Ship of Fools (film)

Ship of Fools
Theatrical poster
Directed byStanley Kramer
Screenplay byAbby Mann
Based onKatherine Anne Porter's Ship of Fools
Produced byStanley Kramer
StarringVivien Leigh
Simone Signoret
Jose Ferrer
Lee Marvin
Oskar Werner
Elizabeth Ashley
George Segal
Jose Greco
Michael Dunn
Charles Korvin
Heinz Ruehmann
Lilia Skala
CinematographyErnest Laszlo, A.S.C.
Edited byRobert C. Jones
Music byErnest Gold
Color processBlack and white
Technicolor
Production
company
Stanley Kramer Productions
Distributed byColumbia Pictures Corporation
Release date
  • July 29, 1965 (1965-07-29)
Running time
150 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguagesEnglish
German
Spanish
Box office$3,500,000 (rentals) Anticipated rentals accruing distributors in North America[1]

Ship of Fools is a 1965 American drama film directed by Stanley Kramer, set on board an ocean liner bound for Germany from Mexico in 1933. It stars a prominent ensemble cast of 11 stars — Vivien Leigh (in her final film role), Simone Signoret, Jose Ferrer, Lee Marvin, Oskar Werner, Elizabeth Ashley, George Segal, Jose Greco, Michael Dunn, Charles Korvin and Heinz Ruehmann.

Ship of Fools, which was based on Katherine Anne Porter's 1962 novel of the same name, was highly regarded, with reviewers praising the cast's performance but also noting, at 150 minutes, the movie's overlong (for 1965) runtime. The film was nominated for eight Academy Awards in 1966, including for Best Picture, Best Actor for Oskar Werner, Best Actress for Simone Signoret, and Best Supporting Actor for Michael Dunn. It won for Best Art Direction, Black-and-White and Best Cinematography, Black-and-White.

Ship of Fools was the only English-language film in the nearly 70-year acting career of German film actor Heinz Rühmann, one of the most famous German actors of the 20th century.

  1. ^ "Top Grossers of 1965". Variety, January 5, 1966, p. 36.