6.4/10
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34 user 15 critic

Voyage of the Damned (1976)

The tragic 1939 voyage of SS St. Louis carrying hundreds of German Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany that seemingly no nation is willing to save from certain doom.

Director:

Stuart Rosenberg

Writers:

Steve Shagan (screenplay), David Butler (screenplay) | 2 more credits »
Reviews
Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 1 win & 6 nominations. See more awards »

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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Faye Dunaway ... Denise Kreisler
Oskar Werner ... Professor Egon Kreisler
Lee Grant ... Lili Rosen
Sam Wanamaker ... Carl Rosen
Lynne Frederick ... Anna Rosen
David de Keyser David de Keyser ... Joseph Joseph (as David De Keyser)
Della McDermott Della McDermott ... Julia Strauss
Genevieve West Genevieve West ... Sarah Strauss
Luther Adler ... Professor Weiler
Wendy Hiller ... Rebecca Weiler
Julie Harris ... Alice Fienchild
Nehemiah Persoff ... Mr. Hauser
Maria Schell ... Mrs. Hauser
Paul Koslo ... Aaron Pozner
Jonathan Pryce ... Joseph Manasse
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Storyline

In 1939, Germany's Hamburg-America Line announced a voyage from Germany to Cuba. 937 people, the vast majority being Jews, signed up for the opportunity to escape Nazi Germany. Unbeknownst to the passengers, the visas they purchased were from a corrupt Cuban director of immigration, and they were invalid. Upon arrival in Havana, only 28 people were allowed to disembark, while the rest remained on board for weeks as they sailed to Florida, and eventually Canada, searching for safe haven. Sadly the ship returned to Antwerp after more than a month at sea. Forced back under Nazi rule as the low countries fell, it is estimated that approximately 250 of the refugees died in the extermination camps in occupied Poland. Written by JBentley

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Taglines:

It lasted 30 days...You will remember it as long as you live. See more »

Genres:

Drama | War

Certificate:

See all certifications »
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Details

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 December 1976 (USA) See more »

Also Known As:

Massa Ha-Arurim See more »

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Box Office

Budget:

$7,000,000 (estimated)
See more on IMDbPro »

Company Credits

Show more on IMDbPro »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

| (video)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor) (uncredited)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1
See full technical specs »
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Did You Know?

Trivia

Jose Ferrer has two scenes. See more »

Goofs

At c. 12 minutes the shots vary between daylight and night. See more »

Quotes

Captain Schroeder: I neither approved nor knew of it and assure you it shall not happen again. I frankly admit there appears to have been a lapse of good taste.
See more »

Crazy Credits

Opening credits prologue: Saturday, May 13th, 1939 Hamburg Harbor See more »

Alternate Versions

A version running a length of 182 minutes, released in 1980 on a double-cassette Magnetic Video, was released in 1980. The current video version, from Artisan/Live runs 158 minutes (even though the video cover says 137 minutes). See more »

Connections

Referenced in Getting On: Nightshift (2013) See more »

Soundtracks

Green Eyes
(uncredited)
Written by Adolfo Utrera and Nilo Menendez
See more »

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User Reviews

 
Shame on US
28 May 2008 | by lastliberal – See all my reviews

Despite the fact that this film had three Oscar nominations, and several Golden Globe nominations with one win (Katharine Ross), and a boatload of stars, it is not worth watching so much for it's quality (marginal) but for the story of how we knew what was happening to the Jews before World War II and did little to stop it.

This is the story of 937 Jews that were put on a boat to Havana with useless documents, as the German government had no intention of letting them off the ship. They were denied entry into Cuba, and the US also denied them entry before they finally were saved by a social service agency and allowed to land in Belgium. Of course, that would prove ultimately fatal for two-thirds of them as the war started just two months later.

Why would Germany do this? Simple. By sending a ship of Jews to the America's and having them turned away, they negated any right the US would have to complain when they started exterminating Jews. Clever of them, and our government fell right into their trap. Our support for Israel is not so much that we love the Jews, but a massive guilt for our participation in their extermination.

There were some great performances in this otherwise mediocre film: Lee Grant and Katherine Ross; some good performances: Ben Gazzara, Faye Dunaway; and the film debut of Jonathan Pryce (POTC 1. 2. & 3, Tomorrow Never Dies).

Check it out.


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