Well, it's the Iron Duke's kind of role alright. He's the captain of a run-down German freighter that out gambles the Royal Australian Navy for most of the movie, even though there's one of those treacherous, committed Nazis aboard to foul things up. John Wayne had probably played so many similar characters -- tough in pursuit of a lofty goal but with a sympathetic streak which he keeps well hidden -- that he could have sleepwalked through it. Yet it's strangely comfortable to find him playing this part again. All the tension associated with not knowing what he'll do next is removed and we can relax. Yes, he's a good, firm skipper. Alas, he's not much of a good, firm German skipper. We can at least be thankful that he and his crew speak good old-fashioned American except once, when Duke tries to wrap his speech organs around "auf wiedersehen, Sidney," and it comes out with a "w".
Lana Turner. Not to say anything harsh about Lana Turner the woman, but as an actress she made one good movie -- "The Postman Always Rings Twice" -- and the rest of her career is simply inexplicable. She was not an actress but a star, and her role in this film could have been edited out without much loss.
Considering that she has only half a crew, and they're all scoundrels as the narrator tells us, the Ergenstrasse is in pretty good shape inside and out except for her hull. There are some beautiful scenes at sea. And ships are fun anyway. Life aboard a ship is lived askew. A ship has no room, no floor, no ceiling, no wall, no window, no bathroom, no staircase, and no upstairs or downstairs. It has a compartment, a deck, an overhead, a bulkhead, a port, a head, a ladder, and a "below" and "topside." And we see this crew really working, sawing wood and whatnot, instead of lounging around waiting for a chance to speak their lines.
The lines are in fact part of the problem. The script frankly sucks. At a solemn moment, it has Lana Turner begin to sing a simple and appealing folk song with the sappiest lyrics known to man or beast, at the end of which the rest of the crew join in like the Robert Shaw chorale. Wayne actually has to say, "Did anyone ever tell you you're beautiful when you're angry?" (In "The Conqueror," it was, "Yew're byootiful in yer wrath." The script also gives Wayne his usual habit of categorical thinking, which simplifies a complicated world into two values -- good and bad. He gives a rather longish speech (for him) about how weakness is like slapping red lead over a rivet. Under strain it will pop. But "strength you cannot defeat." No? I guess he's talking about moral strength -- will power -- and the Japanese of the banzai days might disagree with him. He'd have been better off illustrating the point rather than blathering on about it.
I kind of liked the movie though. The photography and locations are splendidly rendered. The models may be obvious toys but it's a story that sweeps you up and drags you along with it. A proud and righteous man under pressure to be otherwise.
Lana Turner. Not to say anything harsh about Lana Turner the woman, but as an actress she made one good movie -- "The Postman Always Rings Twice" -- and the rest of her career is simply inexplicable. She was not an actress but a star, and her role in this film could have been edited out without much loss.
Considering that she has only half a crew, and they're all scoundrels as the narrator tells us, the Ergenstrasse is in pretty good shape inside and out except for her hull. There are some beautiful scenes at sea. And ships are fun anyway. Life aboard a ship is lived askew. A ship has no room, no floor, no ceiling, no wall, no window, no bathroom, no staircase, and no upstairs or downstairs. It has a compartment, a deck, an overhead, a bulkhead, a port, a head, a ladder, and a "below" and "topside." And we see this crew really working, sawing wood and whatnot, instead of lounging around waiting for a chance to speak their lines.
The lines are in fact part of the problem. The script frankly sucks. At a solemn moment, it has Lana Turner begin to sing a simple and appealing folk song with the sappiest lyrics known to man or beast, at the end of which the rest of the crew join in like the Robert Shaw chorale. Wayne actually has to say, "Did anyone ever tell you you're beautiful when you're angry?" (In "The Conqueror," it was, "Yew're byootiful in yer wrath." The script also gives Wayne his usual habit of categorical thinking, which simplifies a complicated world into two values -- good and bad. He gives a rather longish speech (for him) about how weakness is like slapping red lead over a rivet. Under strain it will pop. But "strength you cannot defeat." No? I guess he's talking about moral strength -- will power -- and the Japanese of the banzai days might disagree with him. He'd have been better off illustrating the point rather than blathering on about it.
I kind of liked the movie though. The photography and locations are splendidly rendered. The models may be obvious toys but it's a story that sweeps you up and drags you along with it. A proud and righteous man under pressure to be otherwise.