Tugboat Annie again

 

A few weeks ago, we looked at one of the Tugboat Annie stories written by Norman Reilly Raine starting in 1931. I had looked it up because I had recently recorded a movie off of TCM titled Tugboat Annie Sails Again.

But, of course, I found it impossible to watch that movie before I watched the first Tugboat Annie movie made in 1933. Fortunately, this is available very inexpensivily via Amazon Prime. (Sadly, this also means I have no way of making my own clip--I can do this with DVDs, but not via a streaming movie.)

In the stories, Annie was a widow with a mention that her now-late husband had had a drinking problem. In the movie, Annie (perfectly played by Marie Dressler) has a still-living husband, played by Wallace Beery, who definitely has a drinking problem.

It's this casting that makes the movie work. Annie commands the tugboat Narcissus. The plot involves the husband (Terry) making a mess of things in one way or another--either because he's pawned important equipment for drinking money or because he's too drunk to do his job correctly. Annie, though, loves him and sticks by him, even after he smashes their tugboat into another ship. The Narcissus has to be sold at auction to pay for damages. Annie stays on as captain, but the tug is now being employed towing garbage scows. She hates it, but sticks with it.

By now, Terry's drinking has alienated their son Alec (who commands a liner), but Annie can't bring herself to kick Terry out or to retire and let Alec take care of them. Alex, by the way, is played by Robert Young.

In the end, though, the Narcissus has a chance to save Alec's damaged liner and, to do so, Terry is going to have to man up, do something right and perhaps even give his own life.

It's all very melodramatic, but Dressler and Beery are indeed perfect in their roles. Both bring elements of comedy to the story, toning down the melodrama. And Dressler's ability to often subtly show emotional pain while still retaining her gruff exterior is magnificent. Those two are able to make us care about the characters and care about what happens to them.

Also--well, we get to see tugs, schooners and other early 20th Century vessels sailing around in glorious black-and-white. That alone is worth the price of admission.

And now I can move on to Tugboat Annie Sails Again. Marie Dressler had died by the time the sequel was made, so I'll be able to see if another actress can do as much justice to the role. 

As I said, I could not make my own clip this time. Here's a random clip I found on YouTube. It's not the scene I would have chosen, but it does give you a good snapshot of the main characters.