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In 1959, director Andrew Stone and his editor/wife, Virginia, were looking for a ship to portray his "Claridon" in a script he had written: "The Last Voyage", a story of a mans efforts to free his trapped wife on a rapidly sinking ship. He was told that the French Line was scrapping one of their greats, The Ile de France. Stone wasted no time in contacting the Japanese company that bought her. The Japanese company had no problem renting him the ship for his movie, but when the French Line got word that Stone intended to blow up portions of her and actually flood and partially sink her, they made Stone sign a contract stipulating that he would not refer to The French Line at all, no French signs could be displayed, they even insisted that no French-speaking actors could be seen anywhere! The Line stationed a French reporter onboard her during the shoot, and daily reports were made about what was or wasn't being filmed. The Japanese scrap company turned out to be worse than the Line, as they demanded $4,000 a day for the ship, and wanted cash up front everyday for anything extra. All told, the movie has some incredible moments: The initial explosion, the flooding of the dining room( in which Robert Stack was injured by the torrent pouring in through the port holes), the forward smoke stack cracking and falling into the bridge area, and the actual sinking, which was accomplished by flooding just enough of the bow to raise the stern out of the water, exposing the screws. The Japanese scrappers had no problems pumping her dry, and towing her to Tokyo, where she was dismantled. The movie stars Robert Stack, as the frantic husband, Dorothy Malone as his wife, Woody Strode as an engineer who comes to Stacks aide, and the great George Sanders as the ships Captain. |
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