This movie raises some nagging questions that it doesn't answer, so it leaves some viewers (this one, for sure) wondering about the film. "The Road to Singapore" is a short feature, running just 69 minutes. It's one of several films of various genres that William Powell did at Warner Brothers before going to MGM in 1934.
The plot for this story itself raises some questions. The story is set in a place called Khota. I couldn't find any place by that name in gazetteers or online. We can surmise that it's in the tropics of the Indian Ocean. A ship, enroute from Colombo, Sri Lanka, to Singapore, drops passengers off at Khota. There is a colony of Englishmen there, all of whom belong to an exclusive club, as was common in so many British colonial areas around the world.
The reason the people are there in the first place is to run plantations. We never learn what they grow, but it's most likely rubber. A snobbish, class-conscious doctor, George March, has sent for a former nurse associate in England to marry him. Philippa Crosby arrives on the same ship that Hugh Dawltry is returning on. Dawltry has a sullied reputation for having caused a divorce between another Khoto couple. He makes a play for Philippa aboard ship, but she rejects him.
But, after she marries March, Philippa finds that he is a changed man from the doctor she knew and loved back in England. That is, we are led to conclude that by the plot. March seeks fame in his profession and is driven by a lust for such notoriety that he can't even lust for his wife, let alone love her. In time, Philippa is drawn to Dawltry who, if nothing else, wishes her to escape the grasp of March who looks down on the natives and other people as inferior.
At times this plays like a melodrama similar to a soap opera. It has a couple of other wrinkles. Dr. March's teenage sister, Rene, lives with him in this remote place. We never learn why she wouldn't be at home in England attending school. Dawltry never goes to work on his plantation, nor do we ever see or hear any of the English conversing about the plantations. Dawltry is a heavy drinker, and Rene makes a play for him.
Still, with all these holes in the plot, and with a weak screenplay, this is an interesting film. It's made so mostly by a very good cast - especially all the leads. William Powell never had a role that he didn't play very well. Doris Kenyon is very good as Philippa Crosby March. Marian Marsh is superb as Rene March, and Louis Calhern is very good as Dr. George March. He tends just a bit to overplay his role at times. There are a couple of other characters who pop in and out of a few scenes, arguing over trivial matters. They are not funny and are a distraction from the plot.
The camera work on this 1931 film is superb. The sets and lighting are dark to reflect the mood much of the time. And one scene is remarkable for its camera effect. Hugh and Philippa each get up to listen to the native drums at night. Their bungalows are on the same street but some distance apart. The camera one night is on Philippa and then retreats backward through the jungle trees - always with Philippa's bungalow in sight, ever diminishing in size, until it stops at Hugh's bungalow and we see him looking toward the bungalow in the distance. A masterful piece of camera work and filmmaking.
One wonders what William Powell thought about doing this film and some others. He apparently was dissatisfied with the films he had been given at WB, as he had been at Paramount where he got his start. His move to MGM seems to have been just right. His pairing with Myrna Loy created one of the best matches for multiple movies in history. They made 13 films together from 1934 to 1944. All of them are memorable and some are among the best comedies ever made.
Occasional clever or funny lines offset the sometimes-dark overtone of this film. For more dialog, see the Quotes section under this IMDb Web page of the movie. Here are some samples.
Mrs. Wey-Smith, "Dr. March says I'm like a feather. I'm so light on my feet." Hugh Dawltry, "Who's feet?"
Rene March, "Do you always ride alone?" Hugh Dawltry, "Sometimes the horse goes with me."
Hugh Dawltry, "My dear, sometimes even reputations have false faces."
The plot for this story itself raises some questions. The story is set in a place called Khota. I couldn't find any place by that name in gazetteers or online. We can surmise that it's in the tropics of the Indian Ocean. A ship, enroute from Colombo, Sri Lanka, to Singapore, drops passengers off at Khota. There is a colony of Englishmen there, all of whom belong to an exclusive club, as was common in so many British colonial areas around the world.
The reason the people are there in the first place is to run plantations. We never learn what they grow, but it's most likely rubber. A snobbish, class-conscious doctor, George March, has sent for a former nurse associate in England to marry him. Philippa Crosby arrives on the same ship that Hugh Dawltry is returning on. Dawltry has a sullied reputation for having caused a divorce between another Khoto couple. He makes a play for Philippa aboard ship, but she rejects him.
But, after she marries March, Philippa finds that he is a changed man from the doctor she knew and loved back in England. That is, we are led to conclude that by the plot. March seeks fame in his profession and is driven by a lust for such notoriety that he can't even lust for his wife, let alone love her. In time, Philippa is drawn to Dawltry who, if nothing else, wishes her to escape the grasp of March who looks down on the natives and other people as inferior.
At times this plays like a melodrama similar to a soap opera. It has a couple of other wrinkles. Dr. March's teenage sister, Rene, lives with him in this remote place. We never learn why she wouldn't be at home in England attending school. Dawltry never goes to work on his plantation, nor do we ever see or hear any of the English conversing about the plantations. Dawltry is a heavy drinker, and Rene makes a play for him.
Still, with all these holes in the plot, and with a weak screenplay, this is an interesting film. It's made so mostly by a very good cast - especially all the leads. William Powell never had a role that he didn't play very well. Doris Kenyon is very good as Philippa Crosby March. Marian Marsh is superb as Rene March, and Louis Calhern is very good as Dr. George March. He tends just a bit to overplay his role at times. There are a couple of other characters who pop in and out of a few scenes, arguing over trivial matters. They are not funny and are a distraction from the plot.
The camera work on this 1931 film is superb. The sets and lighting are dark to reflect the mood much of the time. And one scene is remarkable for its camera effect. Hugh and Philippa each get up to listen to the native drums at night. Their bungalows are on the same street but some distance apart. The camera one night is on Philippa and then retreats backward through the jungle trees - always with Philippa's bungalow in sight, ever diminishing in size, until it stops at Hugh's bungalow and we see him looking toward the bungalow in the distance. A masterful piece of camera work and filmmaking.
One wonders what William Powell thought about doing this film and some others. He apparently was dissatisfied with the films he had been given at WB, as he had been at Paramount where he got his start. His move to MGM seems to have been just right. His pairing with Myrna Loy created one of the best matches for multiple movies in history. They made 13 films together from 1934 to 1944. All of them are memorable and some are among the best comedies ever made.
Occasional clever or funny lines offset the sometimes-dark overtone of this film. For more dialog, see the Quotes section under this IMDb Web page of the movie. Here are some samples.
Mrs. Wey-Smith, "Dr. March says I'm like a feather. I'm so light on my feet." Hugh Dawltry, "Who's feet?"
Rene March, "Do you always ride alone?" Hugh Dawltry, "Sometimes the horse goes with me."
Hugh Dawltry, "My dear, sometimes even reputations have false faces."