With a script based on a Jack London novel , it seems obvious that highly talented director Pierre Chenal is more at ease in film noir ("l'affaire Laffarge ", " le dernier tournant" )than in seafaring adventures ;the screenplay is disjointed and the principals ,lacking any charisma , get in the way: the journalist( whose story is based on the writer's own experiences ) turns overnight from harmful passenger to born leader ;even the scene of the murder of the captain is weak ,which is amazing considering Chenal' s flair for film noir.
The supporting cast walks out with the honors and saves the movie; Lucas Gridoux' s obsession with the captain's niece would not have been out of place in Chenal's films noirs;but the standout is Le Vigan ,absolutely stupefying as a "sick " sailor ;he has a tendency to overplay ,but perhaps he thought it was necessary to give the movie the craziness it terribly lacks.
The supporting cast walks out with the honors and saves the movie; Lucas Gridoux' s obsession with the captain's niece would not have been out of place in Chenal's films noirs;but the standout is Le Vigan ,absolutely stupefying as a "sick " sailor ;he has a tendency to overplay ,but perhaps he thought it was necessary to give the movie the craziness it terribly lacks.