On board ship again, but in this adaptation of Sutton Vane's allegorical play, it is a mysterious cruise with no apparent destination. Those aboard include a defrocked reverend, an alcoholic (Leslie Howard in his first talkie role), a ruthless businessman, a haughty society woman, and two young lovers (Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and Helen Chandler). While trying to determine where and why they're bound, the passengers re-examine their lives, and begin to suspect that the ship's final destination will be theirs. A blending of real and unreal, tragedy and satire, entertainment and social message, Outward Bound was an unusual studio project, and the studio went to unusual lengths to ensure a “prestige production"-- bringing in the stage director and many of the original players. It was praised at the time as “(a)n admirably wrought production, one in which the director and players share in its unqualified success...The result is one of those rare pictorial offerings that virtually defy criticism.”