White Cargo (1942)

Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

Expected more

Awesome Movie

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

"I am Tondelayo" at one time was a phrase bandied about, though you don't hear it much, if ever, anymore. "White Cargo" is a 1942 film starring Hedy Lamarr, Walter Pidgeon, Richard Carlson, Frank Morgan, and Henry O'Neill.The story concerns men on a rubber plantation, bored, hot, and hating it. When Mr. Langford (Richard Carlson) joins them, he's fresh and rarin' to go. As the others predict, his optimism doesn't last long.Then along comes the scourge of the jungle, Tondelayo (Lamarr). She's Egyptian and Arab so she could pass the Hays office, which said whites and blacks couldn't cavort. Apparently Tonde has given quite a few white jungle dwellers, including the Pidgeon carrier, quite a ride. He detests her, and warns Carlson to stay away from her. But he can't. Soon she works her magic on him and his destruction begins.Among Holllywood's spectacular beauties, Hedy Lamarr was in the top 5. She had something besides beauty (intelligence, but that doesn't come into play here) -- sex appeal. You certainly didn't have to be womanless in the jungle to find her gorgeous, especially half-dressed. Sporting dark makeup, a bad accent and bad accent, Tondelayo proves to be problematic.I think this was intended as a serious film, and it's very well made, not like some campy movie. True, Lamarr's role is campy, and it would have been no matter who had acted in it.You can mark this down as an entertaining film about the tropics, a favorite topic over at MGM. And maybe on Jeopardy Alec Trebek had to run through the "Hedy Lamarr" topic all by himself while the clueless contestants just stood there, but there was a time when everybody had heard of her -- and Tondelayo.

You have expect to hear Hedy Lamarr screech, "Gif me da Cobra Jewel!" in her performance as the supposedly half-caste Tondelayo, an exotic but obviously insane beauty that destroys every man she touches. Going on a rampage if bored, not getting the type of attention she thinks that she deserves, or just not clad in enough jewelry, Tondelayo is the type of female that should be abandoned on a deserted island far away from any man. When rubber plantation owner Walter Pidgeon looses interest in her, she sets her sights on newcomer Richard Carlson who is no match for her spider woman wiles. They marry against Pidgeon's harsh advice, but instantly bored, she sets up a jealous fight between Carlson and Pidgeon which pleases her needy quest for being the focus of every man's desires.All that is needed is a quick shot saying her famous line, "I am Tondelayo", and the camera cuts out to let her and Carlson move onto a seduction. They say that a man chases a girl until she catches him, but in this case, Carlson is indeed going to catch something, and it isn't the type of woman you want to spend the rest of your life with. Almost an update of the old Theda Bara "A Fool There Was" plot ("Kiss Me My Fool!"), this just adds sandy beaches and mosquito netting to the mix. Frank Morgan is the drunken doctor, both comical and pathetic, while Reginald Owen has some amusingly droll bits.It is the campiness that saves this from being a bore. Lamarr, in dark makeup surrounded by little light, only slightly melts her icy interior as long as she is out to get what she wants from the men around her. The result are melodramatics that probably upset the producers over at Universal who were preparing similar vehicles for Maria Montez, and made the producers of Dorothy Lamour's sarong films over at Paramount laugh hysterically. It wouldn't take a child to see what this evil creature known as Tondelayo was up to, so when the payoff comes, it is an absolute hoot. The final reminded me of the consequences for villainy as seen for Bela Logosi in 1935's "The Raven" and Judith Anderson in 1940's "Rebecca". Walter Pidgeon wisely returned to the more sobering partnership with Greer Garson after this, while the bland Carlson drifted along as far as he could on the silver screen, while Lamarr had to wait until the end of the decade to play another temptress, Biblical vixen Delilah.

Hollywood used to turn out some great bad movies, and "White Cargo" is one of the greatest and baddest. People who complain that it's unrealistic are missing the boat. Except for the jungle heat, the isolation of the white guys, and location shots of what looks like a rubber plantation, this movie doesn't even pretend to be real. It's pulp fiction of the old school. You watch it to forget your troubles, and if you're like me (a guy), Hedy Lamar will make 'em vanish like bubbles. Because it combines shameless sensationalism and with solid melodramatic performances (especially from Lamar, Pidgeon, and Wizard-of-Oz Frank Morgan), even my wife liked it.OK, Hollywood and America were a lot more racist in 1942 than now. We get it. But this movie isn't about race, imperialism, natural resources, or any of those other trendy topics, it's about the sensual power of Tondelayo.Goofy makeup and all, it would have been tough to find any actress of any ethnicity who could top Hedy Lamar in the leading role. Tondie, an incarnation of Eve like you wouldn't believe, unites all misogynist female stereotypes into one purring package: she's mysterious, wild, stupid, primitive, insincere, manipulative, beautiful, evil, greedy, relentless, sadomasochistic, homicidal, and did I mention sexy? That all adds up to "irresitible" in the logic of this movie. The fact that she's the only woman within a hundred miles is certainly part of her charm. And yes, as she drives Richard Carlson batty, Hedy Lamar really communicates all those things with her movements, her delivery, and, toughest to do, her glances. Her eyes alone reveal her mind switching from evil to stupid to greedy in rapid succession."White Cargo" is a demented fantasy sequel to Conrad's great story "Heart of Darkness," or an academic poindexter could argue that it is. But ignore that. Blatant junk movies today are pretentious, gory, and tedious. But not "White Cargo." It isn't as complicated or ingenious as "Gilda," but it comes close enough on the Meter of Marvelous Trash. Great fun if you love the ridiculous!

And you'll spend a restless twenty-five minutes or so before HEDY LAMARR makes her spectacular entrance and says, in a tone she obviously thought would nail her half-breed, dark-skinned character, "I am Tondelayo." For the remainder of my review, I'll quote the article I wrote on HEDY LAMARR for FILMS OF THE GOLDEN AGE magazine: "WHITE CARGO was the kind of film that seemed dated even then. The majority of reviewers found the entire melodrama old-fashioned and unconvincing. On the other hand, some viewers were, and still are, delighted by her campy performance as Tondelayo, who wreaks havoc at a British outpost in Africa. Even the sturdy cast of players headed by Walter Pidgeon, Richard Carlson and Reginald Owen, could not overcome the weak script and make the tale credible. Playing her entire role in an abbreviated sarong and dark body make-up, Hedy was still incredibly lovely. Of Tondelayo, she would later say,'I thought with some interesting make-up, a sarong and some hip-swinging I would be a memorable nymphomaniac.' Obviously, despite her intelligence, Hedy had a problem judging scripts." Just let me conclude by saying that all of the performances are embarrisingly inept, the script is hopelessly full of clichés, and the direction allows everyone to overact in such melodramatic silent screen fashion that it's a wonder anyone had a reputation left after this foolishness was over--including director Richard Thorpe who had better films in his future.Unless Hedy in dark make-up and sarong is enough to hold your interest, WHITE CARGO is better left among the dustbins of film memories.