King of Alcatraz *** (1938, Gail Patrick, J Carrol Naish, Lloyd Nolan, Harry Carey Sr, Robert Preston, Anthony Quinn, Dennis Morgan, Porter Hall, Richard Denning) – Classic Movie Review 12,244

Captain Glennan (Harry Carey Sr): ‘Man and boy, I’ve sailed the seas for 30 years… and I’ve never lost a ship.’ 

Director Robert Florey’s 1938 American crime drama film King of Alcatraz stars Gail Patrick, J Carrol Naish, Lloyd Nolan, Harry Carey Sr, Dennis Morgan and Robert Preston.

The excellent cast and top director contribute powerfully to the snappy and solidly written 1938 thriller King of Alcatraz about convicts on the lam from Alcatraz prison, who hijack Captain Glennan (Harry Carey Sr)’s freighter ship, confine the passengers and sail on without getting the medical treatment that one of the gang needs. First Mate Rogers (Dennis Morgan) has to help in a plan to fight back.

The voyage is smooth, fast-paced and entertaining, providing a memorable little entertainment that runs only around an hour. Among the notable performances, J Carrol Naish plays gangster Steve Murkil, the leader of the convicts, Gail Patrick is new nurse Dale Borden aboard, and Lloyd Nolan and Robert Preston (in his film debut, aged 20) are rival ship’s radio operators Ray Grayson and Bob MacArthur.

The cast are Gail Patrick as Dale Borden, Lloyd Nolan as Raymond Grayson, Harry Carey Sr as Captain Glennan, J Carrol Naish as Steve Murkil, Robert Preston as Robert MacArthur, Anthony Quinn as Lou Gedney, Dennis Morgan [Richard Stanley] as First Mate Rogers, Richard Denning as Harry Vay, Konstantin Shayne as Murok, Eddie Marr as Dave Carter, Emory Parnell as Olaf, Paul Fix as ‘Nails’ Miller, Virginia Vale [Dorothy Howe] as Dixie, Monte Blue as Officer, John Hart as 1st Radio Operator, Phil Warren, Tom Tyler, Eddie Acuff, Stanley Blystone, Nora Cecil, Clay Clement, John Harmon, Charles McAvoy Jack Norton, Pierre Watkin, Harry Worth, Gustav von Seyffertitz, Ruth Rogers, Virginia Dabney, Jack Knoche, and George Anderson.

Robert Preston Meservey gained a movie contract with Paramount Pictures, leading to his screen debut in 1938 in King of Alcatraz, followed by another crime drama, Illegal Traffic (1938). The studio ordered him to stop using his family name of Meservey, and he called himself Robert Preston, as he was then known for his professional career.

King of Alcatraz is directed by Robert Florey, runs 68 minutes, is made and released by Paramount Pictures, is written by Irving Reis, is shot in black and white by Harry Fischbeck, is produced by William C Thomas, is scored by Milan Roder, Gerard Carbonara, Frederick Hollander and Boris Morros, and designed by Hans Dreier and A Earl Hedrick.

It was released on 30 September 1938.

© Derek Winnert 2022 Classic Movie Review 12,244

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