Ben Larson
This film had a plethora of stars from the 40s: Ray Milland who won an Oscar for The Lost Weekend, Paulette Goddard who was nominated for So Proudly We Hail!, Raymond Massey who was nominated for Abe Lincoln in Illinois, Susan Hayward with an Oscar for I Want to Live!, and four other nominations, Charles Bickford with three Oscar nominations in the 40s, Milburn Stone who played Doc Adams on Gunsmoke, and John Wayne who got his Oscar for True Grit, and who had two other nominations.It was directed by the great Cecil B. DeMille, who won three Oscars and had two other nominations. He was best know for The Ten Commandments.The film itself won an Oscar for Special Effects, and had two other nominations for Cinematography and Best Art Direction-Interior Decoration.The film is full of storms, ship wrecks and gang fights, and will entertain for the full 123 minutes.
misctidsandbits
You can sit just about anybody down to this movie and they will find something they like. It has it all – action, effects, epic, period, romance, mystery, drama, adventure, comedy, fights, balls, high seas, courtroom, drawing room, thrills, chills, spills and so forth. I've proved that with a disparate group. There was a pretty wide range assembled, and a good time was had by all. I personally don't usually care for seafaring tales, but with the cast in this, I had to take a look. Really got caught up in it. There are no doubt errors, omissions, failed nuances, wrong person, wrong role, but really, like any movie, what it is - it is. What's the point of picking at it? So much to like here.There are a number of pictures that reveal "a young John Wayne" in a different genre from where he settled, but this is about the last of them. He was very close to stepping into his real boot prints, where he basically settled in to become the Duke. However, he was there to enjoy anyway, if not yet in all his glory. Sadly here, his character's turnout was something to cause angst and ultimately much chagrin. But, Pilgrim, he never does that to us again! It is odd to see Ray Milland billed above John Wayne and some of the other actors, who were also yet on their rise. He was cool in this, which actually was his thing, in varied ways. At first, it looks like he's going to be just another fashionable young man and a bit of an eccentric. (During this period, the frills were part of the well dressed gentry or nobleman, and not a mark of a sissy). Instead, it was that he had nothing to prove, so he relaxed and did as he liked. Also, it was more a matter of being the cagey fox awaiting his moment. During that phase, you begin to get kind of irritated with him, but steady as she goes, he ends up being the manly hero, earning even the grudging admiration. And, he gets the girl. Suppose you were to say that some character actors are entirely better actors than many stars (it's obvious – please), and having swallowed that, you can mention Raymond Massey in the former camp. You are going to get the good, the bad or the ugly according to what the script required, regardless of which it was. Here, it was dastardly well done. And there were a lot of worthy seagoing thugs, tars and salts including Charles Bickford, surprisingly. Hedda Hopper is in one of her few roles here, before she moved over to spilling the scoop. Oh, and the good Captain Philpott. Wasn't he a delight.Robert Preston did his chores adequately. I liked Susan Hayward in this, because she was somewhat subdued. Never cared for the full blown SH myself, but many did. Paulette Goddard stops a lot of clocks, but others are still running. However, I acknowledge her strengths and very strong contribution to this movie. She actually fills it up for most of the running. She flowed very naturally in this part, especially in the adventure stages. Her Southern belle doesn't quite ring true with me, but her tomboy gung-ho does. Have liked her in a lot of things.And, with your cross-section of viewers, if you happen to have anyone seeing impaired along, they won't have any trouble with the giant squid encounter. Whatever its characteristics, it is huge. You'll get at least a couple of impressed responses from a group. I endured to the spasmodic end on first viewing, but now, at the beginning of the segment, I'm working my fast forward. But it is quite a to-do.If you liked certain elements of this, you might like "The Wreck of the Mary Deare," which has a variation of the salvage and mysteriously wrecked vessel thing going, along with the strong inquiry.
weezeralfalfa
I don't know of any other Wayne film before the forgettable '47 "Tycoon" that was filmed in color. After his epic B&W western "Union Pacific", DeMille had the clout to insist all his future works be filmed in Technicolor: a rare luxury treatment in the early and mid'40s. Color films didn't become dominate until competition from TV forced Hollywood to provide more reasons for people to watch films in theaters instead of on TV, as color TVs didn't become common until the '60s. This film is perhaps my favorite Wayne flick(if we can consider it a Wayne film, as he didn't get top billing). I've seen it several times. The Technicolor treatment is certainly one reason, but I'm also hooked on DeMille's better films(In spite of several other fine '39 westerns, "Union Pacific" is my clear favorite for that year). The general style of the present film apes that of "Gone with the Wind", to which it is often disparagingly compared. I've never been a big fan of the latter. If given a choice, I would see DeMille's film again. It is also commonly compared to Wayne's latter film,"The Wake of the Red Witch", which I have not seen, but is said to be largely a reworked version of the present film.Considering the age of this film, I thought the DVD transfer quality excellent, with vivid colors. From the included background extras, we learn that much of the shooting took place on location in Charleston and the Key West area. However, the under water scenes were done in a huge tank. Both Paulette Goddard and Susan Hayward tried out for the role of Scarlett in "Gone with the Wind". It is speculated that Ms. Goddard lost out partly because of her uncertain official relationship with her lover of recent years, Charlie Chaplin. By the time the present film was begun, this relationship was over.There are many complexities to this film and so many interesting, if sometimes stock, characters. I thought all the main characters and most of the supporting characters were well cast. Captain Jack and Steve Tolliver seemed destined to be at each other's throats throughout the story. Yet, occasionally they fought together against a common enemy and helped the other in a desperate situation. Captain Jack is a tragic character, sometimes in hot water through no fault of his own, yet performing a dastardly deed to help win his love that precipitates the demise of many of the main characters. Raymond Massey sheds his Lincoln and John Brown images to become an engaging masterful villain. I found his performance in the courtroom, as Captain Jack's lawyer, riveting. In fact, the whole courtroom scene was masterfully done. In one of the many convoluted relationships, Susan Hayward's character falls for Massey's handsome younger brother, who lives in his brother's shadow as a marginal villain. This romance, on the sneak, will become central to the tragic and redemptive events near the end of the story. I thought the talking dog and mischievous pet capuchin served well to provide some comic relief. I also enjoyed Lynne Overman's portrayal of Captain Phil, a classic old salt and grandfatherly figure. My main gripe is I didn't like the ending: the parting scene specifically. It just didn't ring plausible or just.
