User reviews

Several years before anyone thought of the film Trade Winds, director Tay Garnett did a round the world tour and took a camera crew with him. They shot miles of beautiful travelogue type footage and Garnett had it in his mind to use it. According to the Citadel Film Series book The Films of Fredric March, Garnett sold the idea to independent producer Walter Wanger. Who thereupon commissioned a story to be written around these films and naturally it would be starring his wife Joan Bennett. All that background you see in Trade Winds is what Garnett shot years earlier.

Trade Winds is a strange film it can't quite make up its mind to be a mystery, comedy, or drama it truly defies classification. One thing we do know is that right away we're given information regarding the forensics that Joan Bennett is innocent. If she had not run, but stayed behind she'd have known right away and we'd have had no film.

But run she does and private detective Fredric March is put on her trail. He sure needs the money as well as he and secretary Ann Sothern owe a lot of bills.

The weakness of the plot is made up for a lot by the supporting performances of both Ann Sothern and Ralph Bellamy. Sothern is not in the tradition of private eye secretaries like Effie in The Maltese Falcon. She turns out to be just as good a gumshoe as March and she's a person of shifting loyalties.

Which is unlike Ralph Bellamy who might easily qualify for being the dumbest cop the movies ever portrayed. I could have seen him being commandant of the Police Academy forty years later. He's so earnest in such a Dudley Doo-Right manner he's positively hilarious. Sothern and Bellamy really do carry this film.

March is a charming rascal and Bennett a beautiful and vulnerable victim, but if you watch Trade Winds I know you'll enjoy Sothern and Bellamy most of all.

Despite contributions to the script by witty Dorothy Parker, TRADE WINDS is tough going for most of its running time. JOAN BENNETT plays a woman running away from a murder charge who is trailed to exotic locations by FREDRIC MARCH and RALPH BELLAMY, detectives hot on her trail.

March falls in love with her and faces the dilemma of turning her in to the authorities, while Bellamy finds romance with wise-cracking secretary ANN SOTHERN. That's about it, for the plot. The suspense lies in learning when and how the Bennett/March romance will flounder and come to some sort of resolution for the final reel.

Director Tay Garnett makes heavy use of his home movies for all of the process shots used extensively throughout filming. The effects cheapen the images on screen so that never for a moment do you feel that these events are taking place in actual locales, only in front of a process screen full of faded images.

Silliness of the comedy interludes are imposed on any dramatic elements the story has, making for an uneven mixture of comedy and drama.

Joan Bennett's transformation to a stunning brunette changed the course of her career as she goes from blonde to brunette to avoid capture. It's the only interesting aspect of the photoplay for this viewer.

Performances are competent with Sothern and Bellamy vying for attention in some amusing byplay that at least gives some indication of Dorothy Parker's contribution. But generally speaking, the comic moments are strained and appear more foolish than witty. Revelation of the events surrounding Bennett's murder charge strikes a false note for the ending.

"Trade Winds" is a comedy-drama starring Joan Bennett, Frederic March, Ralph Bellamy, and Ann Sothern, directed by Tay Garnett.

Bennett plays Kay Kerrigan, a young woman who is out to avenge her sister's death and goes after her sister's ex-boyfriend (Sidney Blackmer). When Kay says she wishes she could shoot him, he hands her a gun and she shoots. Then she starts running for her life. To change her appearance, she dyes her hair dark. This turned out to be a boon for Bennett, who took on an exciting new look with the dark hair.

The police send one of their own after her, Ben Blodgett (Ralph Bellamy) and one of their ex-own, the womanizing, slippery Sam Wye (March), now a detective who spends a lot of time coming on to women. He's also romancing his secretary Jean (Ann Sothern). He agrees to search for Kay and manages to get away from from Jean and hop a boat. He gets a line on Kay, and when Jean next appears, she's an assistant to Kay. Then Sam finds out there's a $100,000 award on Kay's head. Small problem - he falls madly in love with Kay.

Fun comedy that slows up in the middle, with good performances by a relaxed March, a very funny Sothern, a lovely Bennett, and Bellamy as an overblown police detective. Not the best, but not bad - except for some of the process shots.

