Deluge (1933)

The history of this once-lost classic film (now available on DVD) is fascinating, but it's nothing compared to the film itself.Running about 70 minutes, this disaster movie gets right to with the destruction of most of the world by earthquakes and tsunamis. Much early footage shows the flooding of New York City and the toppling of skyscrapers. Yes, these are obviously models and yes there is a good deal of rear projection, but just go with it. It's pretty impressive.After the apocalypse, it seems old mountain areas have been spared and there are survivors. Martin (Sidney Blackmer) has been separated from his wife (Lois Wilson) and kids. Claire (Peggy Shannon) has washed up on a beach and found by a demented loner Jepson (Fred Kohler). There's also a ragtag village in the mountains run by Tom (Matt Moore) and a group of marauders whose main goal seems to be stealing women.All these disparate people come together after Claire escapes from Jepson and is rescued by Martin. Jepson joins up with the marauders and they go after Martin and Claire. Enter Tom and the villagers.The ending is a real surprise and raises the question of what laws and rules should survive the Apocalypse and carry over into the New Society. What is man's purpose after civilization has been destroyed? How does man move on? Peggy Shannon and Sidney Blackmer are good in a very understated way. So are Matt Moore and Lois Wilson. This is definitely a must-see for fans of science fiction and disaster movies, but keep in mind the small budget this film was made on. You'll be thinking about this film long after it has ended.

I saw this film in England in 1934 at the age of 16 and was highly impressed with the special effects. Oddly enough Sydney Blackmer played the hero in this although in many other films he was cast in villainous roles. Remember him as the "kindly" neighbour in Rosemary's Baby?I had read the book only a year or so before seeing the film and was absolutely flabbergasted with the disaster scenes. In view of our knowledge of global warming, a remake might well be highly topical and thought provoking.

For a long time, I had read bits about this very strange early 'talkie film', and it did arouse my artistic curiosity. There was constant mention of DELUGE being another one of those "forever lost films", but a copy did (no pun intended) surface, and I finally was able to see this very early and interesting cinematic end-of the-world rarity.The suspenseful beginning is genuinely scary, in spite of its preposterous science: Puzzled scientists discover that the world's weather is going through some pretty weird changes - and that a menacing global storm is brewing on the horizon. The writing and sincere acting makes it all seem quite credible and possible. But that's not all: Major earthquakes and massive floodings begin to mysteriously occur (Did a very young Irwin Allen ever see this?) - and the ocean levels start rising rapidly. (Was this an allegorical profecy of Global Warming?). I very much liked the "flaw"; being that no pseudo-scientific explanation for the disaster is offered. It adds that bizarre 'twilight zone' touch, where suspension of disbelief can drive you to questioning your own beliefs.The whole world is thrown into a state-of-alarm as all air flights are grounded and shipping is haulted (Almost an eerie foreshadowing of 9/11). Then continents begin to sink into the ocean (though we only hear about it from chilling urgent news bulletins, which seems to ominously predate the 'This is only a Test' nuclear/scare broadcasts that began in the bleak paranoid 'McCarthy-Era' fifties).The character focus then switches to an "average" married couple (Is there really such an animal?) as they flee to a grotto (confused as to why they'd go there to seek hopeful safety, but then this is a movie, where character, theme and riveting plot are the keynotes. Common sense can go to hell. Movies weren't really doing much different then than they are now). The radio broadcasts (this was way before the invention of that notorious tube) grimly instruct NYC residents to quickly evacuate as the overwhelming meteorlogical horrors approach. (As the film's logo states - EARTH IS DOOMED!).Then comes the crucial scene that DELUGE earned its niches of historical film fame for - the tremendous earthquake capped by a gigantic tidal wave, that catastrophically destroys and buries New York under the vast ocean that has now blanketed most of the Earth. (Nothing like double-standards, isn't there?). Naturally, the simple yet oddly spectacular FX are dated, but nonetheless, I found them to be quite shuddery, and was able to suspend any trifling disbelief. Seeing NYC crumble as the earth rips open, with the almighty ocean pouring in, is quite scary on its own offbeat terms. (Can anyone pronounce "DEEP IMPACT" & "ARMEGEDDON"?). Back then, filmmakers were forced to rely on creative ingenuity and they utilized much imaginative resourcefulness and personal intimate touches which skillfully brought the nightmares up close and deeply personal. Any Questions?My only main complaint is that all this harrowing mayhem occurs within the first twenty minutes. I dig plots that immediately engage and moooooove, but this was stretching that storytelling ethic a bit too much. You could have easily (with tons of backbreaking and nerve-frazzling work) produced the entire film about the disasterous build-ups to THE END. Obviously, that would have required a high-budget and expensive FX that were still in their infant but inspired level - but what a terrifying science-fiction horror thriller it could have been! I honestly have doubts that todays upgraded technical FX would have that personal creepiness that this admirable effort fearfully evokes in its dark foreboding ways. Also, the "updated" script would undoubtably be crammed with stupid cliched dialogue and one-dimensional sterotyped characters you couldn't care less about.Later, Republic Studios purchased DELUGE for that ruthless purpose of using the destruction scene for seriel and B-movie stock footage; which hence accounts for the film' "loss". They most likely threw the rest of the footage into the can, clever boys.Unfortunately, the rest of the story is about the fate of a handful of survivors, struggling to live-as-best on a small portion of land that was spared the great plunge. We have a gang of violent renegades out to make hell for the heros (That's what heros are there for), as well as raping and murdering the women, which happens offscreen, making its repelling inferences that much more ugly. This was still brutally daring for the early 3O's, but this was also back in that so-called pre-code era. Most impressive character was the gorgeous swimmer played by the equally gorgeous Peggy Shannon, who, sad to say, died untimely a few years later from acute alcoholism. Her atypical (especially for the time) character might interest feminists, for she excellently portrays an attractive young adventuresome woman who is also tough enough to hold her own - quite ahead of the time. (Can anyone say Anne Heche?).WARNING: POSSIBLE SPOILER. The conclusion, though, was not that usual formulaic happy ending, obviously made to make you think - and that can be quite disturbing sometimes. I urge, particularily film historians or anyone interested in Hollywood's very first end-of-the-world movie, to give this strange early science-fiction effort a wild, reverent look.

I have always wondered about the disappearance of "Deluge". Why for so many years, seemingly since it's release in 1933, this film vanished from the face of the earth. After seeing it, courtesy of the efforts of Mr. Wade Williams & Co., I'm still puzzled, but I have a theory. In 1933, "the code" was enacted that pretty much took care of sex and violence in Hollywood. While not an explicit film by any means, "Deluge" does deal fairly frankly with sexuality, lust and rape. I wonder if RKO discovered they had a film that they could not re-release, much like the fabled lost Warner Bros. comedy "Convention City". It's a shame for, while it is a dated film, I find it quite unique and surprising for it's era and a fairly successful attempt to create something different in an era when films were already becoming cookie cutter by-products of the studio machine (not that many of those cookies aren't tasty, mind you). And even though the only available copy at this writing is dubbed into Italian, I don't find that a hinderance. An excellent job was done in subtitling the film, and much of the film is visual anyway. One thing that is somewhat bothersome: IMDb lists the running time as 70 minutes--the tape's running time is 59 minutes. What's missing?? Something so heinous that even the Italian censors couldn't let it be shown? The mind boggles! By the way, I have recently heard that the French film archive holds a copy of this film as well...I wonder....in Anglais, mais non?