There is a film about a deadly virus originating from China that forces anyone infected to be locked in isolation from those not infected. No, it is not about COVID. Pacific Liner moves fast though the drama does not fully come up to where it could have gone.
The S.S. Arcturus is sailing from Shanghai to San Francisco. Chief Engineer McKay (Victor McLaglen) is firm but beloved by the crew. Not as well-known is the ship's new doctor, Tony Craig (Chester Morris). He sees the Arcturus as both a way to get to San Francisco and to his former sweetheart, nurse Ann Grayson (Wendy Barrie). McKay is also attracted to Ann, but he is a bumbler when it comes to her. Ann for her part, has a tangled romantic past with Craig.
Things seem to be going well until McKay spots a stowaway, a Chinese peasant. McKay is more irritated than concerned when the stowaway dies. Craig realizes that the stowaway has an infectious disease, treatable but dangerous. He pushes that the men working the boilers, all who had contact with the stowaway or someone with the stowaway, must be quarantined.
Soon, the quarantined men are falling ill. While the passengers dance above them unaware, the crew faces a great crisis. Will the crew launch a mutiny after they are bolted shut to stop them from going above? Will McKay or Craig win Ann's heart?
It is interesting that Pacific Liner has eerie similarities to the past few years' great health crisis, physical and mental. The early section of Pacific Liner seems to play almost like comedy. This is particularly true with the love triangle of McKay, Craig and Grayson. McLaglen has a wry manner to his acting here, particularly when discussing things with his silent parrot. His stumbling manner with Ann, his blustery manner with the crew, they indicate a more humorous film. Once the plague starts spreading, Pacific Liner takes a more serious, almost menacing turn.
Of particular note is Barry Fitzgerald as Britches, the first crewman to meet his end. He is surprisingly effective as the crewman who at first is not taking the crisis seriously until it is too late.
As mentioned, McLaglen is good as McKay, someone who inspires loyalty and contempt in equal measure. Morris has an almost crazed intensity as Dr. Craig, one that appears more crazed when we see his eyes all but burst out of his head. Barrie had very little to do apart from being the love interest, though in fairness she does well when using her feminine charms to get McKay to comply with something Craig needs.
Pacific Liner also has some wonderful visual moments, such as when the crew has to burn the material found inside a victim's locker. The film is a brisk 76 minutes, which to my mind suggests that Pacific Liner is meant as a B-picture, one that did not get as much as the premise might have allowed. I think that is again because of John Twist's screenplay which to my mind spent too much time on the romantic aspects versus the growing crisis.
However, director Lew Landers kept things going and the performances are respectable if not spectacular. On the whole, Pacific Liner might be worth revisiting in a remake. Granted, it might hit too close to current events, but that is something Pacific Liner cannot control.
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