La bruja roja

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. ****

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.

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 ****

This is kind of out-of-way stuff for the duke, closest he got to again in "Reap the wild wind". It is basically a Wuthering Heights of the Southern Seas, with a very young and slim Wayne being pulled into a story of intrigue and lost love by the most beautiful Gail Russell. Great pity that her early death prevented her from rising to true stardom, but she truly holds her own next to the Duke in this strange, patchwork story of a true love. If you can hold of it, view it and enjoy it. And it once again convinces me, that John Wayne could pull off almost everything convincingly, giving tribute to him being a real quality actor after all.

Log before "The Deep" there was "Wake of the Red Witch" A fury-filled adventure and a passionate love story with Gail Russell who says ...I can't be bought."

It is the 1860s in the South Pacific, Capt. Ralls (John Wayne,) is the skipper of the ship, Red Witch.

John pits himself up against a ruthless Dutch shipping magnate Mayrant Sidneyeand (Luther Adler), a giant (flimsy) octopus and (sturdy) Gail Russell to recover some pearls, even gold. And someone of course, is killed in the movie.

Be prepared for flash-backs, lots of them and a possible flash forward.

You get an early view of Gig Young as Sam Rosen who can be seen again in "Ask Any Girl" (1959).

All in all, it is a very watchable movie and you may be surprised that you are caught up in the story.