Was there ever a more relaxed, charming rogue than Frederic March? He would have been a perfect James Bond, had the role been available to him in the '30s. As it is, he made do spectacularly with this one: he's Sam Wye, a former SFPD detective, hired to find and bring back the luminous Joan Bennett, who's suspected of murdering Sidney Blackmer... When her car goes into the Bay, she swims ashore and goes on the run... The action roves as the trade winds of the title, straying from the piers of the city by the Bay to Honolulu, Singapore, Tokyo, Hanoi, and Colombo, Ceylon. Ralph Bellamy,side-hick to March, sez: "Colombo? I thought that was in Ohio..." Ann Sothern is glamorous, and Joan Bennett sizzles. This is the movie in which she dyed her hair black -- and then kept it dark for the next 50 years...leaving the blonde Bennett roles to sister Constance. As a glimpse of pre-War Asia, and an insight into the world before terrorism, this is a charming and lovely memory. You'll yearn for the time when cruise attire was more than sweatsuits and sneakers...and all this with dialog by Dorothy Parker!

"Trade Winds" has some enjoyable moments. This Tay Garnett-directed independent feature has the beautiful and talented Joan Bennett as a murderess on the run in the Orient pursued by a skirt-chasing former policeman played by a very miscast Fredric March. The film veers from whodunit, to travelogue, to screwball comedy, to romance, to courtroom drama without much consistency. Because the major emphasis is on comedy and romance, the film needs the versatility of a Fred MacMurray in the lead. Although a fine actor, March is out of his element in a role that requires a lighter touch.

The usually reliable Ralph Bellamy, who excelled as the proverbial light comic "other man" in classics like "His Girl Friday," "The Awful Truth," and "Brother Orchid," ends up as an oafish buffoon of a policeman of the type often played by Edgar or Tom Kennedy. His performance clashes with March's and at times he seems out of an alternative universe. Although Ann Sothern has a very enjoyable drunk scene, she's underutilized, and the usually reliable Thomas Mitchell is given little to do but growl as a police commissioner... wasted in a role than would have usually gone to a William Frawley.

The film's inconsistencies are likely the fault of writer/director Tay Garnett, who had a lengthy but inconsistent career resume' with at least one masterpiece ("The Postman Always Rings Twice") to his credit. He did helm some films with similar elements to "Trade Winds": "One Way Passage" with Powell and Francis, "Seven Sinners" with Dietrich and Wayne, and "China Seas" with Gable and Harlow, but unfortunately Garnett never developed a consistent style, and by the 1950s he was directing TV Western series episodes like "Death Valley Days" and "Bonanza". With a steadier hand like a Howard Hawks at the helm, and more appropriate cast choices "Trade Winds" may have been a minor classic, but now it's just a curiosity. By the way, two interesting sidebars: Dorothy Parker (of Algonquin Round Table fame) was a collaborator on the script and the enigmatic Dorothy Comingore appears briefly here (under the name Linda Winters) several years before her triumph in "Citizen Kane."

Initially, I was excited to see a film with Joan Bennett I hadn't seen. She has always been a favorite for being a good actress, her strong and charming personality and of course her great looks. Ann Southern is another favorite for her great personality and comic flair. Frederic March and Ralph Bellamy are also favorites.

The great cast makes this film an even bigger disappointment. The thin script is stretched with dull filler. This film is basically a home movie of international travel with black and white photography not doing the locales justice.

I don't know what else I can add to get up to the required characters. As I said this is a terrible waste of good actors.

I first saw this movie as a teen eons ago while my parents were busy playing cards at the home of friends, and have loved it ever since. Since my last viewing was over 20 years ago, I would love to have this on DVD to enjoy it again! I love all the characters, and lovely Joan Bennett indeed looked SMASHING as a brunette, which she kept for the rest of her long career. Very appealing was the insouciance of Fredric March's character, the smart humor of bubbly Ann Sothern's part, and the determined dorkiness of Ralph Bellamy's eager beaver character plus an interesting and engaging story.

