Hell Divers (1932)

Don't Believe the Hype

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

To all those who have watched it: I hope you enjoyed it as much as I do.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

This typically polished MGM effort features one of its established actors – Beery – opposite new kid on the block Gable (before he was old enough to grow a moustache). It's one of few films the pair made together, reportedly because they never really hit it off (Beery is said to have even turned down a role in MGM's Mutiny on the Bounty because he didn't want to work with Gable). Then again, Beery, a lovable old lug on the screen, was a fairly unpleasant character in real life, with rumours of manslaughter, meanness and abuse of women and children surrounding him to this day.The film's plot could take place anywhere and at anytime really. That was the beauty of the studio product in the 30s: they could just keep churning out the same story with a different cast set in a different period and the masses would happily pay the money to watch them all. This one features some terrific aerial shots of old biplanes and some truly bizarre heroics (Gable hanging upside down from a plane with one hand holding a bomb to prevent it from exploding when the plane lands for instance). There are a few funny moments too, the best of which is the incidents that lead to Beery and Gable duking it out just minutes after having finally made friends.

I guess I was more in joy watching this movie to see the hardware involved in this movie than the actual acting. I am a huge Gable fan, I don't think there is a movie with him that I have not liked. However, this one was very early in his career and he does have a bad monologue moment that really surprised me that it made it into the script. Now I'm the first to defend a movie like Mask of Fu Manchu that seems to have been labeled as racist (by reviewers here) because of the portrayal of evil Asian characters out to get the White race, because that is a plausible storyline (because history has shown constant clashes of cultures, IE Imperial Japan). In this movie however, Clark Gable actually says in an argument with Berry's CPO character that if he were to take over being the Leading Chief to the squadron that he first would "fumegate so a White Man could move in". Now this movie has the US Navy's hands all over this, the script had the leads as senior enlisted (which I love because I am Navy Enlisted and tired of all the Officer portrayal's), they did that so the leads could get by with the off color happenings off of the ship, but a remark like that should never have gotten into any movie that the Navy approved. I looked up Gables filmography and it shows he made 12(!) movies in 1931 alone about 1/5 of his total talkies made! That said, and I'm sorry to point that out, the rest of the film is very entertaining. One reviewer here said Gable landed a plane while holding a bomb on a wing. If the reviewer was paying much attention, Gable did not land the plane he was the Rear Gunner/Radio Operator, doh! Berry is a real louse in this one, I really hate his guts cause he's such a dirt-bag but I guess you gotta do what the script says (totally plausible character, I just hated it) I love most of Berry's roles as a lovable dunce, but when he plays a heavy I'm not as entertained. Other characters of interest for me was a Jack Pennick sighting (getting socked by Berry for smoking while fueling a plane), the very familiar face in all the John Ford (and thus many John Wayne) westerns, I remember him most from being the old CPO in the Phillipino bar at the beginning of "They Were Expendable", just reading his bio here at IMDb.com it says he was a WW1 AND WW2 vet and got a silver star at the age of 50, now thats a man's man (thanks IMDb for such great info)! The planes used are I believe Vought O2U biplanes and these things when they are landing are going just barely over the speed of the carrier (USS Saratoga), and they have such a light weight and large wing surface area that they are like floating kites when they land (compared to the modern heavy jets that land with a THUD!). The carrier flight operations look extremely dangerous as these planes are ALL OVER THE PLACE! It was extremely exciting and interesting to watch. Other great footage that really entertained me was some great broadside shots of a row of battleships blasting off their 16" guns, some very impressive shots with great audio! Highly recommended movie mainly for the archival evidence of US carrier operations in the infancy of the US Navy's air wing. It would have been even cooler had the Saratoga steamed to Haiti or Nicuragua or a similar place where our Marine forces were conducting actual military battles, but in all likelihood this was not meant to show a really serious side of the Navy. Still, my kind of way to get entertained, good stuff!

Any time you have two fantastic actors of the calibres of Wallace Beery and Clark Gable playing against each other, it's worth a look. Beery was the highest paid actor in the world when this movie was shot, and he was certainly the most interesting to watch. It's obvious, though, that MGM was using this picture to build up their popular new romantic lead, Gable, even if it had to be at their top star's expense. If you like this one, I recommend a better seafaring film with Beery and Gable, 1935's "China Seas." That one's a real spectacular, one of those movies, like "Dancing Lady," with everything the studio could think of thrown in.

Wallace Beery hams it up mercilessly as a 'loveable slob' of a Navy Chief Petty Officer on the USS Saratoga. His lofty position is soon challenged by a hard-nosed and far more competent young chief played by Clark Gable. Beery, rather than bring his own standard up, seeks to sabotage Gable, leading to several confrontations where Beery is ultimately outclassed. The film concludes with a sentimental but well-played ending.The movie has many charms to offset its drawbacks. There is a lot of footage of the USS Saratoga, the Navy's first big carrier, built on the hull of a cancelled battlecruiser. The Saratoga footage alone, along with that of other circa-1932 warships, makes this a must-see for naval buffs. This is also an early starring role for Gable, who plays his part well and looks every inch the young, dashing, competent CPO. Beery himself exudes charm despite overplaying his part. Look also for the ex-Mack Sennett bathing beauty Marie Prevost as the worldly Lulu.Despite its uneven mix of comedy and drama, not to mention a boatload of Navy cliches, this movie is well worth watching, especially for Navy buffs.