Vessel of Wrath

Mayflower Pictures

Company type	Independent film production company
Industry	Film production
Founder	Erich Pommer, Charles Laughton
Key people	Erich Pommer (director and producer)
Products	Motion pictures

Vessel of Wrath is a British motion picture from 1938, both directed and produced by Erich Pommer, featuring leading roles by Charles Laughton and Elsa Lanchester. Adapted from the 1931 short story "The Vessel of Wrath" by Somerset Maugham, the film was created under the banner of Pommer and Laughton's independent outfit, Mayflower Pictures. In the United States, it is alternatively titled The Beachcomber.

Plot

Ginger Ted, an Englishman and wayward beachcomber, resides in a tropical Dutch colonial territory located in the Indian Ocean. Upon the arrival of a ship, he must evade his creditors to obtain his remittance cheque from the Controleur, the colony’s governor, who demands he settle his debts, leaving Ginger with very little.

Ginger persuades Lia to slip away from Martha Jones' classroom. Martha responds by having him arrested and sentenced to three months on a road gang. Dissatisfied with this outcome, Martha and her missionary brother push for his deportation. However, the Controleur—Ginger’s sole local supporter—assigns him to Agor Island, a dry location free from alcohol, in hopes of reforming him.

When Martha journeys to another island due to a medical emergency, the Controleur dispatches an escort with secret instructions to bring Ginger back afterward. Their boat crashes on a reef, compelling them to spend the night on a nearby island. Though Martha initially finds the ordeal distressing, she gradually softens towards Ginger. After Dr. Jones expresses gratitude to Ginger for respecting his sister, Ginger retaliates by knocking out the Controleur when mocked.

While Ginger lies intoxicated on the beach, Martha tidies his shack; upon awakening, he orders her to leave.

A typhoid epidemic breaks out on another island. The Controleur requests Ginger’s assistance in inoculating the local population alongside Dr. Jones; Ginger declines at first but ultimately consents reluctantly. When Dr. Jones falls ill with malaria, Martha insists on substituting for him. Though hesitant initially, Ginger decides to accompany her after witnessing her determination.

At the village, locals attribute the illness to abandoning their ancestral religion. Albert, a former Christian convert and community leader, warns them against interference. Despite Martha’s insistence on confronting the villagers directly, Ginger pulls her back.

The headman’s wife brings her ailing child for vaccination. Martha administers treatment despite Albert’s demands to return the child. As threatening drumming signals an impending attack, Ginger confides his past wish to marry a barmaid and run a pub despite being the son of a vicar; Martha reveals her father died due to alcoholism. The child’s recovery defuses the tension.

Eventually, Ginger and Martha marry and relocate to England to run a pub together, with Ginger abandoning alcohol entirely.

Cast

• Charles Laughton as Ginger Ted [Edward C. Wilson]
• Elsa Lanchester as Martha Jones
• Robert Newton as The Controleur [Gruyter]. Newton also appeared in the 1954 version of The Beachcomber.
• Tyrone Guthrie as Owen Jones, M.D.
• Eliot Makeham as The Clerk
• Dolly Mollinger as Lia
• D. A. Ward as The Chieftain [Albert]
• J. Solomon as The Sergeant

Reception

Kinematograph Weekly reported robust box office results across Britain in August 1938.

Critic Pauline Kael described the film as a "delightful yet overlooked romantic comedy," highlighting exceptional performances by Laughton and Lanchester.

The New York Times remarked that the 1954 adaptation featuring Robert Newton was less engaging than this original version, which was celebrated as a "lively comedy" showcasing "inspired portrayals" by Laughton and Lanchester.

External links

• The Beachcomber featured on Screen Guild Theater: 12 November 1939