Devil and the Deep (1932)

Devil and the Deep is a 1932 Paramount pre-code melodrama that takes some bizarre turns.

The setting is a naval base in North Africa. It’s not specifically stated but one assumes it’s a British naval base (I don’t think the U.S. Navy would have had bases in North Africa in 1932).

Commander Charles Sturm (Charles Laughton) is the skipper of a submarine. He is married to Diana (Tallulah Bankhead). It is not a happy marriage. Commander Sturm is obsessively jealous. That’s not helped by the fact that there have been so many rumours flying around about his wife’s infidelities. Diana claims that her husband has started these rumours himself.

This is entirely possible. It is suggested at one point that he has undergone medical treatment for some kind of brain disorder. He is clearly severely paranoid. His jealousy is completely out of control.

He is just about to ruin the career of a young officer, Lieutenant Jaeckel (Cary Grant) whom he suspects of having an affair with Diana. The various exchanges we see between Jaeckel and Diana would seem to indicate that there was nothing more than the mildest flirtation involved. Possibly not even that. But the Commander is not just jealous and paranoid, he is vindictive.

We start to suspect that he may in fact be insane. Diana suspects his as well.

After another stormy scene Diana heads for the bazaar. She meets a handsome mysterious man (played by Gary Cooper) and by this time she is so fed up that she actually is unfaithful. This is a pre-code movie so we’re left in no doubt that they do indeed sleep together.

The mysterious stranger (in an unlikely coincidence but this is melodrama so let’s not worry about coincidences) turns out to be Lieutenant Sempter. He is about to take Lieutenant Jaeckel’s place as executive officer of Commander Sturm’s submarine.

Things get rather tense. How much does the Commander suspect? How much does he know?

At this point the plot gets totally wild and crazy and twisted but I’m not going to give away any spoilers.

The North African setting qualifies this as a “sex, sin and madness in the tropics” melodrama, which is just about my favourite movie genre.

Of all the great English theatrical hams Charles Laughton was the hammiest, and the greatest. He had a knack for giving performances that were both absurd and strangely magnificent. He could be grand and terrifying and pathetic all at the same time. It’s hard to think of anyone better suited to playing a madman like Commander Sturm. Laughton at his peak could make this kind of performance work in a way no other actor could have done. And he manages to make us feel some empathy for this horrible but suffering man.

Tallulah Bankhead is excellent. She manages to make us feel sympathetic towards a woman pushed over the edge, and to keep us guessing as to whether this really was the first time she had betrayed her husband. And that’s important. The movie is not being coy - it’s made crystal clear that Diana and Sempter do sleep together. But it’s important in plot terms that the audience should be left uncertain as to whether Commander Sturm really is a wronged husband who has been made a fool of countless times or whether it’s a paranoid delusion on his part. We need to be unsure if Diana is a faithless wife or a wronged woman finally driven to actual infidelity.

Gary Cooper is the weak link. I have to say that I am not a Gary Cooper fan. He’s dull and wooden here. Of course his fans will point to this as an example of his subtlety. Perhaps it’s just a matter of taste. He’s an actor who just never really grabs me.

Cary Grant has only a small role. He was still developing his screen persona at this point. Within a couple of years he would have been a more interesting choice as the male lead but in 1932 Cooper was a huge star and Grant was just a promising up-and-comer.

Russian-born director Marion Gering had a brief Hollywood career in the early to mid 1930s. He does a competent job here and manages a few quite clever compositions. This is a great-looking movie with lovely cinematography by Charles Lang and some nice sets (including some left over from Morocco).

Devil and the Deep has its problems but Bankhead and Laughton are very watchable and the crazy late plot turns are fun. Recommended.

Kino Lorber have provided a solid Blu-Ray transfer.