The trip of the damned

Voyage of the Damned , known in Spanish for the titles of The Journey of the Damned (in Spain and Argentina) and The Journey of the Damned (in Mexico and Colombia), is a British feature film released on December 22, 1976. In Mexico Was premiered on October 6, 1977. It tells a story based on real events, the journey undertaken by a transatlantic with a passage of German Jews from the port of Hamburg to the port of Havana , Cuba , all as a covert propaganda maneuver And espionage of the German National Socialist Party ( NSDAP ).

Argument

Germany , 1939 . The Saint Louis, a luxury liner , departs from the port of Hamburg with 937 German Jews on board. Some are victims of the first Nazi concentration camps, others are prestige professionals recently expelled from their positions. Strangely, the Nazi government has allowed him to leave the country. The ship arrives in Havana , where some of the passengers try to reunite with their relatives in Cuba . However, the Cuban authorities do not allow their disembarkation, since they are not authorized to do so, forcing them to return to Germany while the rest of the world looks the other way. The Nazi Germany intended at one time to carry out a propaganda maneuver and pass information to its spy network in Cuba. Some arrangements allow the departure of only three passengers, two children and one adult. The rest will apparently return to Germany, to the despair of the passengers, some of whom opt for suicide . The captain ( Max von Sydow ), a man opposed to Nazism , will try to find a solution, first directing the ship to the American waters, from where they will be rejected by the Coast Guard. The last option is a risky maneuver the ship to run aground on the English coast … ³⁴⁵

Production data

Based on the eponymous novel by Max Gordon-Witts and Gordon Thomas, which portrays a case of international responsibility during the early stages of the Nazi holocaust . It was performed by Stuart Rosenberg and featured a wide and luxurious cast including Faye Dunaway , Oskar Werner , Max von Sydow , Lee Grant , Malcolm McDowell , Maria Schell , Ben Gazzara , Jose Ferrer , Orson Welles , James Mason and Fernando Rey . In the case of Werner, the trip of the damned was the last interpretation for the cinema of the Austrian actor.

The scenes set in Cuba were filmed in Spain, specifically in Barcelona . Spanish actor Fernando Rey, who has appeared in other productions in English at the same time, plays the Cuban president. The rest of the scenarios chosen were St. Pancras Chambers, St. Pancras Station, (St. Pancras, London, England, United Kingdom); And EMI Elstree Studios, in Borehamwood, ( Hertfordshire , England, UK), for studio interiors. ⁶

Cast

Faye Dunaway … Denise Kreisler
Oskar Werner … Professor Egon Kreisler
Lee Grant … Lili Rosen
Sam Wanamaker … Carl Rosen
Lynne Frederick … Anna Rosen
Max von Sydow … Captain Schroeder
Malcolm McDowell … Max Gunter
Helmut Griem … Otto Schiendick
Julie Harris … Alice Fienchild
Nehemiah Persoff … Mr. Hauser
Maria Schell … Mrs. Hauser
Paul Koslo … Aaron Pozner
Jonathan Pryce … Joseph Manasse
Luther Adler … Professor Weiler
Wendy Hiller … Rebecca Weiler
David de Keyser … Joseph Joseph
Victor Spinetti … Dr. Erich Strauss
Della McDermott … Julia Strauss
Genevieve West … Sarah Strauss
Janet Suzman … Leni Strauss
Brian Gilbert … Laurenz Schulman
Georgina Hale … Lotte Schulman
Adele Strong … Mrs. Schulman
Keith Barron … Purser Mueller
Anthony Higgins … Sailor Heinz Berg
Orson Welles ..José Estedes
James Mason … Dr. Juan Remos
Katharine Ross … Mira Hauser
Michael Constantine … Luis Clasing
José Ferrer … Manuel Benitez
Ben Gazzara … Morris Troper
Fernando Rey … President Bru
Bernard Hepton … Milton Goldsmith
Günter Meisner … Robert Hoffman, Der Stürmer’s Correspondent in Cuba (as Guenter Meisner)
Milo Sperber … Rabbi
Ian Cullen … Steinman, radio broadcasting officer
Donald Houston … Dr. Glauner
David Daker … First Officer
Constantine Gregory … Navigation Officer (as Constantin de Goguel)
Don Henderson … Official Engineer
Ina Skriver … Singer
Marika Rivera … Madame of the Cuban brothel
Frederick Jaeger … Werner Mannheim
Denholm Elliott … Admiral Wilhelm Canaris
Leonard Rossiter … Commander Von Bonin
Philip Stone … Secretary
Luis Ciges … Secretary of the President Bru (uncredited)
Carl Duering … German Ambassador in Cuba (uncredited)
Harry Fielder … Refugee on the boat (uncredited)
Laura Gemser … Companie de Estedes (uncredited)
Robin Halstead … SS Photographer (uncredited)
Bernard Kaye … Port Practitioner (uncredited)
Antonio Lara … Journalist (uncredited)
Tom Laughlin … Officer Ingeniero (uncredited)
Gary McDermott … Koster - Helmsman (uncredited)
Vikki Richards (uncredited)

Awards

Oscar Awards of the Hollywood Academy 1976 (1)

Category	Nominated	Result
Oscar for best supporting actress	Lee Grant	Nomination
Oscar to the best script adapted	David Butler and Steve Shagan	Nomination
Oscar for the best soundtrack	Lalo Schifrin	Nomination

(1) They correspond to the ceremony held in 1977.

Golden Globes

The film received six nominations for the Golden Globe Awards , of which the most outstanding were:

Category	Nominated	Result
Golden Globe for Best Picture	The trip of the damned	Nomination
Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress	Katharine Ross	Winner

Reviews

In IMDb, users gave the film a rating of 6.3 out of 10, as of November 2011.