A band of dishonest seamen plan a murderous mutiny aboard the S.S. Berwind.A band of dishonest seamen plan a murderous mutiny aboard the S.S. Berwind.A band of dishonest seamen plan a murderous mutiny aboard the S.S. Berwind.
David Cross
- Mace
- (as David R. Cross)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThere is no music or any score in the movie until the very end. Until then, all the ambient sounds are ship noises.
- GoofsThere are several shots showing the ship propeller operating only partially submerged. This would be an extremely inefficient method of propulsion.
- Quotes
Capt. Edwin Rummill: [Narrating - commenting on the provocatively beautiful wife of the Maori cook who was hired at the last minute, and who had insisted on bringing his wife along, against Captain Rummill's wishes] It had never entered my mind that the woman would be so sensuous, so exotically beautiful. I knew then that I had started my command with a dangerous error of judgment.
- Crazy creditsIn the opening credits of this black-and-white film, the last word of the title is colored blood red.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Dorothy Dandridge: An American Beauty (2003)
Featured review
Brisk if uninspired old dark house story set aboard a freighter
The Decks Ran Red flaps as the title under which sets sail a tense and focused movie that takes place aboard a freighter. The Berwind sails into port in New Zealand because its captain has mysteriously died. Awarded his first command, James Mason flies in to take over as skipper of the troubled ship. He finds a slovenly and insubordinate crew, and his officers tell him that mutiny may be in the wind.
Since some of the hands have jumped ship, Mason has some holes to fill. The only cook available will sign on only if he can bring his wife, Dorothy Dandridge (as a Maori whose command of the English language encompasses even the future-perfect tense). This sultry native, the only woman on board, doesn't cool down the smouldering unrest, but the arsonist is Broderick Crawford, who fuels the fires in order to advance his own half-baked scheme: To murder all the crew but a few henchmen, making it look like desertion and mutiny, then scuttle the ship and sell it and its cargo as salvage for $1-million.
It's basically an old dark house story taken to the high seas, with murders aplenty and the briny deep to swallow up the corpses. And, despite Mason, Crawford and Dandridge, its production values are not those of The Titanic. Still, it sails brisky along (slackening a bit toward the stretched-out ending) under Andrew Stone's competent if lackluster direction.
Stone and his wife Virginia were Hollywood's answer to the mama-papa candy store: He wrote and directed, she produced and edited. Their long career resulted in many forgettable films and some embarrassments as well (Song of Norway, for one). But there were a few modest successes, too: Highway 301, The Night Holds Terror, Blueprint for Murder. The Decks Ran Red can join them as a decidedly not luxurious but still seaworthy vessel.
Since some of the hands have jumped ship, Mason has some holes to fill. The only cook available will sign on only if he can bring his wife, Dorothy Dandridge (as a Maori whose command of the English language encompasses even the future-perfect tense). This sultry native, the only woman on board, doesn't cool down the smouldering unrest, but the arsonist is Broderick Crawford, who fuels the fires in order to advance his own half-baked scheme: To murder all the crew but a few henchmen, making it look like desertion and mutiny, then scuttle the ship and sell it and its cargo as salvage for $1-million.
It's basically an old dark house story taken to the high seas, with murders aplenty and the briny deep to swallow up the corpses. And, despite Mason, Crawford and Dandridge, its production values are not those of The Titanic. Still, it sails brisky along (slackening a bit toward the stretched-out ending) under Andrew Stone's competent if lackluster direction.
Stone and his wife Virginia were Hollywood's answer to the mama-papa candy store: He wrote and directed, she produced and edited. Their long career resulted in many forgettable films and some embarrassments as well (Song of Norway, for one). But there were a few modest successes, too: Highway 301, The Night Holds Terror, Blueprint for Murder. The Decks Ran Red can join them as a decidedly not luxurious but still seaworthy vessel.
helpful•282
- bmacv
- May 12, 2003
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Infamy
- Filming locations
- Santa Monica, California, USA(Santa Monica Harbor)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $593,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 24 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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