Ship of Fools (film)

Ship of Fools
Theatrical poster
Directed by	Stanley Kramer
Screenplay by	Abby Mann
Based on	Katherine Anne Porter's Ship of Fools
Produced by	Stanley Kramer
Starring	Vivien Leigh Simone Signoret Jose Ferrer Lee Marvin Oskar Werner Elizabeth Ashley George Segal Jose Greco Michael Dunn Charles Korvin Heinz Ruehmann Lilia Skala
Cinematography	Ernest Laszlo, A.S.C.
Edited by	Robert C. Jones
Music by	Ernest Gold
Color process	Black and white Technicolor
Production company	Stanley Kramer Productions
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures Corporation
Release date	July 29, 1965 (1965-07-29)
Running time	150 minutes
Country	United States
Languages	English 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. It also marked Christiane Schmidtmer's first U.S. production filmed in Black and white to Technicolor (The Wizard of Oz).

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.