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THE SEA WOLF: Ahoy there, mateys!!!

© Clinton Davis

It's been brought to my attention that all of the movies I've reviewed in this column have been released within the last twenty years or so. In the immortal words of Steve Martin, "Well, Excuuuuuuse me!!!" It's not my fault I was born in 1980 and have yet to even scratch the surface of the "Golden Age" of cinema. There are a LOT of movies out there... I don't think you realize how prolific the studios were back in the day. They had all the movies you could handle and more. Anyway, my point is, in deference to the angry fan (who is also my mother) that has been protesting my movie choices as of late, I shall now reach way back to the year 1941 for a little movie called THE SEA WOLF.

Those of you out there who are big readers might recognize the title of the movie as that of an old Jack London novel. London, if you remember, wrote such manly novels as CALL OF THE WILD and... uh... some others that I never read. Okay, so I'm not a big fan of the nature-fiction area of literature. I know every little boy is supposed to be really into that kind of stuff, but I was much more interested in learning proper vocal technique for a British accent. Yes, I was a theater geek growing up and the natural world just did not captivate my interest. However, these days, I regard camping and other outdoor activities with the proper respect that they deserve. Then, I go back to reading my book. But I digress.

THE SEA WOLF is the story of a young writer who gains boarding on a boat, menacingly named ‘The Ghost,” that is headed over seas. As he is a writer type and not particularly manly, he manages to piss off just about everyone else on the ship, save for the captain, a character that fully defines the words “Crusty old seafarer.” In fact, the original tough-guy himself plays our Capt. Larsen… I’m of course referring to Edward G. Robinson, he of just about every gangster movie put out in the ’30’s and ‘40’s. Capt. Larsen looks upon our writer as an intellectual equal and the two start up a tentative friendship, though really, how friendly can you get with a guy that smells like chum all the time? So things are fine, such as they are, until the crew discovers a stowaway on-board, played by the lovely and talented Ida Lupino. It seems she’s on the run from the law (Her character, I mean. Ms. Lupino, far as I know, has never been on the lam.) and has chosen The Ghost as her hiding place. Well, as you can imagine, she becomes very popular on the vessel, what with her breasts and all, and is subjected to many a leer and catcall, much like the reaction I get when I walk down the street near any major construction site. It’s really a curse, these shapely hips of mine. So things get hairy on the boat, leading to several attempted mutinies and, towards the end, some major intake of water. I’ll leave it at that because I wouldn’t want to give away too much of the plot, which for a movie from back then, is surprisingly dense.