Der Seewolf

I was 10 years old when this originally aired almost 40 years ago and i always loved it. This is still one of the finest hours of German (public) TV with a great script (discard the confusions about the mix of stories, i felt that it added something to the core Seawolf Story) and a strong direction. I had the chance to see it again several times and it doesn't have lost anything. None of actors came to any great fame, even R. Harmstorff remained in the shadow of his role until his death, but sometimes the whole is truly more then the sum of its parts. Wolfgang Staudte deserves special praise. It compares well even with todays best provided from HBO.

A great movie that shows also excellent two philosophical points of view. Social Darwinism (Wolf Larson) vs. the peaceful coexistence of individuals(Louis). A lot of different themes are mentioned.

This is the best version of the Sea Wolf I have seen. There are excellent production values, believable characters and the general feeling of a major production is present throughout. It does not betray its TV origins.

Best of all is Raimund Harmstorf in the title role as Wolf Larsen. He manages to create an aura of intimidation and mystery around his character that has never been matched by other productions of Jack London's story. And, of course, there is the potato-squeezing scene.

This series made Harmstorf a star (at least in Germany), but he could never quite repeat this performance. Strangely, his natural voice was not deemed tough enough for this role at the time and so another actor was chosen to speak his character in the German dubbed version.

Admittedly, this film is well done. It narrates the story of a ship under the leadership of Rolf Larssen, a violent, mentally-ill man. When a ship wreckage of another ship happens, the survivors are taken aboard, and the unholy cruise begins. Harmstorf, a bad actor, who in his career was allowed only to play scumbacks, muggers and robbers, does not play Larsson, he is Larson. Once in a while, his furious attacks of mental pain are so real and scary, that the movie gets a realistic touch that goes far beyond imagination. But, it also plays to the gallery by showing a seaman crawling around after his legs having been bitten off by a shark, with all other seamen standing around, cheering and laughing. Although such scene of graphic violence are rare, the movie is not for children. Harmstorf, who committed suicide after a long and drawn-out suffering of Alzheimer, sets down a figure that is so real that we can deduce from that his real nature : a lone, psychopathic man, prone to violence.

In the end sixties and early seventies they used to give us a four part great TV production of some classic novel. This one along with "Die Schatzinsel" was the best of them. Actually they took a number of Jack London´s stories and melted them into an unforgettable adventure. Of course no one will ever forget the potato scene. But what impressed me more was the wonderful love story between Hump and Maud Brewster the way Wolf talks about his ambition and his failure: "My mistake was to have ever opened a book." And of course the way the two main Characters Hump and Wolf Larrson would meet again and again with the most believable and mesmerizing love-hate relationship I know of. When Hump is left alone on this tiny island and only hatred and as he says life itself forces him to continue walking it is the greatest moment in movie history Great music score, too. The final part is a bit disappointing, the only reason why this is not among the very best films of all time.