The Sea Chase (1955)

Exciting flick on the danger waters of the Pacific with Wayne as a seasoned Captain undertaking several adventures and risks . As the Second World War breaks out , -1939- German freighter captain Karl Ehrlich (John Wayne) is about to leave Sydney , Australia , with his his boat , the Ergenstrasse (it was portrayed by the real HMCS New Glascow , a Prestonian-class frigate) , as he is determined to steer his vessel back to Germany . But a suspicious beauty is aboard as the British Commander Jeff Napier's (David Farrar who narrates the tale by voice-in-off) girlfriend , she's called Elsa Keller (Lana Turner) . As Elsa , a mysterious woman , is on board , that's why Ehrlich has been ordered to return to Germany safely along with whatever secrets she carries . Then the brave skipper sails despite an English blockade , being pursued by British and German navies as he abandons Down Under . As Karl must smuggle throughout enemy Oceans plenty of warships and cruisers . When Ehrlich's fiercely Nazi chief officer Kirchner (Lyle Bettger) commits an atrocity , the British chase becomes deadly . As Ehrlich tries to get his ship back to Germany across the Pacific , Atlantic Oceans and through a gauntlet of Allied warships .This enjoyable picture packs thrills , drama , action , sea pursuits , it results to be pretty entertaining and appear as supporting players a lot of prestigious actors ; however , being overlong . John Wayne's good vehicle , though miscast as an obstinate Prussian skipper . The plot is plain and simple , as World War II begins , at its violent outbreak , a renegade as well as stubborn German freighter captain named Karl Ehrlich escapes from Sidney and must transport a mysterious passenger and arrive in his destination , Germany . Interesting and stirring script from James Warner Bella , John Ford's regular screenwriter , and John Twist based on a novel written by Andrew Geer . This ¨Sea chase¨ or ¨La Cacería¨ bears certain resemblance with "Blood Alley¨ (55) by William A. Wellman , also with a skipper Wayne , along with Lauren Bacall , pursued and surrounded by enemy ships and attempting to escape . The Wayne-Turner combination ignite the sparks you'd expect . Nice acting by the great John Wayne , here he takes an unusual character as Ehrlich , an anti-Nazi but proud German who hopes to outrun or out-maneuver the British warship pursuing him . A German Wayne rivaled only by his infamous Genghis Khan in ¨The Conqueror¨ film directed by Dick Powell , for strange role selection . And aboard his ship is the gorgeous and elegant Lana Turner who sings a wonderful song accompanied by the seamen . However , star Lana Turner and filmmaker John Farrow did not get along well during production , she felt Farrow gave her no direction at all and that he was unpleasant with her and her co-stars . There is a colorful secondary cast that includes Lyle Bettger as second-in-command officer , David Farrar as the British Commander , Tab Hunter as a young cadet , the veteran Paul Fix , the ordinary Alan Hale Jr , Richard ¨Dick¨ Davalos , John Qualen as chief machinist and John Doucette . Furthermore , two notorious support actors : Claude Akins , -Claude' normally dark hair was bleached blond for this character- and Gunsmoke's James Arness ; Akins later appeared on ten episodes of "Gunsmoke". Evocative cinematography in Cinemascope and WarnerColor by William H. Clothier , John Ford's customary cameraman . And thrilling and moving musical score by Roy Webb. The motion picture was well directed by John Farrow . At his beginning he wrote short stories and plays during his four-year career in the navy ; in fact John was injured while serving as a Lieutenant Commander in the Royal Navy in World War II . In the late 1920s Farrow came to Hollywood as a technical adviser for a film about Marines and stayed as a screenwriter , from ¨A Sailor's Sweetheart¨ (1927). He began directing in 1937 ¨Men in Exile¨ and ¨West of Shanghai¨ (1937). He married Tarzan's Jane , Maureen O'Sullivan , in 1936 and being Mia Farrow's father . John collaborated in the writing of several of his movies and shared the Academy Award for ¨Around the world in Eighty days¨ (56) . John was a good craftsman who directed all kinds of genres as Western : ¨Copper Canyon¨(50) , ¨Hondo¨ (53) with Wayne , ¨A bullet is waiting¨(54) ; Adventure : ¨Five come back¨(39) , ¨Two years before the mast¨(46) , ¨Botany Bay¨ (59) , ¨Back from eternity¨(56) ; Noir : ¨The Saint strikes back¨(39) , ¨The Criminal Court¨(46) , ¨The Big Clock¨(48) ; Crime drama : ¨Unholy wife¨(57) , ¨His kind of woman¨(51) , Historical : ¨John Paul Jones¨ (59) and Warfare : ¨Commandos strike at dawn¨(43) and this ¨Sea chase¨ (55) .

