The Sea Wolf

1941
PG
1h 40m

IMDb RATING

7.5/10

4.8K

YOUR RATING

Edward G. Robinson, John Garfield, and Ida Lupino in The Sea Wolf (1941)

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Adventure Drama

After being fished out of the sea by a sailing ship, three fugitives find themselves prisoners of the ship's brutal skipper who refuses to put them ashore, and they hatch an escape plan duri... Read allAfter being fished out of the sea by a sailing ship, three fugitives find themselves prisoners of the ship's brutal skipper who refuses to put them ashore, and they hatch an escape plan during a crew mutiny.After being fished out of the sea by a sailing ship, three fugitives find themselves prisoners of the ship's brutal skipper who refuses to put them ashore, and they hatch an escape plan during a crew mutiny.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.5/10

4.8K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 2 nominations total

Top cast24

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Edward G. Robinson

'Wolf' Larsen

Ida Lupino

Ruth Brewster

John Garfield

George Leach

Alexander Knox

Humphrey Van Weyden

Gene Lockhart

Dr. Prescott

Barry Fitzgerald

Cooky

Stanley Ridges

Johnson

David Bruce

Young Sailor

Francis McDonald

Svenson

Howard Da Silva

Harrison

Frank Lackteen

Smoke

Ernie Adams

Pickpocket
(uncredited)

Cliff Clark

First Detective
(uncredited)

Jeane Cowan

Singer
(uncredited)

Richard Cramer

Bartender
(uncredited)

William Gould

Second Detective
(uncredited)

Ralf Harolde

Agent Getting Johnson Shanghaied
(uncredited)

Oscar 'Dutch' Hendrian

Crewman
(uncredited)

Director
- Michael Curtiz
Writers
- Robert Rossen
- Jack London
All cast & crew
Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

User reviews72

Featured review

8/10

Film noir at sea

"I've spit in the eye of better men than you for saying less", boatswain John Garfield snarls at sadistic captain Edward G. Robinson in this gritty film noir, set in the open sea, but fenced in, very noir-like, by constant dense fog.

I believe Raoul Walsh would have made a more dynamic film over Jack London's novel than Michael Curtiz did, but it is still a pretty good watch any day of the week. Robert Rossen wrote the screenplay which is well-structured, but far too literal and talkative for the pacing of a dramatic work of art. The lighting of the set, basically just the ship 'The Ghost', is brilliant, Erich Wolfgang Korngold's score must count among his best, highly effective and evocative.

Acting is on a very high level, with Robinson grabbing a first prize for his portrayal of the complex sadist 'Wolf' Larson. John Garfield is his swarthy and sexy adversary, and Barry Fitzgerald turns his signature role of the Irish leprechaun on its head with his vicious, diabolical snitch of a sailor, truly scary, a virtuoso performance.

mik-19
Oct 3, 2004
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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
The first movie to have its world premiere on a ship: the luxury liner "America", during a trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles.

Goofs
Until the era of the 1st World War, the practice on board a ship was to call orders for the helmsman to move the tiller either to port or to starboard. Calling "hard a-port" meant moving the tiller to port, which means the rudder and the vessel, will then move to starboard. With wheel steering, putting the helm/tiller to port, means spinning the wheel to starboard. Ships no longer use this system - these days helm directions refer to the desired turn of the rudder/vessel. The James Cameron movie "Titanic" also contained a similar scene, which generated a lot of puzzlement. It IS a bit confusing at first, unless one is a sailor and is familiar with tiller steering.

Quotes
Humphrey Van Weyden: There's a price no man will pay for living.

Alternate versions
The film was cut by approximately 12 minutes down to less than 90 minutes for re-issue. The deleted footage consisted of little, but integral, moments throughout the story which added considerably to the quality of the film as a whole. For many years, the only known existing print of the original 99-minute theatrical version was a 16mm print which belonged to the film's star, John Garfield. However, Warner Brothers studio recently discovered a 35mm print of this original version at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. It was subsequently restored and used for distribution on DVD and Blu Ray.