Devil and the Deep*
Devil and the Deep
Directed by Marion Gering. 78 mins. (1932)
Gary Cooper – Lt. Semper
The jealous commander of a mysterious naval vessel drives his neglected wife into the arms of a younger officer, setting in motion a dangerous chain of betrayal and revenge at sea.
Also starring Tallulah Bankhead, Charles Laughton, Cary Grant, and Paul Porcasi.
Although the story centers on a naval command, the service to which the characters belong is never identified. No national insignia or flags appear, and the hybrid uniforms worn by Charles Laughton, Cary Grant, and Gary Cooper do not correspond to any known navy.
MARIA’S NOTES
Before taking on a role, my father always liked to read and learn as much as possible about the life conditions and the background of the characters he portrayed. For The Devil and The Deep he did a lot of research on submarines, their technology of the day —1932— and the experience of living under the pressures imposed by life in a sub, and all of that woven into a passionate love triangle. Tallulah Bankhead and the great actor Charles Laughton provided that conflict.Tallulah noticed when making the film, my father spent a lot of time talking with a naval officer who the studio had hired to provide a ‘reality check” for all concerned “What's that got to do with acting?” she asked Gary. “The point is, Poppa replied, “ if I know what I’m doing I don’t have to act”. I think one of the unique things about Gary Cooper is that he embodied a very balanced blend of the masculine and feminine—which we all have in us in varying degrees. The portrayal of his character in this film is that of a man with a beautiful and elegant persona yet ultimately strong and commanding and able to become the “hero” at the end of it all.Charles Laughton admired my father’s acting talents, and is quoted as saying, “Gary had something I should never have. It is something pure and he doesn’t know it’s there. In truth, that boy doesn’t have the least idea of how well he acts…He gets at it from the inside, from his own pure way of looking at life.”
Maria Cooper Janis