Piratas del Caribe

Yet another star-studded box office hit few people have today even heard of. (Raymond Massey later admitted that he recalled so little about this film that when he observed to John Wayne they ought to do a movie together it fell to Wayne to remind him that they already had.)

By the time he made this Cecil B. DeMille was leaving all the location work in the hands of second unit director Arthur Rosson and the scenes at sea are otherwise achieved with obvious models (although the giant squid is memorable enough for the film to collect its one Oscar, for special effects).

However it doesn't take itself too seriously, and with a cast like that - notably Victor Kilian as n'er-do-well Mathias Widgeon; although it's Milland rather than Wayne who gets to tell Paulette Goddard "My, you're mighty desirable when angry!" - and with plush costume design and interior decor in sumptuous Technicolor its a good way to kill a couple of hours.

I loved this movie. All the stars were at their peak. They looked so glamorous and young and vital in their careers. I loved Paulette Goddard.

In my personal opinion, she has been overlooked by so many. She was a wonderful beautiful star. Can't believe in the re-release they put Susan Hayward ahead of Paulette. Hayward had a very small part. Paulette was the star of the movie. It's not the first time they have put Goddard last. Too bad. I think she's terrific. She had the ability to do comedy as well as drama. And she was a very gorgeous woman. That wonderful laugh of hers.

Reap the Wild Wind (1942)

*** (out of 4)

Cecil B. DeMille's over-the-top but fun adventure takes place in the 1840s as ships try to reach the Atlantic ocean but often end up wrecked on the shoals of Florida. Southern belle Loxi Claiborne (Paulette Goddard) has Captain Jack Stuart (John Wayne) and Stephen Tolliver (Ray Milland) battling for her before the men end up battling a giant squid. REAP THE WILD WIND is a pretty fun movie, although there's no question that it doesn't rank among the director's best work and there are some fairly big flaws scattered throughout the picture. I love Milland but I thought he just wasn't right for this role. In later years John Wayne would say that he was cast in the movie to make Milland seem more like a man and perhaps that's true. There just wasn't a single second where I bought Milland and Wayne battling each other for this woman and their fight scenes aren't very believable either. Milland gives a good performance, don't get me wrong, but he just wasn't right for the part. Wayne, still not a star, does a nice job in his role, although there's a scene early on where he gets knocked out and the way Wayne does this is somewhat laughable. Goddard is her usual good self and we get nice support from villain Raymond Massey, Robert Preston, Charles Bickford and Susan Hayward. The visual effects ended up winning an Oscar when this was originally released and I'm sure people only used to CGI effects are going to think these here are awful. For 1942 they're actually pretty good and this includes the scenes with the ships on the sea. I'm not exactly sure what DeMille put into the pool that they were shooting these scenes but the water looks beautiful. As for the giant squid at the end, it's certainly very fake looking and I was a little surprised that they didn't do more with it as the fight is pretty small. REAP THE WILD WIND isn't a classic by any stretch of the imagination but it's certainly worth watching.

Reap the Wild Wind is Cecil B. DeMille's contribution to such sea-faring adventure classics as The Sea Hawk or 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. John Wayne plays a ship captain, Ray Milland plays a lawyer, and Paulette Godard a feisty southern belle who comes between them. There's plenty of fights, a trial, and an entertaining squid. There's Susan Hayward, Robert Preston, Louise Beavers, and Raymond Massey. There's a wonderful music score and beautiful Technicolor. There's a playful monkey and a talking dog (coutesy of Milland's ventriloquism). And it begins with DeMille's narration to set the tone for an action-packed, if occasionally talky, picture. This is good old-fashioned filmaking at its finest! For fans of all of the above, plus Hedda Hopper in her last role not playing herself, I highly recommend you definitely seek this one out!

Cecil B. DeMille, other than THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH, produced and directed one of his best films, in this swashbuckler. Along with rough seas, sailing ships, beautiful southern ladies, sea wrecks [he always has to have that disasterous wreck] a giant squid in a spectacular underwater scene in the hull of a wrecked ship, villains and heroes, DeMille rounds up a stellar cast in the likes of Paulette Goddard, fresh from her almost getting the role of Scarlett O'Hara in GONE WITH THE WIND, as Loxi Claiborne, who is in love with handsome Captain Jack, [John Wayne] who was just beginning to gain world wide fame and Steve Toliver, played by suave and sharp tongued Ray Milland, one of his best acting roles, along with a young Robert Preston and Susan Hayward as young lovers who become victims of the war over salvage rights of wrecked ships. Then there's Raymond Massey, as the villain, Cutler, Charles Bickford, Walter Hampden, famous for his stage performance of Cyrano, colorful Lynne Overman as Loxi's ship captain, Hedda Hopper [without a fancy hat] and Louise Beaver as a Mammy-type servant to Paulette [very Gone With Wind stuff]. The color of technicolor still holds up [not used that often in the 40s]. Goddard's performance alone is worth the admission. This was her second film for DeMille [the first being NORTHWEST MOUNTED POLICE] but not her last [ahead she was to play opposite Gary Cooper in UNCONQUERED]. In this film she shows why she came that close to getting Scarlett. Beautiful, oh, those green eyes, and feisty, like Scarlett, Paulette gives her best, including singing a rather salty sea chant at a social elite gathering of all of Savannah's fine ladies. This is available on VHS and worth getting a copy to view if you want to see the magical world of films of the forties. And the stars that made them.