Let's get this released, people that have the say-so!

It was not really funny. It was not really a mystery because we saw the shooting and heard the cop's description of the murder and that was not what we had witnessed and so we knew what would eventually happen somewhere down the pike.

When the "mystery" was cleared up we had never met the perpetrator before OR that person had been too insignificant to notice. And the finale seemed rushed and pointless.

As for the talent being wasted ... Ann Sothern TRIED but her dialogue was forced. Ralph Bellamy is too smart to play stupid convincingly, Joan Bennett and Frederic March seemed unconvincing as a romancing pair.

The rear projection was pitiful ...even for being the first feature to use it extensively. Lame and distracting.

Skip this one !

Blind with rage and grief at her sister's suicide, Joan Bennett goes to the apartment of the man she believes responsible: Sidney Blackmer, her sister's married lover. Joan confronts him and after he shows no remorse, Joan shoots him and flees the scene. Wanted for murder, she changes her hair color from her normal blonde to a deep, rich brunette - a look that stayed with her the rest of her career. Personally, I prefer her as a blonde, but with her widow's peak, arched eyebrows, and spunky smile, she does look very much like Vivien Leigh. Then, she flees the country and sets the police on a chase around the world.

Thomas Mitchell is the head of the police force, and he knows there's only one man who can find the murderess: Fredric March. Freddie is a private detective who always gets his man - or woman! There are a lot of touch-and-go scenes where he almost catches up to her, and his clever mind entertains audiences to no end. It's very fun to see the playful, prankster side of Fredric March, since biographers will tell you that's how he acted in real life. He thinks on his feet, leads his colleagues down wild goose chases, and acts his way out of numerous pickles.

Of course, when he finally does catch up with Joan, there's a wrench thrown in: they fall in love. Is he pretending to woo her, just so he can arrest her? Does he even know it's her? Does she know that he knows, and is she playing him so she can get away? It's a sweet romance with a lot of humor on Freddie's side thrown in, but the fly in the ointment is Ann Sothern. She plays Freddie's ditzy secretary, and her amateur delivery combined with her enormous ego ruined any chance of a decent performance. She's paired up with Ralph Bellamy, who plays another detective: bespectacled, far too serious, and too busy looking far ahead that he can't see what's at the end of his nose. When first laying eyes on Ann, Freddie plays a joke by saying, "Dr. Livingstone, I presume?" Ralph doesn't get the humor, and he calls her Dr. Livingstone throughout the rest of the movie. If you don't mind the secondary pair, though, and you want a glimpse at the real Fredric March, check out Trade Winds.

If you hate process shots, you may not want to see "Trade Winds" which uses more of them than perhaps any other dramatic film of its time, as it follows a young murderess (Joan Bennett) from Honolulu to Tokyo to Shanghai to Indochina to Ceylon to India as she flees the law. But if you love Joan, her loveliness of form, face and manner compensate for a great deal. And you get to see her as both a blonde and a brunette. Although she is billed in huge letters above Fredric March and Ralph Bellamy, I'd say March, as a womanizing detective who pursues her, has more screen time in one of his lesser roles. He's not bad, just not exciting. Ralph Bellamy is saddled with an overwritten comical supporting role as an eager-beaver detective, and tries very hard to make his repetitious and predictable actions funny. Ann Sothern handles her wisecracks as snappily as ever as March's secretary, and has some effective drunk scenes, but also seems forced. At its heart, this is a deeply romantic story about love conquering all but it also has elements of screwball comedy (the supporting players), suspense (the crime, the chase, the climax), travelogue (endless process shots of the Orient as backdrops for less-than-thrilling dramatic scenes with the principals). Despite some snappy moments (particularly in the first third), ever-shifting locations, a generally brisk pace and a powerhouse writing trio which includes Dorothy Parker, the story loses its grip.

