Sea Spoilers

This was a good, but not great, action film made by Universal in 1936, about fighting the seal pirates off the coast of Alaska.

As with other films by the #1 star of all time, it obviously has commercial value even today.

The movie was re-issued to theaters in 1949.

Oddly, virtually all Universal pictures from this era were reissued to theaters either by Realart Pictures or by Universal. "The Spoilers" is one example: reissued over-and-over to theaters, then by VHS, DVD, etc. But not "Sea Spiolers."

"Sea Spoilers" was offered a few times in bootleg on eBay; not lately.

Incidentally, Humphrey Bogart is being pushed right now as the #1 star of all time. Love Bogart, but #1 he is not.

I believe this is the first Wayne film for Universal. As such, not bad for its type. Low budget hurts but it does move along well. Why aren't these older Wayne films run on television?

John Wayne as the dutiful young officer and the best boatswain in the Coast Guard is denied his promotion by the Commander's son played by William Bakewell. That plus dad, George Irving hopes he can get over his fear of the sea. The plot thickens as the seal poucher, well played by veteran actor Russell Hicks kidnaps Duke's girl, played by gorgeous Nan Grey. The actors superbly bring the suspense to breakneck speed save for great comic relief. The best comic western sidekick, Fuzzy Knight and Oil (Chester Gan) put on a world class rescue of their own. To get some information from Oil, the landing crew has to give him a 'bottle'. Another surprise is what's in the bottle. Sea Spoilers provides great suspense with just the right amount of comic relief.

An American mystery drama; A story about sealskin smugglers who kidnap the girlfriend of an Alaskan coast guardsman who has recently been made temporary boatswain of a patrol cutter. The film has reasonable production values for a short feature, good location work too. Alas, the B-movie story has some unbelievable elements like a captain with sea phobia, a lot of plot consequences that are coincidental, and detours that make this an overfilled pie. Nevertheless, the final battle is very well staged. John Wayne has a cool charm which shines through as the man overlooked for promotion and placed second in command to a green Captain played adequately well by William Bakewell.

John Wayne is Bob Randall, the best boatswain in the Coast Guard. His ship is heading home and he's looking forward to two things: he expects to be promoted to skipper of his ship, and he knows he'll see his girl Connie. Alas, things don't work out—at least not right away.

First, the commander back in port passes over Bob and appoints his own son to command the ship. The Duke is disappointed but grits his teeth—he is too much the professional to let it affect his work. But second, Connie is kidnapped by a gang of seal smugglers and taken out to sea and who knows where. Can this be allowed to stand?

Sea Spoilers does not exactly stretch the intellect, but it's fun, nevertheless.

Nan Grey is spirited as Connie, the girlfriend. Her part is not large but she has a few good scenes—she directs some fiery speeches at the head bad guy (Russell Hicks), and she displays smarts when a swift escape becomes vitally necessary.

Hicks is a particularly nasty baddie; suave in appearance and manner, he exults in the early success of his evil plans and freely insults his captives and enemies.

Some minor subplots distract briefly, such as the young commander's fear of rough water, and the seal brought on board by the Duke's assistant and pal (Fuzzy Knight, as combination right hand man and comic relief). But it's really John Wayne's show: he plays a handsome, dutiful and daring young officer who's tall and strong and not a big talker. What's not to like?