Men Without Women (1930) is an American drama film directed and written by John Ford,
from the script by James Kevin McGuinness.
The film also starred Kenneth MacKenna, Frank Albertson, and J. Farrell MacDonald.
The sound version is now lost.
Only a print of the "International Sound Version," held by the Museum of Modern Art, survives.[1]
By 1929, Duke had given up the idea
of returning to USC.
His attachment to John Ford, forever deepening.
There was little he would do for Ford, even risking his life!!
During hazardous diving conditions in one of the submarine scenes,
the four hired professional divers refused to dive.
Duke's job as a helper, was handling the air compressor.
Duke knew what was happening, and as the scene
got underway.
Ford said
QuoteJesus, What the Hell
and called out
QuoteDuke
and his assistant said
QuoteYessir!
Ford said
QuoteHit the god-damned water
He did the the stunt work for all all four rescues,
no questions asked, his only regret
is that he never got paid for the work
Duke said afterwards
QuoteI had to hang on to a heavy weight
which dragged me below sea level
then come up on to camera range
Ford rewarded Duke with a small role.
with a few lines, and even a close up.
Duke said
QuoteI don't think Jack started appreciating me until
Men Without Women..
That was the time I started looking at pictures
with a different view.
I was beginning to enjoy this work
Ford also knew there was something special
about Duke!!
QuoteSure he was callow and untutored..
but he had something, that jumped right off the screen at me.
I guess you could call it star power.
I wanted to keep an eye on him
User Review
QuoteEarly talkie curiosity: uneven but entertaining.
26 November 1999 | by Robert Keser (Chicago, IL)
A sailors-trapped-in-a-sinking-submarine drama: Will they drown? Will the oxygen run out? Will they suffocate from chlorine gas? Will divers get to them in time? And what about that religious fanatic on board? John Ford skillfully ratchets up the tension, but some shaky special effects, unlikely characterizations and broad acting give an uneven effect, compared to later and slicker entertainments like RUN SILENT, RUN DEEP. However, this production has genuine historical value because it shows the difficulties in changing over from silent to sound,: sometimes it's a silent film with sound effects and [tinny] music. Other scenes have dialogue with one character actually speaking while another answers in silent intertitles. Most oddly, sometimes a character starts speaking, then an intertitle shows noticeably different lines, then the character finishes speaking. Not many movies have such a variety of expression.