Le renard des océans

John Wayne is monumentally miscast as the captain of a German boat during World War 2. John Wayne pretty much plays the part as he plays all of his parts - simply as 'John Wayne'. He saunters through his role, not really acting but just being there; however, he does have a great screen presence. He's not a German, though, and his strong American accent does him no favours in the believability stakes, and the fact that all of the crew speak English make this a film that obviously doesn't care whether or not the audience will believe it. Of course, this is 1950's Hollywood, so we can't expect the crew speak German with subtitles or anything like that; but having a German crew speak fluent English doesn't really work.

Despite it's relative silliness, however, this film is decent throwaway entertainment. The plot follows the escapades of John Wayne...I mean Karl Ehrlich, a German freighter captain who must take his ship from Sydney, Australia to it's homeland of Germany. However, things are never that simple as hot on his heels are the British Navy, and as we all know; Britannia rules the waves, so John...I mean Karl has a job on his hands. A chase is always exciting to see in a film, and it is exciting here.... sometimes. The film never reaches the dizzy highs of other action adventure films, but it holds it's own in the entertainment department. There are several good sequences, such as a shark attack, several scenes of rough sea and a near mutiny among other things.

Lana Turner stars opposite John Wayne as the standard 'love interest'. Lana's performance isn't bad, and she looks nice; but the love part of the film seems very much like it was tacked on in order to get more people to go and see it. I know that this obviously isn't what happened, as all love interests in films like this are very much needed so that the story can progress and have nothing to do with getting more people into the cinema. Oh wait. Anyway, despite this needless element; The sea Chase is mostly well paced and it doesn't get boring often, and when it does it's not for long; so I recommend the film to anyone that just wants something mindless to watch for a couple of hours; like I did when I watched it.

No, John Wayne and his crew don't speak German, but what do you expect of a film from this era? In Ben-Hur the Romans speak with British accents and the Jews speak with American accents. The same line of reasoning applies here. The English have British accents and the Germans have American accents. Accept it and move on. Once one can get past the accent issue, this is really quite a good film. All of the credit in the world goes to John Wayne for making this film. Made in the mid-50's, just ten years after the end of World War II, I would imagine it was not very popular subject matter at the time. It is one of the few Hollywood films to try to show the Second World War from the German point of view. Karl Ehrlich (Wayne) is a man torn between his love for his country and his personal hatred for the ideals of Hitler. He is an officer of the old school Prussian monarchy still loyal to the Kaiser who does not like the new regime. As Jeff Napier (David Farrar) notices, he flies the swastika outside on his ship but still has the old imperial battle flag hanging in his cabin. He must decide whether to allow his ship to be taken or defy the entire British Navy and try to bring the Ergenstrasse back safely to the Fatherland. The flag he flies during the final battle is a telling sign of where his loyalty lies and (in my opinion) is Ehrlich's explanation for his actions. An interesting, intriguing, and thought-provoking war film.

John Wayne as the captain of a German ship during the early days of World War II? The same John Wayne who rode tall in the saddle, saved a doomed airliner, and led the Green Berets? All right, he does not support German policies, but, nevertheless, casting Wayne in the part of Captain Karl Ehrlich was a bizarre choice. The Duke does not even attempt a German accent, and he actually mispronounces the only German words that he utters, "Auf Wiedersehn." Perhaps the lure of starring opposite the luscious, if decidedly petite next to Wayne, Lana Turner was reason enough to ignore the mediocre script and listless direction by John Farrow.

Whatever Wayne's motives for appearing in "The Sea Chase," he plays John Wayne relatively well and outmaneuvers the pursuing British in the grand heroic style he pioneered. Of course, why the audience should be pulling for the Germans to escape the British during World War II is a moral dilemma with which to wrestle. However, somewhat akin to "Das Boot," only one dastardly German serves among the otherwise apolitical crew, and a Nazi flag only appears once and briefly.

As Ehrlich, Wayne sails from Sydney just after hostilities begin in Europe, and, with a British ship in pursuit, which is captained by an officer that Wayne managed to insult over a woman, the glowing Ms. Turner, Wayne maneuvers his ship through the South Pacific towards safety in Valparaiso. Just before leaving Sydney, the German counsel tells Captain Ehrlich that he will be carrying a passenger, a spy who also seeks refuge in Valparaiso. Of course, the increasingly stunning Lana Turner is the passenger, who has managed to escape Sydney with only one bag. And what a bag that must have been, because, throughout the voyage, she has endless changes from one glamorous costume to another. Her makeup is never less than perfect, and the hairspray alone to keep her immaculately coiffed must have weighed a ton. How she maintained the perfection of her platinum blonde hair without a dye specialist on board remains a mystery. Of course, "The Sea Chase" is pure Hollywood hokum, and such questions of logic should never be asked.

Unfortunately for the film and perhaps for Wayne, there appears to be little chemistry between the Duke and Turner. In the one kissing scene, Wayne seems to be biting Turner's jugular while holding his breath rather than exuding any passion. Turner does not turn up the heat either. In spite of her famous looks and figure, Lana exudes a chill towards most of the men in the film, although she tempts the sex-starved crew with tightly filled sweaters from her private deck. The decidedly non-Teutonic actors in the supposedly German crew include such familiar faces as James Arness, Tab Hunter, Claude Akins, Paul Fix, and Alan Hale, and each is decidedly superior to the lines they are forced to recite.

Although the film is a supposedly a chase, there is a shortage of action, and the film plods along with little suspense other than that provided by Turner's wardrobe changes. John Wayne fans likely will want to see "The Sea Chase," if only for the curiosity value. Others perhaps should steer clear unless it is a particularly rainy day with absolutely nothing else but reruns of "My Mother the Car" on the tube.

This film is purely for entertainment and not of any historical background. Still, navy/sea warfare buffs will enjoy the story of the pursuit by a British destroyer of a German merchant ship across several oceans. The cast is so-so but with the "Duke" (John Wayne) in the lead role the story manages to limp along with some degree of success. The "destroyer" used in the film is in fact HMCS New Glasgow, a frigate then in service with the Royal Canadian Navy. I saw the movie shortly after it's release in 1955 while in my mid-teens; a number of years later I served on New Glasgow and recalled the part played by the ship and crew in the film. Shows how Hollywood will use any "prop" available to fill in scenes. The crew never did get any extra pay for their appearance (nor did the ship)but at least they have the satisfaction of knowing the true identity of the "destroyer." Despite all the above the film is good viewing and will be of interest to many.

A very strange cast; very confusing story line; but a very good fox chasing the hound on the war time seas. John Wayne is a disgruntled German freighter captain that only wants to get his ship to safe port at the beginning of World War II. Not believing the ideals of Hitler, Wayne and his volunteer sailors set course for Norway. Pretending allegiance to Germany, Wayne must transport a beautiful spy(Lana Turner)to safety. The freighter must out run a determined British Commander(David Farrar)who has personal reasons to catch Wayne and his special cargo.

Diverse supporting cast includes: Lyle Bettger, James Arness, Tab Hunter and John Qualen. Action movies on the bounding sea always fascinate me. This is fun movie to watch.