Souls at Sea

Introduction

The film begins with Barton Woodley, a representative of the Queen, dictating a letter about how the monarch is interested in the outcome of the trial of Michael 'Nuggin' Taylor. He abruptly stops dictating and rushes to the court where the verdict is imminent.

Taylor is found guilty of the murders of 17 people at sea; as acting captain aboard a sinking ship he was forced to choose who should die so that others may live, and the court adjourns as sentence will be passed the next day. Woodley approaches the judge to tell him what really happened.

In flashback we see Taylor as a slaver, avoiding the British ships with his cargo of people from Africa being transported to the United States. He is caught and arrested and he confesses that he always has the misfortune of running aground and the slaves 'somehow' manage to escape - the British use his knowledge of the slave trade, and his opposition to it, to place him as a spy on board the William Brown so he can pass on valuable information to bring the illegal trade to its knees.

Video

A reasonable transfer of a film now entering its eighth decade - there are scratches, dirt and 'cigarette burns' evident and it's not presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.37:1, instead in 1.33:1 but the combination of set work and footage of a real ship works well and the contrast levels are good.

Audio

A Dolby Digital mono track appears to have been cleaned up, removing most of the hiss and crackle that you'd expect from a film of this age. The dialogue is nice and clear and there's a suitably stirring score.

Strangely there are no subtitles, a feature which would be of benefit to many people.

Conclusion

Apparently based on a true story, this features an excellent performance by Gary Cooper, showing exactly why he's known as the 'strong, silent type'. He is very well cast and enjoys good rapport with George Raft who looks particularly daft with an earring!

Souls at Sea is a well directed and, at times, gripping film with action, romance, comedy and drama. The release is timely, coming shortly after the film Amazing Grace and the 200th anniversary of the Slave Trade Act. Souls at Sea is a good solid film which I enjoyed and, whilst not spectacular and completely lacking in extra features (even subtitles), this is the first DVD release of the film in the UK and is to be welcomed.