Port of Seven Seas Reviews

In this adaptation from the French classic FANNY by Marcel Pagnol, O'Sullivan and Beal play young lovers in the port town of Marseilles. When Beal takes to the sea, O'Sullivan discovers that she is pregnant by him. She confides her situation to Morgan, lifelong friend to Beal's father Beery and adoring admirer of O'Sullivan. Despite their differences in age and the fact that she does not love him, Morgan and O'Sullivan marry. Beal returns, still very much in love with O'Sullivan, but takes off for the sea again in order to allow the child a stable life. Pagnol had filmed his own play (see FANNY, 1948, Fr.) in 1932; when MGM bought the rights to it, Pagnol's vastly superior production was held up in release for 16 years. The rights had initially been acquired by Carl Laemmle, Jr., for Universal Studios. Laemmle assembled the working team of producer Henigson, with William Wyler to direct, and writer--later director--Sturges to do the screenplay. Newcomer Jane Wyatt was slated to play the role of Fanny (here changed to Madelon). That same year, 1934, the Catholic Legion of Decency had begun a major campaign to rid the movies of immorality. Universal was shaky financially; its mavens felt that they could ill afford to challenge the powerful Legion with a tale of pregnancy out of wedlock, however successfully resolved. Laemmle was forced out of Universal, but he took the rights to the film with him, and producer Henigson joined him. They made a deal with MGM. Ernest Vajda (uncredited) wrote the first version of the screenplay, but Henigson got Sturges to do the final rewrite as a personal favor. Sturges was bored by the project by this time; he trimmed the tale to a series of confrontations between the blustering Beery and Morgan. The film finally appeared four years after its initial planning; it was not a success.