Welcome back! In 2025 we are moving away from focusing solely on Mubi and instead are going to make a review stew of sorts. There will be reviews of classics, new releases, and everything in-between. First up, we have a film from Kanopy’s “B-Film Bonanza” collection for the month of January with…Deluge (1933).
Title: Deluge
Director: Felix E. Feist
Released: August 17, 1933 (United States)
Runtime: 1 hour 10 minutes
Watched via: Kanopy
Meteorologists in New York are stunned by an unprecedented event, a massive superstorm that is engulfing the entire world. They’re at a loss to explain its origins, and worse, they have no solutions for survival. There’s no escaping this storm, no fleeing to higher ground. Humanity has no choice but to face the destruction and hope to endure it.
As the storm crashes into New York City, it unleashes absolute destruction. The skyline crumbles and streets are flooded with ocean surge. When the chaos subsides, Claire (Peggy Shannon), relying on her strong swimming skills, survives and washes ashore where Jepson (Fred Kohler) and Norwood (Ralf Harolde) discover her amidst the wreckage. Their intentions quickly turn sinister as they argue over who “owns” her. Realizing the danger, Claire knows she must escape.
Fortunately, the logic of geography and distance seems to collapse in this post-apocalyptic world, or at least it does in Deluge (1933). Claire manages to swim to another beach that looks remarkably similar but lies just far enough away to leave Jepson and Norwood behind. There, she encounters Martin (Sidney Blackmer), a man who believes his wife and children perished in the storm. Whether that’s true remains uncertain, but Martin, convinced he’s alone, has no qualms about forming a close bond with Claire.
Vowing to survive together, can Claire and Martin endure the challenges of this new, broken world?
Or will its dangers prove too great?
Well, one thing is for certain with Deluge (1933)…if you think you know what you’re in for, you’re wrong.
Touted as one of the first disaster movies, in pre-Code Hollywood no less, it only manages to be what we consider today as a “disaster movie” for about the first 15 minutes or so. However, the use of miniatures to portray the destruction on an entire city, is rather impressive for the time. There are a few instances where they hold on a particular shot too long, but overall, I like to imagine that Roland Emmerich is a big fan of the first quarter of Deluge (1933).
However, once New York is destroyed and Claire washes ashore, thanks to her apparent Aquaman-like swimming abilities, there isn’t much “disaster” to be had. Rather, things shift to a sort of social drama for the remainder of the runtime. Now, that’s not to say that the rest of the film is disappointing. It just feels clumsy and disappointing coming off the heels of the opening sequences. There are a lot of things either mentioned briefly, hinted at, or implied that never go anywhere or serve the narrative in any impactful way.
Despite its flaws, Deluge (1933) manages to be an enjoyable enough of a watch. What helps this is the short runtime of just over an hour in length. Were it pushing the 80-90 minute mark, it would begin to teeter on the verge of being a painful watch to sit through.
If nothing else, this is worth watching solely for the destruction of New York City and the clever use of miniatures to portray it all and to see the humble beginnings of the disaster movie genre.
So, have you seen the once lost film that is Deluge (1933)? If so, I want to hear your thoughts on it!
You can leave a comment down below or reach out to me on Bluesky!
Curious to see what else I’ve been watching or want to take a peek at my ever-growing watchlist? Give me a follow over on Letterboxd!