How a 1935 Hollywood blockbuster survived four years of chaotic script development and tantrums
In short: The 1935 adventure China Seas became a massive financial success, yet its path to the screen was defined by a grueling four-year production cycle. Between rampant plagiarism in early drafts, star Clark Gable’s volatile on-set behavior, and a revolving door of writers, the film remains a fascinating study in studio-era excess.
Produced by MGM, China Seas was an ambitious undertaking that began in 1930. Irving Thalberg oversaw a notoriously difficult development process, cycling through two dozen writers, six directors, and three supervisors to adapt Crosbie Garstin’s novel. The script’s integrity was so compromised that writers John Lee Mahin and James Kevin McGuinness were brought in to excise blatant plagiarism, discovering that original screenwriter Jules Furthman had lifted entire speeches from authors like Mark Twain and Somerset Maugham.
The production was equally fraught on the soundstage. Clark Gable, fresh off an Academy Award win for It Happened One Night, frequently engaged in temper tantrums. Studio chief Louis B. Mayer tolerated this defiance to protect his star, even allowing Gable to perform dangerous stunts, such as manually securing a runaway steamroller on a ship set. The resulting film, a melodrama featuring Gable, Jean Harlow, and Wallace Beery, followed a formulaic adventure structure, echoing the plot of the 1932 film Red Dust.
Despite the internal chaos, the film resonated with audiences. It grossed over 2.8 million dollars globally, generating a profit of 653,000 dollars. Critics like Leonard Maltin and Pauline Kael later noted the film’s ludicrous plot, yet acknowledged its undeniable charm and the strength of its ensemble cast. The story, centered on a steamer captain navigating pirate threats and romantic entanglements between a socialite and a brassy entertainer, solidified the popular pairing of Gable and Harlow, who would go on to star in six films together before Harlow’s death.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: China Seas (film)
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