Wake of the Red Witch

I enjoy most John Wayne films, notably his Westerns, and a long time ago read several books about him, but Wake of the Red Watch was all but unknown to me. (British TV frequently screens his better-known films butI can't recall "Wake" being shown before.)

It wasn't at all bad, if one overlooks some of the clichés and limited production values, and Wayne portrays a character more complex and less sympathetic than in any other of his films, even Red River and The Searchers.

Some of the plot twists were a bit hard to follow, and I'm still not sure about the relationship between Ralls and Sidneye - it seemed to mellow towards the end.

Before watching the film I hadn't bothered to note its date and, going on Wayne's youthful appearance and the unsophisticated aspects of filming and plotting, I guessed it was early 1940s. I was a little surprised to see that it was 1948, just as Wayne was about to film some of his greatest Westerns.

The first thirty minutes or so of Wake Of The Red Witch has so many characters, and it's so hard to figure out what's happening, it may remind you of The Big Sleep. After two lengthy flashback sequences, told by two different characters, the waters of the plot were a little less muddy. Unfortunately, at that point the story slowed down and sagged a little. Nevertheless, this is a very exotic (as in strangely but appealingly different) and entertaining movie and a different direction for John Wayne, who plays one of the most sinister and cruelest characters of his career.

Republic Pictures was a studio with a reputation for making movies on the cheap without the final product looking cheap. Most of their output were programmers, but they liked to turn out one or two "quality productions" per year. It looks as if Wake Of The Red Witch with a budget of over $1,200,000 was the quality of 1948. The movie premiered in Houston, Texas in late 1948 but did not get a general release until March 1949, which probably indicates some re-editing and perhaps new scenes. It has a terrific cast, headed by Wayne and Gail Russell, excellently supported by Gig Young, Adelle Mara, Luther Adler, Henry Daniel, Eduard Franz, Paul Fix, and Grant Withers. Edward Ludwig's direction is sharp, especially considering the complex script handed him by screen writers Harry Brown and Kenneth Gamet. Cinematography by Reggie Lanning is up to the best standards of beautiful back and white era. Though there is some obvious back projection in places, the South Sea sets by John McCarthy, Jr. and George Milo are lush and convincing, and stock footage from other movies (one of Republic's favorite cost-cutters) is blended in flawlessly. On the other hand the fluid editing we take for granted in pictures from the 'forties is spoiled by too many abrupt, blackout scene changes. This may point to some radical re-editing between the premiere and the general release three months later.

Set in the 1860's Dutch East Indies and surrounding area, the story revolves around a bitter but respectful rivalry between sea captain Wayne and ship owner Adler. These two strong, morally challenged men are locked in a long-standing mutual hatred. But each grudging admires the other as the most ruthless and competent man he knows. Their rivalry eventually becomes the sole reason each has for living.

Wayne was coming off the release of the highly successful Red River, which had actually been filmed two years earlier, when Wake Of The Red Witch was made. There was a little of Tom Dunson, the cruel, tyrannical rancher he played in Red River in practically every movie John Wayne subsequently made. There is a lot of Dunson in his Captain Ralls in Wake Of The Red Witch. He is Dunson magnified. Wayne and Adler's intense character studies are what makes this movie really worth watching. As for the rest of the cast .... judging by this picture, it would seem that Gail Russel, in addition to wrecking her career with booze, just wasn't really much of an actress. Adele Mara should have had the female lead instead of the second lead. And Gig Young should have kept the mustache.

Wake Of The Red Witch is one of John Wayne's best performances, an entertaining, action-packed, and mysterious picture.

As other viewers have commented, I personally viewed this film when I only paid 35 cents for admission and it was well worth it. John Wayne was my idol and just the thought of going down under the water was extremely unimaginable and fighting all the horrible creatures we just read or heard about was never viewed on a big screen. (Radio was our only big entertainment and we had to use our IMAGINATION!) In 1948 the country had just gotten over WW II and Hollywood did not have all the special effects it has in 2000! I have viewed this film over and over again and still remember how it kept me on the edge of my seat. All future generations will do the very same thing and admire how much the film industry has advanced in their technology. This is a great John Wayne Classic and to find fault with it is uncalled for.

Half of a good movie. John Wayne plays a sea captain set adrift on the waters after a falling out with natives on an island in the East Indies; he's soon picked up by another ship but butts heads (in a gentlemanly fashion) with that captain, a well-respected shipping magnate, especially after they return to the native island and both men fall in love with a beautiful white girl. Mostly told (rather unnecessarily) in flashback, there are two treasure dives--the first for pearls and then for gold--yet by the time we get around to the second pillage, all the wind has gone out of this movie's sails. At a certain point passed the first hour, the narrative flashes seven years ahead into the future--and then proceeds for more time!--leaving viewers far behind. Gail Russell is indeed lovely as the woman who comes between the two ego-fed men, but her role turns the film from a sea-faring adventure story into a star-crossed, doomed-lovers romance, and the results are all wet. The Duke is fun wrestling with an octopus, saving a native boy from the piercing clamp of a giant clam, or mouthing off to whomever is in charge; he's at his most robust and handsome here, but his performance doesn't bolster the wayward plotting and his final scene is a real let-down. ** from ****

I have to say that for all those other reviewers who compared Wake of the Red Witch to Wuthering Heights I am grateful. I'd never really thought of it that way, but it is definitely true.

The Duke is hardly the classically trained actor that Laurence Olivier is, but as I've remarked in other reviews his was one of the great faces for movie closeups. His expressions are worth ten pages of dialog. And he is probably in his most romantic role as Captain Ralls of the Red Witch.

Of course this film is most compared to Reap the Wild Wind where also for romantic reasons, John Wayne piled a ship on the reefs and later went after the salvage. But though the other film is a big budget product from one of the premier studios, Wake of the Red Witch is a much better story.

The story is seen through the eyes of Gig Young as Wayne's first mate. Wayne sinks the Red Witch because his employer, the malevolent Luther Adler has taken the lovely Gail Russell from him, through the connivance of her father Henry Daniell.

Wayne gets not one, but three underwater scenes unlike in Reap the Wild Wind. He rescues young Fernando Alvarado from a giant claim, kills a giant octopus for native pearls and searches for gold bullion on the sunken Red Witch. All the sequences are nicely done.

The ending, some elements of Wuthering Heights are here. But I think it has more of a Maytime flavor to it.