Wake of the Red Witch

From one of the many novels written by Garland Roark comes this dramatic story which the Legendary John Wayne enhanced with his mere presence. Directed by Edward Ludwig the story is masterfully written and tells the naval tale of an adventurous sea Captain named Ralls (John Wayne) who's a courageous soldier of fortune. Created with duel personalities, Ralls is both blessed and cursed because of them. Instintivly knowledgeable of the sea and his ship with many skills having to do with caring about his cargo and his 18 sail masted schooner, he's a skilled navigator who instills confidence in all of his crew. This bears well with his boss Mayrant Ruysdaal Sideye (Luther Adler) who is always trying to out think his chosen Captain. To insure that Sideye gets his way, he designates a second in command trustworthy enough to get the task done. What the ship's owner plans is to insure his precious cargo is scuttled to the bottom of the sea, so's as to collect on the insurance. What those involved don't know is that Ralls has his own way of doing things and puts in danger the owners plans. It's a story of deception versus skill, which may put all those involved in jail or get them killed. To complicate matter there are several beautiful women who believe their men and the Island native who trust in their gods as well. All in all, it a good movie for Wayne and any audience member will be hard pressed to select whether Wayne is playing a Good Guy or not. It's hard. The great cast is there to insure the quality of the film which is superior. They include Gail Russell, Gig Young, Luther Adler, Henry Daniell, Paul Fix and Jeff Corey. If this is your first Wayne movie you'll realize why he became a great star. The movie is listed as a Classic and I agree. ****

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 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.

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.

After John Wayne starred in Cecil B. DeMille's answer to "Gone With the Wind," an epic called "Reap the Wild Wind," the Duke wanted to make a similar themed film but with more complex characters. John Wayne made "Wake of the Red Witch," a terrific follow-up that remakes elements of the original film but creates completely new situations and characters, and explores the dark side of people. Both films open with John Wayne as a 19th Century sea captain who's ship is scuttled for the rich cargo. In both films John Wayne fights a big octopus and is involved in a love triangle with a beautiful woman and his boss. The period, style, and sets are similar but there are differences in story. DeMille's story was set in the south and revolved around a southern belle who played with the affections of two men. The characters were somewhat one-dimensional (John Wayne the unquestionable good guy, Ray Milland the unquestionable rich playboy, Paulette Goddard the unquestionable flirt). "Wake of the Red Witch," set in the South Pacific, is much more complex. John Wayne's character is sometimes cruel and dishonest. He is driven by drunken rages to beat men and his performance is perhaps the best in his career. As the camera closes in on his face there is true madness in his eyes and the strength and anger he possesses is truly frightening. In one scene where he has just punched out his crew and jumped ship, running violently through the jungle toward the woman he loves (Gail Russell), he is a monster. The entire story is told by a member of John Wayne's crew (Gig Young) and we are first introduced to John Wayne as a heartless and corrupt captain. As the story unfolds we see a much more complex mystery involving the captain's rich nemesis who respects the captain as a hero and worthy opponent and has driven John Wayne to madness. The end plays out as a haunting romance as the love between the captain and the woman he adores (and who has married his enemy) conquers all amongst all the tragedy. I would suggest you see Cecil B' DeMille's "Reap the Wild Wind" first as it is much less satisfying and might be disappointing compared to the complexity of "Wake of the Red Witch," though both films are terrific entertainment and showcase John Wayne at his non-western best. Note: In the film, The Red Witch (a sailing ship) is owned by a company called Batjac, a name the Duke would use as the name of his own film company.