Rulers of the Sea (1939)

It's the dawning of the steamship age, and Will Fyffe has plans to make a ship that cross the Atlantic Ocean, faster than any sailing vessel. Uppity seaman Douglas Fairbanks Jr. is enchanted by the idea, and by Fyffe's daughter, who disapproves of the whole nonsense.

I sometimes wonder if Frank Lloyd enjoyed making all these spectacle movies; he had been a specialist in them since the 1918 version of A TALE OF TWO CITIES; he's best remembered for the first version of MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY. Did he ever yearn to make a small, intimate picture? He could handle dialogue very well. Well, such is the lot of the Hollywood genius. With a cast that includes Alan Ladd in his first credited role, he turns in a solid production.

Lloyd had begun in the movies as an actor in 1913. He directed the first of his 135 shorts and features the following year, and the last 40 years later. He died in 1960, aged 74.