Voyage of the Damned

ITC Entertainment
Industry	Film production
Founded	1974
Products	Films
Parent	Associated General Films

Adapted from the English Wikipedia article Voyage of the Damned, available under CC BY-SA 4.0Updated 10 August 2025

Voyage of the Damned is a 1976 dramatic motion picture helmed by director Stuart Rosenberg, featuring a notable ensemble cast including Faye Dunaway, Oskar Werner, Lee Grant, Max von Sydow, James Mason, Lynne Frederick, and Malcolm McDowell.

The narrative portrays the factual account of a passenger liner transporting Jewish refugees escaping Nazi Germany to Cuba in 1939. Adapted from the 1974 nonfiction work of the same title authored by Gordon Thomas and Max Morgan-Witts, the screenplay was crafted by Steve Shagan and David Butler. Produced under the banner of ITC Entertainment, distribution was managed by Rank Film Distributors in the United Kingdom and Avco Embassy Pictures within the United States.

With production costs amounting to $7.3 million, the film generated $1.75 million in rental revenue across the US and Canadian markets.

Plot

This motion picture, grounded in historical circumstances, recounts the 1939 journey of the German-registered ocean liner , which carried 937 Jewish refugees fleeing persecution to Havana, Cuba. The passengers sought sanctuary from escalating anti-Semitic policies. The storyline exposes the voyage as a calculated Nazi propaganda stunt: Germany had no intention for these refugees to disembark in Cuba but aimed to ostracize them internationally. A Nazi official articulates that since no nation was willing to accept Jewish asylum seekers, Germany could not be held accountable for their predicament.

Midway through the voyage, Cuban authorities refuse entry, prompting the ship to change course toward the United States. Upon reaching Florida's coastline, passengers discover that both the U.S. and Canada have denied them refuge, compelling the captain to navigate back to Europe. He reveals a letter signed by 200 passengers threatening collective suicide over forced repatriation and plans to deliberately beach the vessel near England for rescue efforts.

In the closing segment, Belgium, France, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom consent to admit a portion of the refugees. However, accompanying notes disclose that more than 600 who resettled in Europe were subsequently deported and perished in Nazi concentration camps.

Production

The source book released in 1974 achieved bestseller status, reportedly earning its authors approximately £500,000. Film rights were secured that same year with initial intentions for an ABC Movie of the Week adaptation; however, the $7.3 million budget rendered this unfeasible. Consequently, it became Associated General Films’ inaugural feature under ITC Entertainment.

Faye Dunaway was compensated with $500,000 plus a share of box office profits. Principal photography occurred aboard the chartered Italian ocean liner Irpinia, which was altered with two false funnels to mimic St. Louis. Filming also took place at locations including Barcelona, Spain (doubling as Cuba), St. Pancras Chambers in London, and EMI Elstree Studios located in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire.

Release

The film debuted on 22 December 1976 across four theaters situated in New York and Los Angeles.

Box office

Producer Lew Grade expressed that the film “ought to have performed better” financially. He regarded it as among the most poignant and significant films he had witnessed but remained perplexed by its modest commercial returns despite strong audience reception in Japan.

Accolades

Award	Category	Nominee(s)	Result
Academy Awards	Best Supporting Actress	Lee Grant	Template:Nom
	Best Screenplay – Based on Material from Another Medium	David Butler and Steve Shagan	Template:Nom
	Best Original Score	Lalo Schifrin	Template:Nom
Golden Globe Awards	Best Motion Picture – Drama		Template:Nom
	Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture	Oskar Werner	Template:Nom
	Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture	Lee Grant	Template:Nom
	Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture	Katharine Ross	Template:Won
	Best Screenplay – Motion Picture	David Butler and Steve Shagan	Template:Nom
	Best Original Score – Motion Picture	Lalo Schifrin	Template:Nom
Japan Academy Film Prize	Outstanding Foreign Language Film		Template:Nom

Soundtrack

The musical score for the movie was composed, arranged, and conducted by Lalo Schifrin. The soundtrack was made available to the public through the Entr'Acte label in 1977.

Personnel

Lalo Schifrin – conductor and arranger
London Studio Orchestra

Actual death toll

The precise number of fatalities among the MS St. Louis passengers remains unclear. According to an analysis by Thomas and Morgan-Witts, out of the 621 passengers who were refused asylum in Cuba or the United Kingdom (excluding one who passed away during the journey), roughly 44 (20%) of the 224 refugees who settled in France, 62 (29%) of the 214 who went to Belgium, and 121 (67%) of the 181 who reached the Netherlands were killed during the Holocaust. This amounts to an estimated total of 227 victims, or 37%. Later research conducted in 1998 by Scott Miller and Sarah Ogilvie at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum followed up with survivors and determined that about 254 refugees—representing 40.9 percent—were ultimately murdered by Nazi forces.

Alternate version

A longer edition of the film, running 182 minutes and edited by Roger Cherrill, was aired on television and distributed on home video formats.

This extended cut was released twice on VHS: first by Magnetic Video (NTSC) in 1980, and later by Polygram Home Video (PAL) in the United Kingdom. The Polygram edition, which is undated, shows a runtime of 176 minutes, reflecting differences between PAL and NTSC frame rates.

Additionally, this extended version was featured in an Australian Blu-Ray collection issued by Imprint on September 26, 2024.

External links