L'épouse de la mer

"Sea Wife" is a film best enjoyed if you don't have particularly high expectations and accept it as it is. I liked it but could easily see folks complaining about one serious problem with the plot.

When the film begins, 'Biscuit' (Richard Burton) has arrived back in England after a very long absence. The first thing he does is arrange for some odd personal ads to be run in the various newspapers with odd messages from 'Biscuit' to someone called 'Sea Wife'. These messages turn out to be fruitless and eventually an acquaintance named 'Bulldog' contacts him and asks him to come see him about the messages. Then a lengthy flashback occurs. The time in 1942 and the setting is Singapore as the Japanese are invading. Biscuit is on board a ship that is trying to escape--as are many, many others on this overloaded ship. Eventually, the ship is torpedoed with it's out to see and Biscuit and four others end up in a life raft together. Oddly, they don't use their real names and they all assign nicknames to each other--Bulldog (for the nasty and extremely bigoted jerk), #4 because he was the fourth one aboard, Biscuit (this one made little sense) and Sea Wife since she was a lady. Their adventures make up most of the rest of the film and during this time, Biscuit falls for Sea Wife and she NEVER bothers to mention to him that she's a nun and that's why she's rebuffing his advances. WHY NOT JUST TELL THE GUY!?!?! And, if the story is being discussed by Biscuit and Bulldog, how can we see and hear conversations that go on between #4 and Sea Wife if they never told the other two about what they said?!?! Huh?!

On the other hand, the film was excellent in many ways. I particularly loved how the film focused on the horrible aspects of human nature. The ship sinking scene was great--very harrowing and exhibiting all the worst in mankind!! Likewise, Bulldog was a great character simply because he was so awful. Overall, a nice adventure film that occasionally didn't exactly make sense. Worth seeing but certainly not a must-see.

Facile dramatics about four disparate characters--three men and one woman (Joan Collins)--shipwrecked off the coast of Singapore in 1942. One of the men grows very fond of the lady, who is secretly a nun. The nun's curious reluctance to divulge her vocation unnecessarily drags out these proceedings (and makes Sister Collins out to be something of a tease, which is touched upon fleetingly). Film verges on camp but is saved from silliness by an adept, surface-pretty production, also by Richard Burton's fiery emoting (predictably, he's colorful and mercurial as ever). Shallow, but certainly entertaining on a minor scale. **1/2 from ****

Richard Burton and Joan Collins in a shipwreck/lifeboat drama was something that I could not resist checking out. Once all has been said and done I'm still happy to have checked it out and spent some time with these characters. The entire cast does a fine job, Grant and Sydney are also both solid and their story is ultimately one of the more interesting elements of Sea Wife. Some reviewers mentioned having trouble with Collins playing a Nun but for me I think those individuals are bringing too much baggage to that analysis because if you are able observe her soley for her performance here she does an excellent and to me believable performance. The main weakness is the story, it just doesn't dig deep enough into any of the four main characters development. That's unfortunate because the setting kinds of lends itself to that type of exploration but it was just not forthcoming. I also feel the direction, while competent, was not particularly interesting. Despite some major shortcomings I did fine Sea Wolf kind of interesting.

In their only time together in a film, Richard Burton and Joan Collins co-star in Sea Wife which is a combination of Alfred Hitchcock's Lifeboat and John Huston's Heaven Knows Mr. Allison. It was sad to say not a really good blend.

The film is told in flashback with both Richard Burton and Basil Sydney remembering the events of many years ago during World War II. After leaving the besieged Singapore in a crowded cargo ship, Burton, Sydney, Joan Collins and Cy Grant find themselves on a rubber dinghy after the ship is torpedoed by a Japanese submarine.

Sydney is your typical John Bull like administrator who spent his life among the various native populations and has a racist superiority attitude concerning them. Cy Grant is a black sailor and the only one who is really capable of helping this disparate bunch survive. He knows something about Collins that the other two don't, that she's a nun who had to leave the ship quickly without habit.

Why she doesn't come right out and tell the other two I'm still not figuring out. I mean Deborah Kerr did in Heaven Knows Mr. Allison and it kept Robert Mitchum somewhat at bay. But she keeps it a deep dark secret and let's Richard Burton's hormones go raging.

The real story here is with Sydney and Grant and Grant has the best acted role in Sea Wife. Had this been an American production the part would have gone to Sidney Poitier and he would have been acclaimed for his performance.

Sea Wife is not anything that will be listed among the top ten of either Richard Burton's or Joan Collins's films.

What a poignant picture that I'd watched in my childhood days, according my files it was in 1976, I stay baffled when saw the paltry rating 5.7, well as I'm a painstaking movie buff always ensue my feelings, therefore whatever be the rate it didn't changes nothing at all, this movie is proposed as non-linear story, Michael Cannon (Burton) just arriving at London put several advertisements on many majors newspapers, searching for a girl called just "Sea wife" signing as "Biscuit" only, after some months no answer from the girl, although he receives a message from a dying man from hospital, "Bulldog" is his nickname, there they remember all story of these four survivors of a shipwreck after their ship has been torpedoed by a Japanese submarine, they meets at life-raft and know themselves just by nicknames, Sea wife is a faithful beauty girl, actually just one knows that he is a Nun (Joan Collins), the mid age men Biscuit (Burton), the harsh and prejudiced Bulldog (Basil Sydney) and a black purser number Four (Cy Grant), they reach a pacific island, there Biscuit falling in love by Sea wife, who told to him which she already gave his hand to someone else (Jesus) in other hand the relationship between the racist Bulldog and the Number Four is getting worst, one of great movies of my tender age, finally l got it on DVD fully restored and color, due in 1976 my grandfather's TV was in black and white!!

Resume:

First watch: 1976 / How many: 5 / Source: TV-DVD / Rating: 8