Synopsis
Doctor Tony Craig (Chester Morris) pursues an old flame, nurse Ann Grayson (Wendy Barrie), aboard the SS Arcturus, bound from Shanghai to San Francisco. Challenging Craig's courtship is Crusher McKay (Victor McLaglen), the ship's chief engineer. The rivalry comes to a sudden halt when it's revealed a Chinese stowaway has unknowingly brought along a passenger -- cholera. As the disease ravages its way from below deck towards the passenger berths, Crusher must maintain control over a terrified, mutinous crew while Craig and Grayson frantically try to keep the disease in check. Initially conceived as the bottom half of a bill, Pacific Liner quickly sailed to topliner status thanks to its A-list cast (including Alan Hale and Barry Fitzgerald), Lew Landers' lean direction, an impressive deco set from Van Nest Polglase, cinematography from the great Nicholas Musuraca and a soaring score from Robert Russell Bennett.