Outward Bound (film)

Plot

Henry and Ann (Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Helen Chandler), a pair of young lovers, are planning to commit suicide and are worried about what will happen to their dog when they are gone. The scene then changes to a disparate group of passengers who find themselves aboard a darkened, fog-enshrouded crewless boat, sailing to an unknown destination.

Their stories are revealed one by one. Tom Prior (Leslie Howard), a prodigal son, discovers that he's traveling with his ex-boss, Mr. Lingley (Montagu Love), a captain of industry; Tom's mother, Mrs. Midget (Beryl Mercer), whose identity is unknown to him, is curious about how her son is doing; Mrs. Cliveden-Banks (Alison Skipworth), an affected socialite, chats with Scrubby the steward (Alec B. Francis); Rev. William Duke (Lyonel Watts), a clergyman, is keen about his missionary work in the London slums; and the young couple, Henry and Ann, who are facing an impossible love affair and have decided that they cannot live without each other. They now wonder if they will be together forever.

In time, the passengers slowly realize what is going on—they are all dead. They will be judged during the course of the voyage and go either to Heaven or to Hell. Arriving at their destination, they await judgment by Thompson, the "examiner."

Henry and Ann, who made an unsuccessful suicide attempt and now hover in a sort of limbo between life and death, have not quite crossed over. Scrubby, the ship's steward, has already been condemned to sail the ship for eternity, having previously committed suicide himself. Henry is eventually saved from asphyxiation by gas poisoning when his dog breaks a window pane. He calls to Ann, she revives, and together they are rescued by neighbors and taken away in an ambulance.

Cast

Production

Leslie Howard played the role of Henry in the stage production of Outward Bound which ran at the Ritz in New York between 7 January and 10 May 1924. Dudley Digges, Beryl Mercer and Lyonel Watts all reprised their roles for the film. Alfred Lunt played Tom Prior and Margalo Gillmore played Ann. In the film, Howard took Lunt's part and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. played the role originally performed by Howard.

"I never saw all of it," said Fairbanks Jr. about the film. "It gave me the creeps. Still does, just thinking about it. It was a prestige picture, never made a cent."

Preservation

The film survives intact and has been broadcast on television and cable from United Artists Associated.