8 Girls in a Boat (1934) User Reviews

Get In The Boat

[boblipton · 7/10 · 19 June 2019]

Dorothy Wilson is a student at an exclusive girl's school. She is a good student and a member of the shell racing crew. She is also pregnant by chemistry student Douglass Montgomery. When he goes to her father, Walter Connolly, asking to marry her without telling him why, Connolly assumes it is for his money. When butch gym instructor Kay Johnson finds out Miss Wilson has been lying to her, but not why, she punishes the girl.

It's based on the 1932 German movie, "Acht Mädels im Boot" and it certainly shows its Germanic roots at the beginning with its young women in uniform, moving in geometric patterns and under strict discipline, all suggesting "Mädchen in Uniform". Although it was a bit slow, I found it a heartfelt and humanistic tale in the end.

Fans of old movies will want to note that this is the first screen appearance of Jean Rogers. Peggy Montgomery, formerly a major child star as 'Baby Peggy' of the silent era, also has a substantial role. Now known as Diana Serra Carey, she is still alive at 100 as I write this.

Pretty scandalous stuff for an A picture.

[mark.waltz · 7/10 · 28 March 2017]

The temptation of love has been burning in the desires of the young since there first were the young. For privileged Swiss boarding school student Dorothy Wilson, the desires of youth leaves her "in trouble", as they used to be, and she's tormented by guilt, both for her own life, the father to be and the scandal it will bring to her own father, the wealthy Walter Connelly. Through what's going on inside of her, the audience gets to learn the truth, and it's very haunting to see her suffer as she feels with suspicious fellow students, beau Douglas Montgomery and strict adviser Kay Johnson, the coach of the crew team she's on.

While the flashbacks of her romance with Montgomery and the personalities of some of her fellow stories bring on comical moments, this is best when it strives for poignancy, especially when Wilson fails a test while remembering learning she was "with child". A later nightmare she has is rather frightening. Wilson, a lovely forgotten leading lady of the early 1930's, gives this part its all. I just don't care for the title, which I believe was meant to spoof "Three on a Match", although none of the other girls really have any impact in the plot. Kay Johnson's unsympathetic teacher/coach is given a rather masculine demeanor, giving off all sorts of subtle hints.

This is one of the more direct and obvious reasons as to why the code came in, although there is no real moral message implied. I'd be curious to see the 1932 German version of this, as coming right before the change in the political climate, the character of Johnson seems quite harsh in its demeanor, as if forecasting the fascist regime rising in power. Quite a different role for Johnson who just a few years before played mostly long suffering heroines. But, after a particularly cruel moment here, I go back to one film where she had two faces, she really does earn the title of "Madam Satan" here.

But a sudden twist shows a moral lesson about judgment and sisterhood and loyalty and trust, important qualities that struggle to remain vital because of human failing. Johnson makes a realistic switch, while Connelly's father is no different than he was in "It Happened One Night". Montgomery is a handsome hero, noble and idealistic, even if he committed a "sin" that could have marked Wilson for life. The somber first three quarters wrap up neatly and even the power of sisterhood can't come between the struggle for nobility. Some anti-male sentiments open up the question of why men in this situation are automatically assumed to be snakes in the grass.

Wilson, Montgomery and Johnson Make the Most of Their Roles in This Sensitive Adaptation

[kidboots · 9/10 · 13 April 2016]

An American remake of a 1932 German production "Acht Madels im Boot". The earlier film had been a thinly disguised tribute to the Nazi spirit with Christa escaping her dominating father by fleeing to a youth club but her character was overshadowed by her rowing coach whose arrogance shows her as a prototype for an S.S. style leader. It did seem an odd choice for Paramount to remake as an American film but it is a tremendous movie and handled with sensitivity the delicate subject of an unwanted pregnancy. Talented and under appreciated Dorothy Wilson was a stand out with her first role - the "good girl" in "The Age of Consent" and was really given her most challenging role as Christa, the young pregnant schoolgirl who must try to make sense of the situation on her own. David (Douglass Montgomery) is a chemistry student and for a while, the phrases "will you be able to go through with it" and "there's no other way" as whispered by his cynical flatmate, seem to indicate that abortion is contemplated. Christa at first approaches her father (Walter Connolly) who refuses to believe she has grown up before his eyes and the promised visit she has been anticipating for 2 years turns into a 10 minute break between trains in which he plies her with gifts.

Kay Johnson was a marvellous actress who came across as calm and intelligent, maybe too much so for Hollywood because she never seemed to be given much of a chance. Her role of Hannah, the rowing mistress had her playing against type but she relished it. Her Hannah is tough and brutal - a particularly awful scene has her forcing Christa to do dive after dive into an icy lake to cure her of disobedience (the German film was often compared to "Madchens in Uniform").

Of course once she realises Christa's position both she and the classmates rally around to make the girl's confinement as comfortable as possible. Strangely, unlike the German original she does not confront Christa's father - that is left to David, who does it early in the film. It doesn't have the desired outcome, he just thinks the boy is after his money and position and also strange, Connolly doesn't reappear. In this sea of strong women David could have come across as wishy washy but Montgomery gives him strength as well as sensitivity. Initially using the name Kent Douglass (to avoid confusion with another MGM contractee Robert Montgomery) with "Little Women" he reverted back to his own name Douglass Montgomery.

The film was very faithful to the original even featuring a prolonged dream sequence in which Christa relives her dreaded time before the examination board. It also had a charming musical score by Sam Coslow and Arthur Rebner - "This Little Piggy Went to Market" was a big hit for Annette Hanshaw. Also buried in the group of girls was Peggy Montgomery - ten years before as Baby Peggy she challenged Jackie Coogan as the most popular child star. This was supposed to be a comeback and while she got some publicity, not enough to give her a second career.

Highly Recommended.