Starring
Edward G. Robinson, Ida Lupino, John Garfield, Alexander Knox, Gene
Lockhart, Barry Fitzgerald. Directed by Michael Curtiz. (1941, 100
min).
Of
course, Edward G. Robinson is a national treasure. The bulk of his
legendary career was well before my time, though, and the first thing
I remember seeing him in was Soylent Green, his
final film. It was an amazing performance that rendered
me to tears, made even more poignant when I later learned he was
dying of cancer at the time. Talk about dedication to your craft.
Ever
since, I've retroactively enjoyed many films in his lengthy
filmography (and still only scratched the surface). Robinson's tough
guys were always a little more badass, his villains a little nastier, his weasels a little slimier, his
heroes a little more dignified. One could argue he was the Robert
DeNiro of his time.
One
of his best early roles was tyrannical sea captain Wolf Larsen in The
Sea Wolf, arguably his most
vicious character who never carried a tommy gun. Larsen commands a
crew of outlaws and derelicts aboard the Ghost,
a scavenger vessel that sails the Pacific looting seal hunting boats.
Most of the crew are forced into service, but George Leach (John
Garfield) signs on voluntarily to escape police custody in San
Francisco (the only town where the Ghost ever
makes port). Later, two shipwreck survivors, fugitive Ruth Webster
(Ida Lupino) & writer Humphrey van Wyden (Alexander Knox) are
rescued but forbidden to leave the ship.
 |
| Mr. Robinson was never much of a joke teller. |
Humphrey
is shocked at Wolf's level of cruelty and sadism, while Wolf himself
is both angered and intrigued by this writer, who seems to know the
captain better than he knows himself. Still, Humphrey manages to
build a precarious trust with him, particularly with regard to Wolf's
migraines, which are slowly rendering him blind. Meanwhile, Leach,
tired of Wolf's brutality, leads some of the crew in a planned
mutiny.
It's
a dark, character-driven tale of megalomania, anchored immeasurably Robinson's powerful
performance. The scenes between he and Knox fraught with tension and
are, by far, the crux of the entire story. Less effective - and
mostly unnecessary - is the budding love between George and Ruth.
Garfield is suitably stoic and Lupino is easy on the eyes, but their
scenes simply don't have the same urgency.
That's
a small quip, though, for the rest of The Sea Wolf is crackling with dramatic intensity. This is an overlooked,
underappreciated gem that's a must-own for classic adventure lovers.
EXTRA
KIBBLES
SCREEN
DIRECTOR'S PLAYHOUSE RADIO BROADCAST
TRAILER
KITTY CONSENSUS:
MEE-OW! AN UNDERRATED CLASSIC
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