Outward Bound

by Sutton Vane

1924. Vane's play, set in the lounge of a small ocean liner, casts a collection of people on a fateful journey across the Styx with an ordinary boat steward as their Charon. At first they do not realize they are dead, but when they are finally convinced that this is no ordinary journey, they decide to combine forces for the purpose of meeting the Examiner, who is to come aboard at the end of the journey. When the Examiner sorts out the sheep from the goats, there are surprises in store for the passengers. Two of them, a young couple, are not called: they are half-ways, two suicides who refuse to face life. Now, with this momentous choice before them, they finally decide to return to the world, which they may face with greater courage.

Genres: Plays

74 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1952

Reviews

[Classic reverie · Rating 5 out of 5]

When reading Bobby Underwood's story "Atelier", I came across a play he mentioned, "Outward Bound". Highlights below-

"Still looking at me, she laughed and said, “Yesterday I caught him in the back reading an old play called Outward Bound, and crying.”

"Recalling an old movie version of the play, starring lovely Helen Chandler, I chipped in, “Isn’t Outward Bound that old Sutton Vane story from the 1920s about people who find themselves on a ship bound for nowhere, before they realize some of them are dead?”

1944 movie trailer link

https://youtu.be/_oZCdCkm1f8


I knew this all sounded familiar but decided to read the play first, which after I see it was made into a 1944 film called, "Between Two Worlds", which I remembered and compared below in the spoiler section. Both play and movie are pretty close but there are a fair amount of changes, yet the message is the same.

The story in short - A ship is sailing but it seems there are a lot of strange circumstance.

I loved this play and it was interesting trying to see the differences.

From Wikipedia about the play and movie.

"Producers stayed away from such an unusual combination of fantasy and drama, so Vane staged it himself, painting his own backdrops and building his own sets, at a reported cost of $600. The play proved to be a huge success, becoming the hit of the 1923 London season, transferring from the small Everyman Cinema in Hampstead to the West End."

"Between Two Worlds is a 1944 American World War II fantasy drama film starring John Garfield, Paul Henreid, Sydney Greenstreet, and Eleanor Parker. It is a remake of the film Outward Bound (1930), itself based on the 1924 play Outward Bound. It is not, as is sometimes claimed, a remake of Fritz Lang's Destiny (original title Der müde Tod. "

"John Garfield as Tom Prior
Paul Henreid as Henry Bergner
Sydney Greenstreet as Reverend Tim Thompson
Eleanor Parker as Ann Bergner
Edmund Gwenn as Scrubby
George Tobias as Pete Musick
George Coulouris as Mr. Lingley
Faye Emerson as Miss Maxine Russell
Sara Allgood as Mrs. Midget
Dennis King as Reverend William Duke
Isobel Elsom as Genevieve Cliveden-Banks
Gilbert Emery as Benjamin Cliveden-Banks"


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I had seen the 1944 movie years ago and remember a fair amount of it but I wanted to look up the movie version, "Between Two Worlds" to compare the play which while reading I noticed the characters were less than the film. I posted a great comparison from Wikipedia but I will comment more below those hightlights.


From Wikipedia below-

"Neither the original play, Outward Bound, nor its 1930 film version have a war setting. There are fewer characters in the play and the earlier film, and no one is killed by a bomb, but the plot is essentially the same, as is much of the dialogue. However, because there is no bomb explosion, neither the audience nor the ship passengers are aware that the passengers are dead until well into the play, not even Henry and Ann. The play and earlier film also share a number of other differences from Between Two Worlds, one of them being that Henry and Ann are lovers and Ann cannot obtain a divorce from her husband. When they board the ship, the audience is led to believe that they are running away to be together, and it is not until the end that it is revealed that they tried to commit suicide. The Hays Code, which was not in effect in 1930, when Outward Bound was filmed, prevented Ann and Henry from being depicted as illicit lovers, and instead demanded that they be turned into husband and wife. However, the suicide aspect of the story went unchanged from the original. "

"Paul Henreid wrote in his memoirs that he felt the film was hurt by revealing the characters were dead at the beginning, which "took away from the eerie quality of the play."[2] He says director Blatt was "a pleasant fellow but inexperienced."

As stated above a bomb brought the dead people together except Ann and Henry which were attempted suicides. In the play it is not clear until Tom Prior hears Ann & Henry talking about gas and also other things add up that they are dead. The play has Ann and Henry as lovers living together because Henry was tricked into marriage by his wife. In the movie the couple is married but Henry decides on suicide and Ann comes home and is dying too but she will go to Heaven and Henry to travel the ship forever without her. In the play their dog is outside the window and he seems to have broken or with Henry's help which gives the lovers another chance at life.

I will only comment on characters in both play and movie, the extras for Hollywood's effect I will not mention. Mrs. Cliveden-Banks in the movie are killed together whereas in the play, her husband died years ago. In the play her husband in the after life has forgotten about his wife's behavior which is not favorable and she is to be a good wife to him, others know her failings but he does not. In the movie the husband decides not to join his wife because of her treatment of him during life and she will live rich but all alone.

When the suicide couple returns in the movie after a bomb blast gives fresh air to revive them but while on the ship Scrubby the only crew member tries to get the examiner to help them. In the play, the examiner can not help them and Scrubby does not encourage but discourages them from trying.

I was happy the couple lived and that Tom Prior's mother unknown to him was able to live and take care of her son.

[Mark Marcus · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a beautifully written love story for anyone who fears the hereafter.

I recommend this story for any and all readers over the age of 12.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A play about strangers on a strange voyage-- a somewhat hackneyed theme now but probably not when this was written, and handled pretty deftly by the author.

[Kristy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting look at the hereafter. Really tugs at your heartstrings, too.

[Jeanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

De mortuis nil nisi bonum dicendum est
is a Latin phrase meaning "Of the dead, nothing but good is to be said,"
or more simply, "Speak no ill of the dead".
This old play reminds me of a Twilight Zone episode from the 1960s where the passengers find out they are on the Lusitania.
This is an old-style piece, and rather repetitive, but there are some character tropes that are really quite amusing.

[Ian · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this as the origin story to the movie "Haunts of the Very Rich" (1971). I can see where the movie came from. The play is subtle and powerful. I can see how it was shocking in the post-ww1 years. It holds up well after a century. I hope that in another century it is still read.

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

Creepy story of a ghost ship transporting unaware souls to Heaven or Hell.

[Radwa]

Between Two Worlds (1944)

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0036641/...