The Tunnel

A strong bid for an alliance between Great Britain and the United States to maintain peace is contained in this film of gigantic engineering feats of the future. Richard Dix, American engineer, persuades the international money powers to finance his scheme to build a tunnel under the Atlantic. The huge enterprise monopolizes his time to the exclusion of his wife, Madge Evans, and his son. Leslie Banks does a sympathetic portrayal as Dix's loyal friend hopelessly in love with Miss Evans. When his prolonged absences drive Miss Evans to desperation, Banks advises her to work. She becomes a nurse in the tunnel and is stricken with a baffling tunnel sickness which blinds her and causes her to disappear rather than to appeal to Dix's sympathy. The film boils to a great tension as the huge bore, nearing completion, runs into a submarine volcanic region and an armament maker manipulates the stock to get control away from the peace advocates. Scenes in the tunnel are realistic and most impressive as swarms of gas-masked men operate strange machines of the future and speak on television phones and battle giant explosions. Helen Vinson does a more sympathetic part than usual as the other woman. C. Aubrey Smith is telling as a crusty peace advocate. George Arliss plays the prime minister of Great Britain and Walter Huston appears as the President of the United States. Kurt Siodmak did the screen story from a novel by B. Kellerman, with dialogue by L. DeGarde Peach and Clemence Dane. Maurice Elvey directed for steadily building interest. Human conflict as well as the battle with machines are the exploitation angles on this unusual offering.