Cargaison dangereuse

The night scenes are filmed very well but you must see them in wide-screen format or letter-boxed. For example, close scenes inside the ship at night are well filmed and staged, but literally won't make sense if not viewed letter-boxed. The outdoor sea scenes (almost all dark) are awesome, probably better than if they had been computer-generated. But again, the movements of the ships will not make sense if viewed other than letterbox. The story is largely told through movement- of ships, or of men moving around in the dark. I mention this to help any potential viewer.

Cooper gives a compelling, desperate performance that makes you really want to watch what happens to his character, Capt. Patch. Also, this is probably the most believable performance by Heston as an ordinary, non-historical, non sci-fi character. I was pleasantly surprised by both Cooper's and Heston's performances. Both performances are essentially very modern-style screen acting, and are not dated after these many years.

The supporting roles are undeveloped and one-dimensional, including the role so forcefully played by the young Richard Harris. Its a shame the great Virginia McKenna is so underused here. She could have made the film appeal to a broader-based audience. The other supporting actors (Alexander Knox at his most wooden) don't add to the film.

Even if you don't like seafaring stories, watch this for the acting by the two stars, and for the marvelous night cinematography. Film students and buffs should look carefully at the night scenes inside the ship and on the docks. You will see true night cinema work, with perfectly set light meters and minimalist lighting. In other words: nighttime lighting and camera artistry, not gimmicks.

Although Gary Cooper doesn't appear on screen for the first ten minutes or so, this movie is clearly his. Charlton Heston is billed second, and while his part is substantial, Cooper ultimately gets the meat of the movie. It's downright striking when Cooper, as Patch, first appears. This sea-wary captain looks nothing like the dapper romantic lead we associate with Cooper. He's grizzled, tired and dirty from head to toe. Cooper never got his universally-praised swan song moment before he passed, mainly because critics at the time panned a wonderful little movie called Love in the Afternoon based solely upon the age difference between Cooper and Audrey Hepburn.

You may not even notice, but there's very little dialog for the first forty minutes of this movie. There's such an eerie feeling, and so much going on visually, that dialog isn't even necessary. The special effects are stunning in this film. Everything in this picture, unlike contemporary movies, looks utterly believable. The beginning in particular has a few breathless sequences which certainly stand the test of time visually.

This picture is directed very capably by Michael Anderson; it nearly became an Alfred Hitchcock production before Hitchcock decided to make a little film called North by Northwest instead. No matter, Anderson, of Logan's Run and Around the World in Eighty Days fame, does a fine job at the helm. Heston plays his part, Sands, very well; free of the grandness and scope that people usually peg him for from the epics. Richard Harris also takes the villain role which could have easily come off as silly and made it dangerous and creepy.

I give this movie a 9 because I think the script could have used a couple lighter moments between Cooper and Heston. The ending scene, while a little short, was especially well-done. It takes on added emotional weight by the fact that this film would be Cooper's second to last. Watch this movie for Heston. Watch it for Harris. Watch it to see the pairing of two heavyweights in Cooper and Heston, but especially watch it for Cooper.

Really good, sound drama with Gary Cooper and Charleton Heston involving the world of shipping and salvage. From the raging sea to the eeryness of an empty ship, to the court room and back it maintains a very good pace.

John Sands is the captain of a small rescue ship, one night he finds the Mary Deare drifting towards him. Sensing an opportunity for salvage rights, he boards her thinking the crew has long since gone. Yet the Mary Deare has one survivor, the enigmatic first officer Gideon Patch. Patch is acting strange and refuses to make sense when probed by Sands about the events on the ship, but as the two men steady the ship and come together, Sands agrees to keep quiet about the Mary Deare until the official investigation of the incident is heard on dry land.

Gary Cooper (Patch) & Charlton Heston (Sands), two giants both in stature and iconic standing, come together here in a drama mystery that is awash with old fashioned values. Based on the Hammond Innes novel, The Wreck Of The Mary Deare fuses action and suspense and then cloaks it in a court room denouement. For practically the first hour of the piece we are left purely in the hands of Cooper and Heston, both men bouncing off each other with acting gravitas born out of sheer hard work, it really is a thrill to witness both men giving gusto.

That this film is rarely mentioned in classic circles comes as surprise to me, I can only think that many feel that both the leads here deserved a better project? Maybe that this pairing should have produced a more memorable piece? Yet the film was a positive joy for me, a hark back to days when the effects masters had to graft and sweat for a desired effect, a time when men were men, a time when the likes of Gary Cooper got the job done in spite of illness.

Also here a young fresh faced Richard Harris puts down his marker for the future, his Higgins is both arrogant and snide in equal measure. Although the accent is a bit bemusing to myself, it's a memorable turn that delivers all that's required. Emlyn Williams & Michael Redgrave flesh out the solid support, whilst Michael Anderson (The Dam Busters) directs with knowing and careful hands. The film feels as though it was released far earlier than 1959, but that is in no way a bad thing, in fact it's quite a pleasant surprise. 7.5/10

This movie certainly could have used a re-write on the script. While the main theme of the movie is wonderful, all the little pieces that make up the lot just don't add up together. Repeatedly, Gary Cooper's character does things that just don't make a lot of sense. And, for the most part, Charlton Heston just goes along with him--even though much of the time Cooper's character seems like a bit of a nutter! For these flaws, the film's rating goes down to 7.

So, how does the film STILL merit a good score overall? Well, the plot is very unusual and makes a lot of sense once all the pieces are put together. In other words, although there are SOME disparate and inconsistent elements in the plot, it is all tied together wonderfully at the end--like a really good mystery. See it also because it's one of Cooper's last films and he generally did a fine job (aside from occasionally seeming nuts).