Ship of Fools (1965)

Ship of Fools (1965)

Vivien Leigh’s last film! A star studded extravaganza this time on a cruise ship during the time just before World War II. Story-lines include Ms. Leigh as a lonely forty-something woman hoping she’s still desirable but trying to keep her dignity about it; Simone Signoret who’s on her way to prison romances the ship’s doctor (Oskar Werner) to get narcotics; Jose Ferrer is an anti-Semitic German publisher not afraid to express his opinions loudly to all as "facts" (Heinz Rühmann is a quiet Jewish passenger he scorns); Lee Marvin is a washed up drunken ball player who chases Leigh (as does Werner Klemperer); George Segal is a tortured artist who’s traveling with his girlfriend (Elizabeth Ashley) as the couple tries to work through their problems; Michael Dunn is a dwarf who narrates and provides insightful comments; Jose Greco is the leader of the ship’s gypsy entertainers who aim to bilk the passengers especially a young man bent on losing his virginity; and there are lots of other bit players including the ship’s Captain (Charles Korvin) who provide background and/or small plots (e.g. parents traveling with their young debutante).

Produced and directed by Stanley Kramer the film competed for the Best Picture Academy Award losing to The Sound of Music (1965) and also received a nomination for B&W Costume Design; it won Oscars for B&W Cinematography & Art Direction-Set Decoration. Signoret received her second and last Best Actress nomination (she’d won for Room at the Top (1959)); Werner (Best Actor) and Dunn (Supporting Actor) received their only Oscar nominations. Abby Mann’s (Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)) Screenplay based on the Katherine Anne Porter novel was also nominated.

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