Vento selvaggio

Yet another star-studded box office hit few people have today even heard of. (Raymond Massey later admitted that he recalled so little about this film that when he observed to John Wayne they ought to do a movie together it fell to Wayne to remind him that they already had.)

By the time he made this Cecil B. DeMille was leaving all the location work in the hands of second unit director Arthur Rosson and the scenes at sea are otherwise achieved with obvious models (although the giant squid is memorable enough for the film to collect its one Oscar, for special effects).

However it doesn't take itself too seriously, and with a cast like that - notably Victor Kilian as n'er-do-well Mathias Widgeon; although it's Milland rather than Wayne who gets to tell Paulette Goddard "My, you're mighty desirable when angry!" - and with plush costume design and interior decor in sumptuous Technicolor its a good way to kill a couple of hours.

I loved this movie. All the stars were at their peak. They looked so glamorous and young and vital in their careers. I loved Paulette Goddard.

In my personal opinion, she has been overlooked by so many. She was a wonderful beautiful star. Can't believe in the re-release they put Susan Hayward ahead of Paulette. Hayward had a very small part. Paulette was the star of the movie. It's not the first time they have put Goddard last. Too bad. I think she's terrific. She had the ability to do comedy as well as drama. And she was a very gorgeous woman. That wonderful laugh of hers.

Reap the Wild Wind (1942)

*** (out of 4)

Cecil B. DeMille's over-the-top but fun adventure takes place in the 1840s as ships try to reach the Atlantic ocean but often end up wrecked on the shoals of Florida. Southern belle Loxi Claiborne (Paulette Goddard) has Captain Jack Stuart (John Wayne) and Stephen Tolliver (Ray Milland) battling for her before the men end up battling a giant squid. REAP THE WILD WIND is a pretty fun movie, although there's no question that it doesn't rank among the director's best work and there are some fairly big flaws scattered throughout the picture. I love Milland but I thought he just wasn't right for this role. In later years John Wayne would say that he was cast in the movie to make Milland seem more like a man and perhaps that's true. There just wasn't a single second where I bought Milland and Wayne battling each other for this woman and their fight scenes aren't very believable either. Milland gives a good performance, don't get me wrong, but he just wasn't right for the part. Wayne, still not a star, does a nice job in his role, although there's a scene early on where he gets knocked out and the way Wayne does this is somewhat laughable. Goddard is her usual good self and we get nice support from villain Raymond Massey, Robert Preston, Charles Bickford and Susan Hayward. The visual effects ended up winning an Oscar when this was originally released and I'm sure people only used to CGI effects are going to think these here are awful. For 1942 they're actually pretty good and this includes the scenes with the ships on the sea. I'm not exactly sure what DeMille put into the pool that they were shooting these scenes but the water looks beautiful. As for the giant squid at the end, it's certainly very fake looking and I was a little surprised that they didn't do more with it as the fight is pretty small. REAP THE WILD WIND isn't a classic by any stretch of the imagination but it's certainly worth watching.

Here's a lavish, exuberant tale of the high seas, produced and directed by Cecil B. DeMille, and presented with all the excess and spectacle the great showman built his career on. It involves shipwrecks, deep-sea diving, and giant squids, among other things. It's that rare kind of movie that's genuinely fun to watch, where you find yourself smiling because you're so engrossed in the story and the characters, often in spite of yourself. It's of the Saturday-afternoon-at-the-movies genre, where you leave plausibility at the door and put yourself in the hands of people who know how to entertain.

`Reap the Wild Wind' is the story of a sea captain (John Wayne) whose cargo ships are repeatedly sunk and plundered by a vicious crew of salvagers. When one of his ships is struck down, Wayne is rescued by a spirited southern belle (Paulette Goddard), with whom he falls in love. In order to help Wayne get the command he dreams of, Goddard becomes friendly with an influential lawyer (Ray Milland), and a love triangle develops. Through various turns of events, the two men find themselves on opposite sides of the fight against the raiders, with Goddard caught in between them. The story builds up to a spectacular battle with the squid, which single-handedly won the film an Oscar for its special effects.

The movie is well acted straight across the board. Wayne, having just achieved stardom, has the least colorful role but still registers strongly. Goddard plays her tempestuous role to the hilt, and is a joy to behold throughout. Her character is a welcome variation from the frail, straitlaced heroines of her time – she enjoys salty sea ballads, throws frequent tantrums and is not afraid to get her hands dirty – something of a toned-down Scarlett O'Hara. Raymond Massey is rightly villainous as the chief pillager. The highest acting honors go to Milland, however. His performance as the shrewd but foppish attorney is delightful, stealing scene after scene and providing priceless moments of comic relief, then turning noble toward the end.

In addition, the movie is beautiful to look at. At the time the film was made, color photography was still relatively new and quite costly, so it was generally reserved for epics. You can see every penny of it on the screen here. The direction is brisk and vigorous, and the visual effects are fantastic for that era or any other.

Cecil B. DeMille, other than THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH, produced and directed one of his best films, in this swashbuckler. Along with rough seas, sailing ships, beautiful southern ladies, sea wrecks [he always has to have that disasterous wreck] a giant squid in a spectacular underwater scene in the hull of a wrecked ship, villains and heroes, DeMille rounds up a stellar cast in the likes of Paulette Goddard, fresh from her almost getting the role of Scarlett O'Hara in GONE WITH THE WIND, as Loxi Claiborne, who is in love with handsome Captain Jack, [John Wayne] who was just beginning to gain world wide fame and Steve Toliver, played by suave and sharp tongued Ray Milland, one of his best acting roles, along with a young Robert Preston and Susan Hayward as young lovers who become victims of the war over salvage rights of wrecked ships. Then there's Raymond Massey, as the villain, Cutler, Charles Bickford, Walter Hampden, famous for his stage performance of Cyrano, colorful Lynne Overman as Loxi's ship captain, Hedda Hopper [without a fancy hat] and Louise Beaver as a Mammy-type servant to Paulette [very Gone With Wind stuff]. The color of technicolor still holds up [not used that often in the 40s]. Goddard's performance alone is worth the admission. This was her second film for DeMille [the first being NORTHWEST MOUNTED POLICE] but not her last [ahead she was to play opposite Gary Cooper in UNCONQUERED]. In this film she shows why she came that close to getting Scarlett. Beautiful, oh, those green eyes, and feisty, like Scarlett, Paulette gives her best, including singing a rather salty sea chant at a social elite gathering of all of Savannah's fine ladies. This is available on VHS and worth getting a copy to view if you want to see the magical world of films of the forties. And the stars that made them.