What was with John Wayne in the 1950s?! Perhaps it was because he often produced his own films or had great star power, but whatever the reason, he chose some of the weirdest parts to play. Think about it...during this era he played Genghis Khan, a diplomat to Japan, an Air Force pilot (this isn't so weird, but his counterpart was Janet Leigh as a Russian pilot!!) and here he plays a German ship's captain during WWII!! At least here he is a German who dislikes the Nazis....but still...Wayne fighting for Germany during the war?! That's so surreal! The film begins just days before WWII begins. Wayne is having a conversation with an old friend who is a captain in the British Navy. This officer is trying to convince Wayne to leave his boat and come with him, as he knows that Wayne hates Hitler and the Nazis. However, Wayne's sense of duty and loyalty to his country prevent him from doing anything other than command his ship.When the war begins, Wayne is concerned to first evade his friend's warship as well as avoid being captured once they are underway. So, it's a never-ending battle to take this merchant vessel to small ports where they can get food and fuel--and somehow possibly make it back to port at Valparaiso and eventually back to Germany.What Wayne doesn't know is that his over-zealous Nazi of a first officer murders two innocent fishermen when they stop to get provisions. Later, when the British Navy discovers this atrocity, Wayne's old friend is determined to destroy the merchant ship and make Wayne pay.During all this time, there inexplicably is a woman aboard. Apparently, she (Lana Turner) is a spy who needs to get away as soon as possible or she'll be captured. Once on board, she generally is a nuisance as she seems petulant and nasty for no particular reason. Later, naturally, sparks fly between Turner and Wayne--though the reason for this seemed a bit forced and illogical.Let's talk more about Wayne and Turner. Although casting Wayne was odd, he handled the job well provided you were able to believe he was German. He did a good job and his character was particularly written well. As for Turner, she seemed like a giant walking cliché. She was moody and curt but over time she became enamored with Wayne. This turnaround was really too much, as she seemed all emotions and fickleness--a truly shallow and silly character (Turner, by the way, was good at these sort of roles). Late in the film, off the coast of Norway, the dialog (particularly hers) is really, really bad--very sticky and dumb.Overall, a pretty interesting tale that didn't really need Lana Turner's character. She was a diversion in an otherwise engaging tale.

This was the first of 11 films I have scheduled to commemorate John Wayne’s 100th Anniversary; actually, it’s one of his titles that keep cropping up on Italian TV – but I somehow never got to catch it over the years.It’s also one of the star’s handful of incongruous 1950s pictures – where he tried to broaden his range but generally came off as ridiculous (for instance, THE CONQUEROR [1956] and THE BARBARIAN AND THE GEISHA [1958; another film I’ve missed out on more than I care to remember!]). This one sees him as the tough anti-Nazi skipper of a German tramp steamer in the days immediately prior to WWII, engaged in a voyage from Sydney, Australia en route to the Fatherland – with the British navy in hot pursuit. One of the English officers is Wayne’s pal David Farrar – who’s set to marry glamorous agent(!) Lana Turner, a passenger on Wayne’s rundown ship! Still, this melodramatic situation renders the chase dull rather exciting – though William H. Clothier’s pleasing Widescreen cinematography offers some form of compensation (as does the supporting cast, littered with regulars from Wayne’s films such as Claude Akins, James Arness and Paul Fix, but also featuring two popular young actors of the day, Tab Hunter and Dick Davalos).In addition to the strain of dodging his pursuers, Wayne is beset with problems on board his own vessel: having fallen for Turner himself, he must contend with his slimy lieutenant Lyle Bettger who has also set his eyes on her; besides, Bettger is responsible for the cold-blooded murder of a group of fishermen which has resulted in the branding of Wayne as a criminal (when Bettger is confronted with the truth in Wayne’s cabin, the latter dismisses him by asking the former to “crawl out” of his sight); Arness, too, decides to contend Wayne’s overly strict leadership but, by the end of the film, they’ve earned one another’s respect. The lengthy film rises to a good (and surprisingly) downbeat climax – but it’s fatally compromised by the mismatched (and miscast) stars. Incidentally, Wayne was in pain during much of the filming due to an ear infection developed after he went scuba-diving; all the star’s subsequent scenes were shot showing just one side of his face.By the way, many seafaring WWII films were made during this era including three which, similar to this one, took the form of a long-running chase – namely THE ENEMY BELOW (1957), RUN SILENT, RUN DEEP (1958) and SINK THE BISMARCK! (1960).

John Wayne stars as a German skipper of an old steamer making his way back to the fatherland pursued by the British fleet. Lana Turner being the love interest,and looking like she stepped out of a night-club just a few hours before the shoot.She's gorgeous and what make-up she wears.Even through hell and high water she looks sexy and beautiful.But sadly there is no sparks flying between Wayne and Turner in the romance department.It feels superfluous to the whole storyline.Then we've got David Farrar playing a British sea officer as British as they come.He's also the narrator.In the supporting cast you will recognize some old Wayne compadres in John Qualen,James Arness and Paul Fix. A waste of time for everybody who don't like John Wayne.I happen to like him.