Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageVessel of Wrath (1938)
Director: Erich Pommer
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
Laughton's venture into independent production, of which this was the first fruit, afforded him a welcome opportunity to escape typecasting as a monster. Set in the Dutch East Indies, the Somerset Maugham story - gradual defrosting of a frigid spinster by a drunken reprobate ('I suppose I'm jealous of the reckless way he squanders the precious treasure of life') - may be clichéd, but Laughton's performance adds an extra dimension. Burdened and embarrassed by his homosexual inclinations, he obviously entered with gusto into this portrayal of a man with problems in every area of his life apart from sex. Playing opposite his real life wife, he carefully combines conventions of masculinity with the self-doubt and inadequacy of his own persona to create an almost Falstaffian screen character.Author: RMy
Cast & crew
Director: Erich Pommer
Producer: Erich Pommer
Cast: Charles Laughton, Elsa Lanchester, Tyrone Guthrie, Robert Newton, Dolly Mollinger, Eliot Makeham full cast
Duration: 93 mins
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Time Out's 101 Films of the Decade
Ten years, thousands of movies and millions of dollars in international box office, and it all boils down to this
Martin Provost discusses 'Séraphine'
Trevor Johnston talks to the director of 'Séraphine' about bringing a little known French painter back to life
Our verdict on Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones
Peter Jackson ends a triumphant decade with a sentimental misfire with this lush Alice Sebold adaptation
On the set of Ken Loach's 'Route Irish'
Dave Calhoun meets Ken Loach on the set of his forthcoming Iraq war movie
Stephen Poliakoff discusses 'Glorious 39'
Stephen Poliakoff’s ‘Glorious 39’ is his first film for cinema since ‘Food of Love’ in 1997. Dave Calhoun met him
Is 'Paranormal Activity' the new 'Blair Witch'?
How does a film go from DIY experiment to box-office smash? 'Paranormal Activity' director Oren Peli explains
Steven Soderbergh on 'The Informant!' and 'The Girlfriend Experience'
We talk to Steven Soderbergh about his two forthcoming films: one featuring a porn star, the other a chubby Matt Damon
A gateway to all things 'New Moon'
In anticipation of 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon', Time Out is offering the chance to pick up a limited edition pack with three exclusive magazines and a free poster.
The films that deserve a TV spin-off
With Roland Emmerich suggesting he'd like to make a '2012' TV spin-off, we propose some more movie-to-TV serialisations
Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam
In celebration of the release of Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', read our rundown of fifty classic feature length animations
What do you think?
Post your review now