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Reviews
Channel Crossing (1933)
cast talent compensates for bargain-basement budget
A morally ambiguous thriller which asks us to consider the notion of "good" crime - the film's hero commits several extremely serious offenses! The film provides an interesting insight into the crises of both conscience, and in the negative social consequences, of market capitalism during the Great Depression. Matheson Lang appears to be running on autopilot, but Constance Cummings acts well and looks superb. Her boyfriend shows the timelessness of the cardboard- cutout matinée idol: his vapidity matches that of Leonardo Di Caprio in "Titanic". The extensive use of fog helps mask the Depression-era poverty of British film sets, and the clever use of stock ferry-crossing characters keeps the narrative moving: quite a challenge with such a slender plot line. Film-rep performers like Nigel Bruce have enough talent on show to build plot density, but the use of repeated footage (one foghorn shot used a tedious number of times) shows how few pennies there were to spend in an overtaxed and exhausted industry. Dashed good fun nonetheless, and worth several viewings.