Carnival Boat (1932)

Probably the best thing about CARNIVAL BOAT is the location filming as director Albert Rogell actually took the crew up to logging country for the bulk of the shooting. Otherwise it's your basic action programmer with some good stunt work and some tedious comic relief from Edgar Kennedy and Harry Sweet. William Boyd, later Hopalong Cassidy, stars as the lumberjack torn between father and sweetheart (Ginger Rogers). This may be the low point of Ginger's film career. It was her third Hollywood film (after five in New York), all made for Albert Rogell at RKO/Pathe. She seemed stuck in a downward trend (Pathe really didn't make any good films so far as I know) so she asked out of her contract and Pathe was more than happy to grant her the favor. A couple of years of freelancing and she signed again with RKO, soon to become a star.

Carnival Boat (1932)** 1/2 (out of 4)Jim Cannon (Hobart Bosworth) wants his lumberjack son Buck (William Boyd) to take over his job when he retires but the son just isn't really going for it. A problem happens between the two when the son falls in love with showgirl Honey (Ginger Rogers).CARNIVAL BOAT was a low-budget movie from RKO that was probably playing under a much bigger film and was quickly forgotten about by the public. Even film buffs have forgotten it, which is understandable considering there's nothing "classic" about it but at the same time there are some pretty interesting things that make it worth viewing.The best thing about the picture is the lumberjack setting with us getting to take a look at the type of equipment that was used back in the day by these loggers. There are some very fun scenes built around this including one with an out of control train. The highlight comes towards the end when a bunch of logs jam up a dam and we get a very fun action scene.I thought the three leads were quite good in their roles with Bosworth stealing the picture as the cranky old man. Edgar Kennedy and Marie PRevost are also on hand in small supporting parts. At just 61 minutes there's certainly nothing ground-breaking here and the love story is quite predictable but it's still worth watching.

If it weren't for the way the logging camp scenes are photographed, including railway chases aboard the lumber train and stunts that have to be seen to be believed, CARNIVAL BOAT would pass the time quickly as a routine story of a little romance against a splendid outdoor setting.WILLIAM BOYD plays the man who wants to become lumber boss and follow in the footsteps of his father. His romance with a showgirl (GINGER ROGERS) provides conflict for the father/son relationship when dad wants his son to ditch the girl and concentrate on becoming a foreman. Ginger's role is rather small, but she makes the most of a few touching scenes whereby she realizes she might be the wrong sweetheart for the lumberjack. FRED KOHLER makes an impressive "heavy" as the villain of the piece, a man not only willing to fight his rival but attempting to kill him.EDGAR KENNEDY (doing his slow burn schtick) and HARRY SWEET provide the comedy relief, but it's all of the action stunts that steal the show and turn it into a better than average programmer from RKO. The dangerous stunts performed aboard moving trains full of lumber are especially well photographed, as are all of the scenes involving the cutting down of timber and setting free a log-jammed waterfall.A much better film than I expected, giving WILLIAM BOYD a strong hero role that he makes the most of.

The impressive logging operations, the exciting runaway-train and log-jam sequences overcome this movie's routine double plot. First, Bill Boyd is in love with showgirl Ginger Rogers, who performs on a carnival boat that stops at the logging camp. His father, Hobart Bosworth, doesn't think much of her and he fears also Boyd will leave logging, dashing his hopes for Boyd to become boss when he retires. Second, Fred Kohler is also vying for the job of boss and even resorts to tactics to make Boyd look bad. When this fails, he even considers murder when both try to break up a log jam at a dam with dynamite. The film is briskly paced and beautifully photographed. Edgar Kennedy and his logging partner, Harry Sweet, provide the little comedy relief there is, and there is a couple of realistic looking fight sequences.