L'Orphelin de la mer

Director Henry King continues to impress me. Having recently watched films of his as diverse as THE BRAVADOS, CAROUSEL, REMEMBER THE DAY, in DEEP WATERS I found yet another specimen of the director's versatility and expertise.

Shot in lovely B&W off the Maine seashore, DEEP WATERS contains some very realistic footage of action at sea, further enhanced by Dana Andrews and Romero looking very professional and knowledgeable as they handle boats, lobsters, and bad weather with consummate ease.

In fact, Andrews was at the top of his powers here, and this seems like a small film for such a great actor, but he goes about it manfully and wholeheartedly, and delivers a superb performance that brims with honesty.

Romero also does well as his Portuguese help who wants to turn to farming, or to mink or rabbit rearing, instead. In contrast, young Roddy McDowall likes the sea like his late father and uncle. However, he is under the charge of beautiful Jean Peters, who does not want the youngster to go to sea because of the dangers therein. Another spanner in the works is that the film opens with Peters and Andrews breaking off their engagement but clearly still feeling deeply for each other... and the wonderful Anne Revere as the no-nonsense boy's foster carer - a truly great short role.

Wonderful cinematography and editing. Well worth a watch. 7/10.

Originally filmed in sepiatone, its big feature is the Maine photography. A somewhat simplistic, yet touching story of an orphan (Stockwell), who gets into trouble, but the town old maid (Revere) comes to the rescue, along with the help of a pair of on/off lovers (Andrews/Peters. A very nice resolution, low key, except for a storm sequence. The music is terrific. Century

Deep Waters which stars Dana Andrews and Jean Peters is a modest story with some special effects that earned the film an Oscar nomination. But for that the film would probably be forgotten today save for its one surviving cast member Dean Stockwell.

Peters is a social worker who comes from a Maine lobster fishing family who lost her father at sea. Stockwell is an orphan who lost his father and uncle at sea. Dana Andrews is a lobster fisherman who takes a liking to the troubled kid.

For reasons having to do with her own issues on the subject Peters places Stockwell in foster care in places that are nowhere near the sea. Running out of them she places him with Anne Revere as a foster mother. Still Stockwell wants to go to sea, it's in his blood and when he doesn't get his way he acts out in ways that will send him to reform school.

I don't think you need a road map to see where this film is going. The special effects of the storm at sea where Andrews and partner Cesar Romero rescue Stockwell are nice and the film's exteriors are done on the Maine coast. Cesar Romero had an interesting character in the Portugese fishing partner of Andrews, shades of Captains Courageous. I wish we had more of him in the film.

Deep Waters is a modest film that kids may like, but can be safely passed over by adults if they're not fans of any of the cast.

This is a very nice family film...the sort of project you just don't see any more...and that's a real shame. The story is set in a small fishing village in Maine and has a lovely cast of characters. It surprised me to see Dana Andrews and Cesar Romero as lobstermen...but it worked. Additionally, Jean Peters and Dean Stockwell round out the excellent cast.

When the story begins, social worker Ann (Peters) and lobsterman Hod (Andrews) just broke their engagement. It seems that she hates having a husband in such a dangerous line of work and Hod just doesn't want any other sort of life.

Soon Ann brings a troubled boy into town to be placed in a foster home. It seems that Donny is an orphan and has been passed from foster home to foster home and Ann hopes that the kind but no- nonsense Mary (Ann Revere) can make the kid feel at home. But what really makes the boy want to stay put is the relationship he soon forges with Hod...as the kid comes from a long line of lobstermen and enjoys spending time on the water. But Ann, as a responsible social worker, intervenes when Hod takes the boy for a day out on the water. She insists that this is too dangerous for the boy...and the kid is heartbroken. So what's next for everyone in this little town?

This film had a lot going for it. The acting was lovely and seeing Andrews in Maine was actually very nice--though he sure sounded very Middle America and so did many of the other actors. As for Romero, while a very cultured Mexican-American, here he ably plays a Portuguese sailor with a very strong accent. The one actor who did approximate the accent well was Ed Begley...but he was only a bit player in the picture. The exterior shots were all done in Maine and the location shoot was great. What also was great was the excellent storm sequence--with a rather realistic and seamless rear projection subbing for the real thing! And, to top it off, the direction and story were excellent. A bit of a sleeper that you rarely see on TV...but worth looking for sometime.

By the way, I was bawling away at the end...so you might wanna have some Kleenex handy. Sentimental? Of course...but never cloying or fake.

With the exception of the Hollywood sound stage segments, exteriors for this movie were shot on location in Vinalhaven, ME.

Some of the locals were also used as extras in the background.

My father "temped" for 20th Century Fox during the production. He drove a equipment truck to the different set locations on the island.

The equipment had to come by barge as the local ferry was way too small to handle all the equipment needed by the studio.

I don't believe this movie has been out of the vault for many years. It used to play on late night TV back in the 60's. As I remember it, there's really no reason to bring it back.