by Kristin Battestella
Well
actually this a very specific niche trio of John Wayne adventure
films from the forties – a few non-western or war pictures despite
the war time, if you will. Ironically, these rip roaring tales were
surprisingly tough to find streaming or from Netflix snail mail
compared to Wayne's other larger than life pictures – so settle in
and enjoy, pilgrim!
Reap the Wild Wind – Ray
Milland (The Lost Weekend),
John Wayne, and Paulette Goddard (The
Great Dictator) mix
shipwrecks, swindlers, and love triangles in this colorful1942 Cecil
B. DeMille (The Ten
Commandments) mid
19th
century high seas adventure. Although sailor slang and nautical terms
will be tough for some audiences without subtitles, schooner
photography, whooshing winds, and thrashing waves invoke the perilous
sea and forgive any obvious matte screens, rear projections, and soft
focusing on the ladies. The underwater
scenes and ye olde diving gear aren't bad, either, but my word that
poor calamari! Cute monkeys and doggies add to the sweet period
frocks, and the two hour plus run time moves fast between the rugged
Key West inquests, stylish Charleston balls, and Victorian steam ship
prizes. The young Wayne should have been a romantic lead more often,
but here he's an angry seaman descending into illegal trade and
reckless diving, shaping some intriguing turnabouts and character
dimensions. Milland starts as a pompous jerk, yet there's a
begrudging respect between the men. Though a progressive,
pants-wearing businesswoman, Goddard's Loxi isn't always likable
thanks to a laid on thick moxie and her playing both boys for her own
gain. Several slaves are portrayed as stereotypically sassy, happy,
and ready to gossip, too, while selling off enemy thugs to a whaling
ship is wrongfully played as humorous. And Susan Hayward (also of the
ill fated The Conqueror with
Wayne) is meant to be
from Cuba? DeMille tried his darnedest for an epic, coastal Gone
with the Wind complete
with a society shocking Scarlet
loving the rogue and making aunts faint. However, this remains a fun
melodramatic tale for the cast and seafaring spectacle.
Tycoon
– South America, railroads, and romance lead to explosions,
mountain tunnels, bridge perils, and an against the clock quest in
this 1947 Technicolor saga. While matte paintings and facades are
cardboard obvious and the sound is very uneven; sweet cars, lovely
cathedral interiors, brightly dressed sophisticated ladies, and suave
men's suits add proper flavor alongside rail carts, dynamite tools,
and mining disasters. Likewise, John Wayne is an honest foreman who
knows his job – when he's not being misbehaving and getting his
contractor bosses in trouble with railroad financier Cedric Hardwicke
(The Ten Commandments) that is. Wayne seems a little older
than the role requires compared to leading lady Laraine Day (Dr.
Kildare), too. However, The Duke knows what he's doing, and the
audience immediately likes his getting the job done right and
standing up to pressuring stockholders or rival engineer Anthony
Quinn (Zorba the Greek). Unfortunately, the love and adventure
mix feels like two separate movies – and building a dangerous
railroad crossing without any fatalities on the job seems just a bit
more important than a runaway date that ends up out of gas near some
Inca ruins at sunset, because of course. Out all night with a girl
and nothing happened but the Hayes Code is going to marry you! The
pace drags thanks to coming and going soap opera styled conflicts,
and Judith Anderson (Rebecca) has nothing to do. Melodramatic
music swells when a woman dares talk back, telling her man she is
wrong and will conform to his lifestyle. WTF? There are cliché
Latino kids, but precious little espanol – eggs
for breakfast? They're huevos!
Although no one is trying on a fake bad accent, the locale doesn't
feel as authentic as it should. The
titular battle of wills hoped for something epic with an overlong
two hour plus time, but the tale should have been woven tighter.
Fortunately, this ditty proves Wayne could be a leading man with
varied character depths, and a dangerous flash flood
raging river finale goes out on top.
Wake of the Red Witch –
Don't worry, I confuse the mid 19th
century high seas adventure of this 1948 John Wayne and Gail Russell
vehicle with Reap the Wild
Wind, too.
Here, The Duke's a crusty
captain imposing the law on his ship but withholding coordinates and
an impressive gold bullion cargo. He's
commanding as always, capable on shore and off, but his rugged
violence crosses the line – and gasp, Duke don't cross the line,
eva!
It's some fine dimension on our heroic image and the erroneous notion
that Wayne only made westerns. Although, this feels like a sea faring
western: two respected men fighting over the local water rights while
a dame's on the line. Ships, girls – they're both called 'she' for
a reason. Of course, the young romance is a bit meh, and the age
difference between 40-year-old Wayne and his not yet bittersweet but
no less angelic Angel
and the Badman co-star
Russell at 24 is apparent. The unneeded narration is a trite
exposition technique slowing the action, and the story that we should
have seen in the first place is mostly all told in two flashbacks.
The soft volume can make the who's stealing from whom rivalry
confusing, but the pretty hoop skirts are always nice to see. There
is some reused footage, but the woodwork, waves, frigates, and sails
set the mood in spite of the black
and white limitation, adding scope and danger to the tense below
decks and double crossings.
It's not Hornblower, and the film constructs are too apparent in the
storytelling, however, sharks, cannons, shipwrecks, early diving
suspense, octopus duels (yes again), giant pearls, and even bigger
man eating seashells complete the adventure. If you like classic
movie melodrama, fun swashbucklers, and John Wayne, this will be a
pleasant little viewing escapade.
No comments:
Post a Comment