The Wreck of the Mary Deare (1959)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Michael Anderson

Writers:

Eric Ambler (screenplay)
Hammond Innes (novel)

Release Date:

6 November 1959 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

The Saga of the Derelict, Mary Deare... the strange secret she carried... the desperate voyage and plot to sink her!

Plot:

A disgraced merchant marine officer elects to stay aboard his sinking cargo ship in order to prove the vessel was deliberately scuttled and, as a result, vindicate his good name.

Plot Keywords:

Salvage | Merchant Marine | English Channel | Minquiers | Sabotage

Cast

Gary Cooper	...	Gideon Patch
Charlton Heston	...	John Sands
Michael Redgrave	...	Mr. Nyland
Emlyn Williams	...	Sir Wilfred Falcett
Cecil Parker	...	The Chairman
Alexander Knox	...	Petrie
Virginia McKenna	...	Janet Taggart
Richard Harris	...	Higgins
Ben Wright	...	Mike
Peter Illing	...	Gunderson
Terence de Marney	...	Frank
Ashley Cowan	...	Burrows
Charles Davis	...	Yules, Quartermaster on Mary Deare

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Australia:G | USA:Approved (certificate #19326) | Canada:PG (video rating) | Finland:K-12

Filming Locations:

Elstree Studios, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Company:

Blaustein-Baroda

Trivia:

The task of bringing this novel to the screen was originally assigned to writer Ernest Lehman and director Alfred Hitchcock. Lehman eventually went to Hitchcock and told him that he couldn't come up with anything. Hitchcock told him not to worry about it, that they'd do something else. Lehman said, "But what about MGM?" Hitchcock replied "We won't tell them." That "something else" that they came up with was North by Northwest (1959).

Quotes:

Gideon Patch: You listen! I didn't ask you to come on board, and I'm in command here! Now, if you don't like it, you can go over the side and swim!

Movie Connections:

Featured in Destination Hitchcock: The Making of 'North by Northwest' (2000) (V)

Excellent ... if letter-boxed

The night scenes are filmed very well but you must see them in wide-screen format or letter-boxed. For example, close scenes inside the ship at night are well filmed and staged, but literally won't make sense if not viewed letter-boxed. The outdoor sea scenes (almost all dark) are awesome, probably better than if they had been computer-generated. But again, the movements of the ships will not make sense if viewed other than letterbox. The story is largely told through movement- of ships, or of men moving around in the dark. I mention this to help any potential viewer.

Cooper gives a compelling, desperate performance that makes you really want to watch what happens to his character, Capt. Patch. Also, this is probably the most believable performance by Heston as an ordinary, non-historical, non sci-fi character. I was pleasantly surprised by both Cooper's and Heston's performances. Both performances are essentially very modern-style screen acting, and are not dated after these many years.

The supporting roles are undeveloped and one-dimensional, including the role so forcefully played by the young Richard Harris. Its a shame the great Virginia McKenna is so underused here. She could have made the film appeal to a broader-based audience. The other supporting actors (Alexander Knox at his most wooden) don't add to the film.

Even if you don't like seafaring stories, watch this for the acting by the two stars, and for the marvelous night cinematography. Film students and buffs should look carefully at the night scenes inside the ship and on the docks. You will see true night cinema work, with perfectly set light meters and minimalist lighting. In other words: nighttime lighting and camera artistry, not gimmicks.