year. I post about LEGO here sometimes because I like to talk about the hobby and share my LEGO photography, which often recreates scenes from favorite things 1, 2, and 3. See? They all go together. Really.

It's gorgeous at Grand Canyon National Park!

5) National Parks - For the last several years I have been in love with the National Park Service. I drag my family on elaborate road trips designed solely to hit the most national park sites in the shortest amount of time. I am a shameless promoter of the NPS and its fantastic programs. When the national park turns out to have a classic movie or literary connection, so much the better.

6) Homeschooling - I have been teaching my daughter at home since 4th grade, when the WORST TEACHER EVER made our lives so miserable we had to do something to protect our kid. I ought to be grateful to that awful woman because it has turned out to be a great experience, and I have lots of time to introduce my daughter to passions 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. The Kid, as I call her on Twitter, is my constant companion, and I find her responses to what she reads and watches very illuminating.

We make special trips to pinball museums and arcades.

I also love other things, like pinball, video games, cupcakes, chap hop, and theme parks. I reserve the right to tell you about them at any time. The world is full of awesome things! I feel it's my duty to share them. Feel free to send me comments to tell me about your passions, too, especially when they dovetail with mine. 

Now you can't say you weren't warned when the next blog post turns out to be an analysis of the cultural fad for cupcakes, or a LEGO recreation of the The Birds, or a photo-filled travelogue about a weeklong field trip with the Kid to Death Valley. Nine out of ten posts tend to be about classic movies, but you never know when I might get excited about one of my other passions and have to share!

National Park Week 2012: A Passion for National Parks

Pearl Harbor

This week, April 21-29, 2012, is National Park Week, which means it’s a perfect time to reflect on the value of “America’s Best Idea.” My own love affair with the national parks is of fairly recent date, but I have gotten so much out of my visits that I’m eager to proselytize on their behalf. The National Park Service protects the best (and the worst) of our history, preserves our natural wonders, educates our citizens, and provides us with the opportunity to experience our country in all its diversity and grandeur.

Lincoln Birthplace

I think every American ought, at least, to visit the parks closest to home. They are often free, and most people live within an hour or two of one if not more park sites. You don’t have to visit a “National Park” proper, like Yosemite or the Grand Canyon; there are National Monuments, National Historical Parks, National Battlefields, and lots of other location types gathered under the NPS banner. Every site has a story to tell.

Russell Cave

In my visits to the national parks, I have stood above the grave of the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor, peered over the edge of the Grand Canyon, and counted the dead at Shiloh. I have seen the farm where Lincoln was born, walked beneath the great trees of Muir Woods, and watched elk graze in the Great Smoky Mountains. Every visit has been an adventure and a memory to treasure. 

This week, especially, grab your family and your camera and head out to a national park. They’ll be glad to see you, but you’ll be even more glad that you saw them.