Sealed Cargo

In 1943, Capt. Pat Banyon (Dana Andrews) runs a small fishing boat in Gloucester, Mass. Margaret McLean (Carla Balenda) hires him to take her home to a small Newfoundland village. They encounter a heavily damaged Danish schooner after some gunfire. Capt. Skalder (Claude Rains) is the sole survivor from an U-boat attack. It's a fine war thriller. I would push the reveal a little later but this works fine. Dana Andrews is a fine chiseled jaw leading man and there is nobody better than Claude Rains.

Massachusetts fishing boat captain Pat Bannon (Dana Andrews) and his crew come across a derelict Danish sailing ship in the North Atlantic. The only person on board is the ship's captain Skalder (Claude Rains). He claims that a German u-boat attacked his ship in rough weather, and that the rest of his crew were either killed or abandoned ship. Bannon agrees to tow Skalder's boat back to port, but is there more to his story than he's letting on?

This is an entertaining wartime suspense film, with the first half playing like a whodunit mystery as Bannon (and the audience) tries to figure out what's really going on and who is on whose side. The second half is a well-executed thriller as those in the know try to evade detection and solve their new-found problems before it's too late. I'm being purposely vague, as the revelations are a big part of the movie's appeal. The cast is good, with the standout for me being Philip Dorn as a suspicious new crew member on Bannon's ship. This movie also marked the only time real-life brothers Dana Andrews and Steve Forrest appeared together.

While out on a fishing trip off Nova Scotia, a fishing crew (and some guests) come across a damaged Danish schooner which has apparently been damaged by an attack from a German U-Boat. The captain, Pat Bannon boards to find only the captain of the schooner (Capt Skalder) alive on board. However Bannon suspects something is wrong.

I love Dana Andrews and will often watch films simply because he is in them, however I got stung here because this film isn't very good. The plot is a little muddled and lacking logic, preferring a bit of `beat the Germans' flag waving instead. The sense of mystery isn't sustained towards the end of the film and is replaced by a bit of action. The action works reasonably well with Bannon in cat and mouse games with U-Boats, but it isn't great.

Andrews does OK work here, just really playing a straight, strong-jawed leading man. Balenda is an unnecessary leading lady who has little to really do. Rains is alright, adding another strong actor to the film didn't hurt even if he wasn't really well served at any point. The support cast didn't really grab me and none of them stood out either as characters of actors.

Overall this was passable for a cold, wet Saturday afternoon but no more than that. The story isn't really gripping and it doesn't have a flow to it. That said there is enough in the way of semi-mystery and thrills to make it watchable.

Makes me wonder why this mini classic is not better known. This marvelous tale of the Sea, not only offers very good performances by Claude Rains, Dana Andrews, and Philip Dorn, but is based on an intriguing novel "The Gaunt Woman" by Edmund Gilligan. The Screenplay receives fine treatment, with plenty of suspense by Dale Van Every (A.K.F. that other great Sea Classic: "Captains Courageous") It's the eerie look of the film thats the real star. Great, moody B/W Cinematography by George E. Diskant who gave us those fine Noir images in several other RKO features: "The Narrow Margin" - "Riffraff" - "They Live By Night" and "On Dangerous Ground". Some neat special effects also help lift the tension as it moves along.

Combined with the evocative Direction of Award Winner: Alfred Werker ("He Walked by Night" - "Lost Boundaries") 'Sealed Cargo' is packed with viewing enjoyment, filled with mystic shots (in dense fog at sea) during the dangerous days of WW11. This tale will keep any not overly demanding viewer very happily occupied for its nicely paced 90mins. Pretty Carla Balenda ("Hunt the Man Down" and much on TV) supplies the female interests and carries it off with likable style. While it's set in wartime, you would not call this a 'war' film.

RKO sure knew how to entertain audiences with a wide range of assorted themes throughout the 30's - 50's. Both Werker and Diskant went on to give some of the better shows of B/W Television their look and feel, creating a stylized look on small budgets.

Seems 'Cargo' is rarely shown, so well worth looking for. Some TV Prints are not so good, being from old CC Movietime copies, so look for a true RKO print if you can.

Enjoyed this 1951 Black & White film starring Dana Andrews,(Pat Bannon),"The Best Years of Our Lives",'46, where he stars as a fishing boat Capt. in a rather small boat and manages to take along a very young female as a passenger. The gal has to sort of live in a closet on the boat that was filled with all kinds of kitchen junk. Pat Bannon experiences a great storm at sea which causes many problems and then out of the blue, he runs into an abandoned sailing ship. It is War time with the Nazi's and the ocean is filled with submarines. Claude Rains, (Capt. Skalder),"The Greatest Story Ever Told",'65( King Herod), appears as the Captain of a Danish vessel and is like a sheep in wolf's clothing. Enjoyed this mysterious film and the hidden secrets which are revealed in this film.