Wake of the Red Witch (1948)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

Edward Ludwig

Writers:

Harry Brown (screenplay) and
Kenneth Gamet (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

1 March 1949 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Romance! Adventure!...as wild as the RAGING SEAS!

Plot:

Captain Ralls fights Dutch shipping magnate Mayrant Sidneye for the woman he loves, Angelique Desaix, and for a fortune in gold aboard the Red Witch.

Plot Keywords:

Gold | Shipping Magnate | Fight | Underwater Rescue | Explosion

Cast

John Wayne	...	Capt. Ralls
Gail Russell	...	Angelique Desaix
Gig Young	...	Samuel 'Sam' Rosen
Adele Mara	...	Teleia Van Schreeven
Luther Adler	...	Mayrant Ruysdaal Sidneye
Eduard Franz	...	Harmenszoon Van Schreeven
Grant Withers	...	Capt. Wilde Youngeur
Henry Daniell	...	Jacques Desaix
Paul Fix	...	Antonio 'Ripper' Arrezo
Dennis Hoey	...	Capt. Munsey
Jeff Corey	...	Mr. Loring
Erskine Sanford	...	Dr. van Arken
Duke Kahanamoku	...	Ua Nuke

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

West Germany:6 (f) | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:Approved (PCA #13370)

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanic Garden - 301 N. Baldwin Avenue, Arcadia, California, USA

Company:

Republic Pictures (I)

Trivia:

John Wayne took the name of his production company, Batjac, from this film's shipping firm. The original spelling though was "Batjak", a likely portmanteau of "Batavia" and "Jayakarta", both being the old names of the capital of the Dutch East Indies at the time (as of 2009 it is Jakarta, Indonesia).

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: The shipwreck is obviously a model.

Movie Connections:

Featured in That's Action (1977)

Soundtrack:

Nocturn No. 2 in E-flat major, Op. 9, No. 2

a plot more convoluted than the octopus

I have just sat through this black and white fable whilst trying to do other work. Why John Wayne owed anyone the Pearls or the Gold was totally beyond me or even why he died if he actually did. Or why Gail Russell became the love of his life after a couple of glances or why she let her father publicly engage her to another but still chose him and then pushed him aside because her father tripped and fell into a bonfire supposedly stoked up by a single octopus eye. or why she died on seeing him the second time. I suspect that a lot of the plot was made up as they went along depending on where they were and how much was in the kitty. To suggest that it was anywhere near to being one of John Wayne's best suggests that his full repertoire had not been seen or viewed with sufficient care. Unless you have something else to do at the same time my advice is don't bother.