Way for a Sailor (1930)

...but let me warn you that the first half hour of this 85 minute film is a long hard slog. Gilbert plays "Jack", a sailor on a commercial line, who seems to have some kind of beef with fellow sailor "Tripod" (Wallace Beery), although the origin of this rift is never revealed. The boat lands, the sailors are on leave, and there is drunken brawl after drunken brawl for no reason. Someone will just insult someone else or break a bottle over someone's head for apparently no reason. Then everybody starts fighting. This got repetitive, plus the dawn of sound soundtrack is so bad that trying to hear these players speak, during storms, out of doors, in crowded bars, is nearly impossible. I had to rewind several times to get what was even going on. The bright spot in this part of the film - Polly Moran showing up all disheveled in a bar carrying a mallet of all things. Considering how rowdy things got and how quickly they got rowdy, maybe she was smart to be carrying a mallet after all.During the next hour things improve considerably as the ship lands in London and we meet the object of Jack's affection, Joan (Leila Hyams), a clerk in the shipping company office. She wants nothing to do with him because he is a sailor. Hyams could have come off as snooty in this role, but she doesn't, even without an exact explanation of her rejection. I felt that she might have been hurt or lied to by a sailor before, or she might have seen that happen, enough that she is simply not going to consider a sailor as a suitor. The point is, she plays the part vulnerable and it works. Likewise, Gilbert's character, though rough around the edges, is actually likable. He wants to marry the girl, so his intentions are honorable. He just thinks that lying is OK in the pursuit of this honorable intention. It's at this point the first half hour of the film - which has seemed pointless up to now - begins to make sense. It shows the rough and tumble kind of temporary port to port life Jack is accustomed to and helps explain his actions. He borrows money from the other sailors, buys a suit, and gives Joan a total lie of a story about him quitting the sea and getting a job in the shipping office. Now on the surface this seems despicable, but then you think back to the first half hour and remember in Jack's world the end justifies the means. How does this work out? Watch and find out.I'd say it is worth it to see that John Gilbert did understand how to act and project a character in the talkies, and also this film gives a supporting role to Wallace Beery that he was just made to play before MGM pretty much promoted him to leading man status after Min and Bill came out later in 1930.

Seafaring John Gilbert (as Jack) enjoys the rollicking "love 'em and leave 'em" lifestyle shared with merchant marine buddies like accordion-playing Wallace Beery (as Tripod) and brawling Jim Tully (as Ginger). The trio of rum-swilling womanizers look for saloons and girls in every port. But, when Mr. Gilbert meets blonde Leila Hyams (as Joan), the sailor must choose between manning restless ocean waves, or settling down with Ms. Hyams' shore-bound curves...The delayed, poorly-edited "Way for a Sailor" was the first of several attempts to restore Gilbert's damaged movie stardom...Beery essays a typically hammy performance; though second-billed, he was, by now, the bigger box office star. Undoubtedly Beery was present to attract more cinema patrons, who would hopefully give Gilbert a second look. Unfortunately, most viewers had their misgivings about Gilbert reinforced. The picture simply does not serve him well. In their scenes together, re-takes seem to have been inserted to enhance Ms. Hyams' performance, while Gilbert is left looking soppish.**** Way for a Sailor (11/1/30) Sam Wood ~ John Gilbert, Wallace Beery, Leila Hyams, Jim Tully

Oddly likable film even though it's badly directed, edited, and under-lit. There are several "inserts" of closeups that don't come close to matching the rest of the scene, and the rear projections are badly done as well.Still, this fourth talkie of John Gilbert's is fascinating because of the solid performances by Gilbert (no voice problems at all), Wallace Beery, and Leila Hyams.A story of carousing sailors (merchant marine) and their beer brawls is very pre-Code with saloons, whores, and raw language. But Jack (Gilbert) is smitten with Hyams and does everything to win her. Unfortunately he steals money from Beery to buy a suit and pretends he has left the sea for an office job so Hyams will marry him. He ends up going back to sea on the boat she is sailing on for Canada (after she learns of his lies). But then another ship is sinking in a storm.....Several interesting scenes, including one by the sea where Gilbert and Hyams are talking and arguing. The rescue is interesting but under-lit.Gilbert tries so hard here after a series of lousy MGM flops (thanks to Mayer) and is so likable that you forget the story is standard issue. Hyams is beautiful and has a few good dramatic scenes. Beery is his usual self. Supporting cast includes Polly Moran, Doris Lloyd, Ray Milland, Jim Tully, Tiny Jones, etc.This was Gilbert's best talkie to date after the disastrous HIS GLORIOUS NIGHT and REDEMPTION. Whatever the problems were with this film, they were not Gilbert's fault. He looks fit and trim and his voice is just fine. Despite the "B" film qualities of this and most of Gilbert's MGM films (thanks to Mayer), Gilbert always comes off as a solid actor and likable man.John Gilbert should have had a major career in talkies and proved that his acting style and voice were just fine in film after film, but he had lost his audience with the first few rotten sound films MGM gave him.This film is worth seeing just to see how valiant Gilbert was even with Mayer working against him.

Here comes the Merchant Marine, the toughest seamen afloat. Sailing into every sea, a job in every port, a girl in every bar. Out of the way there! Here they come, up from the docks, looking for some shore leave. Look out! Make WAY FOR A SAILOR!According to cinematic legend, all the talkie MGM films starring John Gilbert were dreadful - the result of a bitter hatred between Gilbert (the highest paid star in Hollywood, with a $1.5 million contract) & studio boss Louis B. Mayer. A determination on Gilbert's part to fulfill the contract, and a campaign instituted by Mayer to destroy Gilbert's career - including spreading the rumor that Gilbert's voice was `high & feminine', culminated in several unwatchable movies.Not entirely true. The Studio had a huge financial investment in Jack Gilbert and was not going to completely cut its own throat by showcasing him in nothing but dreck. Of the 8 talkies in which he appeared as solo star (1929 - HIS GLORIOUS NIGHT; 1930 - REDEMPTION; WAY FOR A SAILOR; 1931 - GENTLEMAN'S FATE; THE PHANTOM OF PARIS; WEST OF BROADWAY; 1932 - DOWNSTAIRS; 1933 - FAST WORKERS) most were certainly rather ghastly. WAY FOR A SAILOR falls into that unfortunate category.Gilbert tries hard throughout the film, but it never comes together. Atmospherics are of the `B Movie' variety, and while the rescue at sea sequence is exciting, it's not enough to save the film. Even wonderful Wallace Beery, bluff & hearty, can't pull it off, though he certainly is entertaining & manages to steal every scene he's in. And lovely Leila Hyams is boring, thanks mostly to a lackluster script.Look fast and you'll spot Doris Lloyd & the inimitable Polly Moran, both enjoyable as dockside floozies (Polly wields a mean mallet). Movie mavens will recognize Sojin as the Oriental procurer; quick-eyed viewers may spot an uncredited Ray Milland as a ship's officer.Finally, about The Voice. There was nothing at all strange or unnaturally high about Gilbert's voice. As a matter of fact, it was of medium range & rather cultured & refined. Which was the crux of the problem, of course. While it is possible that no voice could have ever matched the perfect one viewers heard in their minds while watching his strong, virile silent roles, the reality was very different from what they wanted to hear (imagine Robert Montgomery's voice coming out of Clark Gable's mouth.) Gilbert was doomed from his first scene in his debut talkie; his war with Mayer only intensified the agony. He would die in 1936, forgotten by most of his former fans, at the age of only 36.