March is a playboy detective on the trial of a notorious femme fatal played femme and fatal by Joan Bennett. From the annoying persistent music to the irritating character played by March there's really not much to like here. Exotic locales are unevenly matched with not so convincing sets. But worst of all is Ralph Bellamy playing March's idiot "assistant" emphasis on ass. Did Bellamy really talk like that in all his movies? His voice sounds like a tin can full of gravel that has been submerged in slow drying cement. Would have rated it a 4 except for a very sexy Ann Southern as March's would be detective secretary and the now stunning brunettel femme fatale Joan Bennet.

I guess by the negative reviews here, movie viewers have not gotten any smarter in the 75 years since this film was released. Few people can appreciate and enjoy the brilliant sophistication of this film.

First it is important to understand that censorship by the Hayes Office was at its worst in 1938. It wasn't strictly enforced before 1936 and relaxed a little bit during World World II. By the early 1950's European cinema was cracking open the Hollywood censorship open bit by bit. In 1937-38, it was perhaps at its strictest. The fact that Dorothy Parker and Tay Garnet was able to push such a sensuous and passionate movie past the Hayes Code censors is a tribute to their brilliance. Tay Garnet later directed the equally sensuous and passionate "The Postman Always Rings Twice" in 1946.

Think of the lead characters - the heroine is a murderer (even if she has her reasons) and the hero is a hard drinking, mercenary womanizer. The Hayes Code strictly forbade glamorizing such people and allowing them to go unpunished for their behavior. Yet Garnet, Parker and Alan Campbell are able to come up with characters and a plot that tie the Hayes code in knots. They are totally charming rogues.

Joan Bennett and Fredric March are amazing in the leads -- witty, charming and sophisticated. Their sidekicks, Ann Southern and Ralph Bellamy are hilarious. The plot twists are still novel and unexpected after all these years.

As for the bad process photography that reviewers are complaining about, please understand that this is a comedy. The process photography was poorly done on purpose. The film was sarcastically commenting on the overuse of process shots in Hollywood by throwing in dozens of obviously fake process shots of Japan, China, Indochina, Singapore and more. The process shots are hilarious. Complaining about the process shots is like complaining that the sets and special effects in Austin Powers don't look as believable as the ones in James Bond.

After watching this one, I'm ready to go out and party and drink a toast to Dorothy, Alan, Tay, Joan, Fredric, Ann and Ralph. Of all the screwball comedies of the 1930's, this is one of the most sophisticated and funniest. Don't miss it.

In a fit of rage Kay Kerrigan ( Joan Bennett ) blows away her surly boyfriend and takes it on the lam to the Far East. The police commissioner sends a numbers rube, Ben Blodgett (Ralph Bellamy ) and a Lothario Sam Wye, (Fredric March) to retrieve her but she remains a step ahead puddle jumping to Singapore, New Zealand and Ceylon. While Blodget keeps his nose to the ground Wye chases women, one of which turns out to be Kerrigan. Unaware it is her at first he falls in love with Kay. When his secretary (Ann Sothern) arrives on the scene and tells him the reward for her capture and return is a hundred Gs Sam is faced with a tough choice.

There is little to no spark in Trade Winds. After a rousing opening the film's rhythm slows and the principles with the exception of a feisty performance from Sothern remain uninspired. Even with Dorothy Parker writing her lines Bennett shows little edge and desperation of someone on the run. March is just as boring, his scenes with Bennet never getting above tepid. Ralph Bellamy is an absolute buffoon playing a provincial prude with an over the top turn that would get him yanked off the stage of community theater.

What is most galling about Trade Winds though is some of the worst back projection in film history. Poorly matched and with a totally different texture, director Tay Garnet sloppily slaps it on with contemptuous abandon. Trade Winds blows.

Detective (March) goes on globe-hopping quest to return suspected murderess (Bennett) to authorities. He's aided by two bumblers (Sothern & Bellamy), at the same time he falls for his attractive quarry.

Not quite a sophisticated comedy, not quite a picaresque chase, not quite a murder mystery- - all add up to a not very good movie. Hard to believe this is from glossy MGM since the production values are nearly incompetent. In fact, I've seen better process shots from a Lash LaRue oater, and since these make up half the movie, you've got to wonder where quality control was.

