Dorathen Better Late Then Never

ChanFamous I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

Kirandeep Yoder The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

Winifred The movie is made so realistic it has a lot of that WoW feeling at the right moments and never tooo over the top. the suspense is done so well and the emotion is felt. Very well put together with the music and all.

Kittyman I really like Dana Andrews as an actor, and he is quite good in this movie, playing a wartime fishing captain. But what should have been a lights-out war film because of plot, pacing, and performances (with one exception) flounders instead.First, the film messes up its believability. During World War II ships ran without lights to reduce enemy detection. On clear nights, even cigarettes could be seen miles away. Yet as Captain Andrews' vessel creeps through the fog to investigate the explosions and flames up ahead (and, incidentally, why would he want to take that risk?), its lights are all ablaze. (And this incredible goof, by itself, spoils much of the movie for me.)Later Andrews finds the schooner he aided contains a hidden torpedo compartment. (In reality, the ship is a disguised u-boat tender.) But the compartment's dimensions don't work. From what we are shown, it appears nearly as large as a carrier hanger deck. And clearly that is too big to fit within the diminutive vessel of which it is supposed to be a part. Second, the film sabotages its suspense.Of Captain Andrews' two new "Danish" seaman, we are led to believe one is a good guy, the other a spy. But since a much bigger star is cast as the good guy, that decision trivializes most of the "who could be whom" suspense. Finally, Claude Rains plays the Captain of, and the only man found aboard, the rescued schooner. This too is a mistake. For his sinister demeanor (and apparent lack of "Danishness") suggests funny business from the start. Oskar Werner (Decision Before Dawn, 1951), for example, would have been a better choice. A great actor, he was baby-faced and innocent-looking to boot, both qualities which would have helped keep us guessing.

bkoganbing Sealed Cargo would have been a typical war film had RKO done it in 1943 when people were willing to buy these kind of plots. By 1951 this had become clearly outdated. Howard Hughes must have been going through some old scripts and/or story ideas and came up with this one and said it would be a great film still.Dana Andrews stars in this film as Gloucester fishing boat captain whom we meet still griping because his is deemed a necessary occupation and he can't get in the fight. Still he takes his boat out for a run in the Grand Banks of Newfoundland with a special passenger in Carla Ballenda who wants to go there to meet her dad Onslow Stevens who is in the Canadian Air Force until recently invalided out. On the way Andrews spots a deserted ghost schooner ship with only her captain still on board, Claude Rains somewhat disheveled. He gives the ship a tow into the small fishing village he was to drop Ballenda off in. But the trading schooner is a disguise for the ship being the mother ship of a Nazi U-boat wolfpack. She's carrying in a secret compartment a load of torpedoes for the U-boats to reload and do their dirtiest fighting with. This film was so dated by 1951 the audience then must have been stunned. The players to their credit go at it with a straight face, especially Claude Rains who is a sinister figure among the ridiculous. Dana Andrews is a proper tightlipped hero.Sealed Cargo is a World War II propaganda exercise that someone forgot to make back then and then remembered in 1951.

whpratt1 Enjoyed this 1951 Black & White film starring Dana Andrews,(Pat Bannon),"The Best Years of Our Lives",'46, where he stars as a fishing boat Capt. in a rather small boat and manages to take along a very young female as a passenger. The gal has to sort of live in a closet on the boat that was filled with all kinds of kitchen junk. Pat Bannon experiences a great storm at sea which causes many problems and then out of the blue, he runs into an abandoned sailing ship. It is War time with the Nazi's and the ocean is filled with submarines. Claude Rains, (Capt. Skalder),"The Greatest Story Ever Told",'65( King Herod), appears as the Captain of a Danish vessel and is like a sheep in wolf's clothing. Enjoyed this mysterious film and the hidden secrets which are revealed in this film.

bob the moo While out on a fishing trip off Nova Scotia, a fishing crew (and some guests) come across a damaged Danish schooner which has apparently been damaged by an attack from a German U-Boat. The captain, Pat Bannon boards to find only the captain of the schooner (Capt Skalder) alive on board. However Bannon suspects something is wrong.I love Dana Andrews and will often watch films simply because he is in them, however I got stung here because this film isn't very good. The plot is a little muddled and lacking logic, preferring a bit of `beat the Germans' flag waving instead. The sense of mystery isn't sustained towards the end of the film and is replaced by a bit of action. The action works reasonably well with Bannon in cat and mouse games with U-Boats, but it isn't great.Andrews does OK work here, just really playing a straight, strong-jawed leading man. Balenda is an unnecessary leading lady who has little to really do. Rains is alright, adding another strong actor to the film didn't hurt even if he wasn't really well served at any point. The support cast didn't really grab me and none of them stood out either as characters of actors.Overall this was passable for a cold, wet Saturday afternoon but no more than that. The story isn't really gripping and it doesn't have a flow to it. That said there is enough in the way of semi-mystery and thrills to make it watchable.