(1933)
2
Bruce Eder
Back in the 1950s and 1960s, Karl Hartl's F. P. 1 (1933) one of the more often-cited science fiction films of its era -- mostly because there weren't too many science fiction films made in that decade, and even fewer done as major productions from major studios. And the movie does have a neat piece of period fantasy at the core of its plot -- the notion of building a gigantic landing platform for aircraft in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. And the fact that such a notion is more realistic than the interplanetary travels of Flash Gordon or Buck Rogers only added to the allure of the movie, as an example of the genre. But today the whole picture is actually a bit of an artifact, and in ways that don't just involve its plot -- F. P. 1 is a relic of the days when big productions such as this were occasionally kitted out with casts speaking different languages, and filmed in versions aimed at different countries. Working at UFA's Berlin studios (with an immense set for the platform built in the Baltic), Hartl filmed three version of F. P. 1, with Hans Albers starring in the German version (F.P.1 antwortet nicht), Charles Boyer in the French (I.F.1 ne répond plus), and Conrad Veidt leading the British cast (though for the US release, Fox billed American actor Leslie Fenton first). The German version ran more than 10 minutes longer, with a lot of more material devoted to the whys-and-wherefores of how F. P. 1 works, and its internal engineering, and English-language version does seem a bit rushed in some of its scenes. But neither the German nor British versions are ideal -- both creak at the edges, as would be expected with an 80-year-old speculative drama (nothing is as old as yesterday's future). But its period allure now makes up for some of these shortcomings -- and the presence of Conrad Veidt, even if it isn't his best role by a longshot, automatically makes the movie worth seeing. And in the British version, the presence of familiar faces such as Francis L. Sullivan, Donald Calthrop, and George Merritt in the cast don't diminish the picture's appeal, at least as a fascinating relic. But science fiction fans need to be forewarned that the genre wasn't defined the same way in the 1930s that it was in postwar period -- especially in Europe, it was oriented toward a more mainstream audience, and the science fiction element intermixed with other elements, so that F. P. 1 is just as much an espionage tale and a romantic drama/thriller as it is a science fiction story, and perhaps even more those other elements. Veidt even talks his way through a song ("Where The Lighthouse Shines Across The Bay") at one point, in a nightclub scene that is essential to the plot. If one takes this movie as a history lesson as much as an entertainment, it can work for modern viewers, and may even be more interesting in that spirit than it was as a current release in its own time.
F.P.1 on AllMovie
F.P.1 (1933)