I'm assuming acerbic wit Dorothy Parker and husband Alan Campbell were hired to furnish sophisticated banter for the two couples. If so, I must have missed it. What I did hear were subtle grammar gaffes from Sothern (e.g. 'whom for 'who') and clever malaprops (e.g. 'deduct' for 'deduce') from Bellamy, intended, I guess, to show their humorous pretensions, but hardly crowd-pleasers.

Also, it looks like Bellamy's buffoonish cop amounts to a typical example of 30's cops when Hollywood treated them as low-comedy relief. And whose idea was it to tack on the last 10-minutes of whodunit that sort of sticks out like a glued on appendage.

Where the movie does work is with the lovely Bennett and the comedically gifted Sothern. Still, it's a bit puzzling why the movie didn't turn out better given the talent involved, including ace producer Walter Wanger. Maybe it has to do with as many as four writers and who knows how many re-writes or with director Garnett's inability to forge a unifying style. But, whatever the reason, the film remains a somewhat unlikely disappointment.

Here we have a detective, ripe for a #MeToo, and may be the Bosses are ready to overlook this delinquency (probably it wasn't one that time, or even James Bond times) but they have (rightly so) some doubt on his falling prey to charms, and hence they put an official shadow, to stick to him like a leech, only that shadow is probably one of the most dumb and incompetent person (Bellamy as Blodget) imaginable, his nemesis detective Elliot (as Faulkiner) of course was a match (almost). The Movie is totally without any plot, whatever is there, is made ludicrous by the holes that crop out at every other moment. First of all, any detective, the moment they got to scene of crime, would have thought of the location of the killing shot (base of skull) - vs the front where the blank shot has sprayed the powder and started thinking. The agency which could trace her from a ring sold at remote place (when she was supposed to be dead, and hence the jewelries weren't under watch), didn't try to trace the originator of the gloves, which probably (without DNA), they could have not only found from the stores but also from the size (at least that it wasn't her). The following her around the world was not only too chancy but also the political aspects weren't taken care of, none were "American" territories, that they could simply land over and arrest people (in fact a few weren't even common-wealth). JB has the licence to kill (but not arrest). Tracing her through the Piano tune itself is a bit too much. As was the conviction within a few days of arrest (House-warming party was "Tomorrow Night"), within that the trial not only started, but was over too. Don't they get some chance for the defense lawyer (let's forget the Prosecutors) to prepare their case? What about selection of Jury etc. Of course even the unprepared case, the Electric Chair wasn't secured (Jury 9:3 won't get a chair, only life). These are only a few of the holes, that left an after taste, even after rushing through the bits. I wonder why didn't she try to reach her father (in Egypt) ? There is no mention of his being Late. But she quite studiously avoided the whole zone. A bit of chance is OK, since it makes a story, but too much of chance is just a spoiler. Despite the set of actors, whom I quite like, Bennet, Sothern, and March too isn't too bad, though here I would say, Bellamy was better (even though too bungling to be a detective) but they can't really keep water retain in a sieve, can they ? If they wanted to prove the way the SFPD - Detectives work, well, I don't know, and can't really comment.

In a time when the world was young and we were happy immortals and the good guys/bad guys demarcation was clearly drawn , there was an unearthly charm to the world. The portrayals by Joan Bennett, Frederick March, Joan Blondell and Ralph Bellamy charm and beguile the soul. The music of Chopin adds a touch of class and elegance.

This movie was fun to watch only to see Fredric March and Joan Bennett several years before they made "The Best Years of Our Lives" (March) and Joan Bennett (Woman in the Window, Scarlett Street, and later on television "Dark Shadows"). Ralph Bellamy's character was too clownish and became annoying. For movie buffs this would be a good addition to a Joan Bennett or Fredric March collection, or as a good addition to 'movies by actors before they really hit the big time'. And of course Sidney Blackmer before he appeared in "Rosemary's Baby" and "How To Murder Your Wife". At 94 minutes it seemed overlong.

It's on DVD from Classic Flix. It could benefit from a digital remastering but Classic Flix provides "affordable no-frills editions"