(SPOILERS ALERT!)
I am a big fan of John Wayne. I like Ray Miland too. I bought the DVD of this film only because the two of them were in it. I must admit that the DVD print was quite shoddy. I might have enjoyed this film a lot more if I saw it on Blu-ray or something. Though I doubt it.
I found it hard to sit through this one. The film is about the rivalry between two sailors - Wayne and Milland over a woman - Pauline Goddard (who has inherited a marine salvage business), even as the three of them try to stave off and defeat pirates in the Key West. Wayne's character is saved by Goddard at the beginning of the film and even gets beaten up at one point by Milland's competing character when he is about to get married to Goddard on a ship. Wayne switches sides at least twice and him and Milland are constantly at odds with each other. Goddard has a soft corner for Wayne though. Wayne's character dies in the end and Goddard goes back with Milland. The climax involves a prolonged underwater scene where Wayne and Milland wear underwater suits to search for the body of a woman. An octopus/squid attacks Miland. Wayne looks on for a while. Then he decides to intervene and he gets killed by the creature. It is pathetic. As I said earlier, Miland and Pauline Godard decides to unite in the end. Zzzzzz!
The film did boast of some fine shots of monstrous waves and underwater sequences. But I could tell that the scenes on the ship were all shot on a set. The film did win an Oscar for visual effects.
John Wayne was a lot thinner compared to his later films and looked quite dashing. A word you would not associate with his more beefy avatar in the prime of his career. The film was quite talky and overtly dramatic.
It was directed by Cecille.B.Demille. I would not recommend this. But I am from another era. Some of the reviewers seem to be quite fond of this film which explains the respectable 6.8 rating on IMDb. I did not like it. Even though I enjoyed Mutiny on the Bounty - the version that came 20 years after this one.
I am a big fan of John Wayne. I like Ray Miland too. I bought the DVD of this film only because the two of them were in it. I must admit that the DVD print was quite shoddy. I might have enjoyed this film a lot more if I saw it on Blu-ray or something. Though I doubt it.
I found it hard to sit through this one. The film is about the rivalry between two sailors - Wayne and Milland over a woman - Pauline Goddard (who has inherited a marine salvage business), even as the three of them try to stave off and defeat pirates in the Key West. Wayne's character is saved by Goddard at the beginning of the film and even gets beaten up at one point by Milland's competing character when he is about to get married to Goddard on a ship. Wayne switches sides at least twice and him and Milland are constantly at odds with each other. Goddard has a soft corner for Wayne though. Wayne's character dies in the end and Goddard goes back with Milland. The climax involves a prolonged underwater scene where Wayne and Milland wear underwater suits to search for the body of a woman. An octopus/squid attacks Miland. Wayne looks on for a while. Then he decides to intervene and he gets killed by the creature. It is pathetic. As I said earlier, Miland and Pauline Godard decides to unite in the end. Zzzzzz!
The film did boast of some fine shots of monstrous waves and underwater sequences. But I could tell that the scenes on the ship were all shot on a set. The film did win an Oscar for visual effects.
John Wayne was a lot thinner compared to his later films and looked quite dashing. A word you would not associate with his more beefy avatar in the prime of his career. The film was quite talky and overtly dramatic.
It was directed by Cecille.B.Demille. I would not recommend this. But I am from another era. Some of the reviewers seem to be quite fond of this film which explains the respectable 6.8 rating on IMDb. I did not like it. Even though I enjoyed Mutiny on the Bounty - the version that came 20 years after this one.