I forzati del mare

In the 1830's, the foppish son of a ship owner is shanghaied aboard his father's ship where he experiences the harsh realities of a brutal captain.

Leonard Maltin gives the movie a 1 & ½ out of 4. Shame on him. Sure, the film is no Mutiny on the Bounty (1935), and the script could be sharper. But, it's still a riveting shipboard drama, thanks to a fine cast, a good story, and a strong moral lesson. In the movie's pivotal role, Ladd transitions from a spoiled fop to a man among men in convincing fashion. The actor was never one to emote; at the same time, his low-key manner blends in well with the macho crew. And a heckuva crew it is—such forceful types as Dekker, Bendix, Donlevy, and, of course, a fearsome Howard DaSilva as the brutal captain. Mix and stir and you've got the ingredients of a highly combustible drama.

Of course, old Hollywood always created its own version of history. It's no secret the studios habitually bent fact in return for commercial appeal. So its not surprising that Paramount took liberties with the Dana book. For example, the script works a woman (Fernandez) onto the ship, which is not in the book. I expect they did that to burnish Ladd's appeal as a leading man and to widen audience appeal to include women-- never mind the facts of the book. As some anonymous wag put it-- never let the facts stand in the way of a good story.

Fortunately, it is a good story, even if the ship never leaves the sound stage. However, I wish director Farrow had made better use of close-ups to underscore dramatic high points. He's too impassive in what amounts to a very involving story. That aside, the movie certainly rates far better than a 1 & ½.

When the story begins, a merchant ship has just arrived in Boston and the Captain of this ship has a reputation as a real jerk. That same night, the ship owner's son, Charles (Alan Ladd), is knocked out by a press gang and later awakens on this same ship...forced to become a crewmember on this ship of the damned.

Through the journey, the Captain (Howard De Silva), is a real monster--treating his crew with little respect nor dignity. Over time, the crew begin to die off from scurvy...and yet the captain does nothing to remedy the situation. His only desire is to complete his round the world journey as fast as possible. Eventually it gets so bad that mutiny seems to be the only alternative. What's next?

This film surprised me. At first, I thought it was going to just be another Alan Ladd featured adventure flick...the sort of thing Paramount churned out again and again once he became a star. Instead, I was taken aback by two things. It really was NOT an Alan Ladd film but much more a film with an ensemble cast. It did not rest solely on Ladd's shoulders and the film allowed for several really good performances. De Silva was at his evil best but kudos also to William Bendix, Brian Donlevy, Albert Dekker and young Daryl Hickman. In addition, the film had real depth to it....and was very exciting. It was not just another programmer. Overall, a surprisingly good and exciting adventure film...one I really enjoyed.

I am disappointed to see the sparsity of votes for this very-of-guys movie. This box-office smash of 1946 which is a sly attempt to invoke the more academy award favored Mutiny on the Bounty. Obviously, this movie was made to win awards and to give prestige to the studio, producer and actors involved. It did not garner a single nomination. Based on a true story and a best-selling non-fiction book from the 19th Century, it details the kind of cruelty and inhumanity that was used back then to run a ship. The stand-out of many fine performances is Howard da Silva as the captain Thompson who is more interested in breaking arrival records than in keeping the health, morality or moue of his crew in a flush of pink. Alan Ladd is the somewhat lead for make no mistake, this is no Ladd piece but an ensemble of Paramount's finest and great character actors. William Bendix, an actor who puts to shame the theory that real acting began with those "method" actors of the fifties with everything he does, is perfect as the first mate Amanzine. Shot strictly on studio sets, it does have the necessary realism of the open seas and azure skies that could give it the needed extra texture but it tries and works all the same. Unexpected events happen and formula is avoided until a rushed third act and ending that feels to hurried to resonate. That is why I voted it an 8/10. It is just too flat, as if the producers were late for dinner or something and slapped something together. Surely, events you want to see resolved is giving the sleight of hand and the picture is only 98 mins, so why the hurry? A good guy's movie with fine performances. It could have been a classic but it's just a good movie. P.S. I cannot believe Da Silva was not nominated for his performance. That is just a plain travesty.

Ah, another "I wasn't in Mutiny on the Bounty" movie: Two Years Before the Mast. As countless tough guy actors got their chance to play a Captain Bligh ripoff, tons of leading man actors got their chance to play a Fletcher Christian ripoff. If you want to see a perpetually shirtless Alan Ladd in the Fletcher Christian part, and Howard Da Silva in the Captain Bligh part, rent this one.

Alan is young and inexperienced, and while in a tavern, he gets knocked over the head and kidnapped to work as a crewmember on an imposing ship. Back in the 1800s, things like that did happen, and it was pretty scary. Especially since the reason the sailors needed to kidnap their crew was because their captain was so tyrannical, no one in his right mind would volunteer.

As evil as Howard Da Silva is, Alan does have one friend aboard the ship: Brian Donlevy. Ironically, if you want to see Brian as a tough captain, check out the following year's The Song of Scheherazade. Brian is sympathetic and keeps a diary of all the atrocities committed aboard the ship. William Bendix is the first mate, torn between his loyalty to his captain and the horrors he sees. Roman Bohnen, Barry Fitzgerald, Ray Collins, and Darryl Hickman can also be seen in the supporting cast. Although you can tell the quality isn't A-tier, this one is still entertaining, so you can check it out if you're an Alan Ladd fan.

By several respects ,some kind of updated "Captain courageous" (Victor Fleming ,1937).The rich kid (Alan Ladd) has grown up and he is still frivolous ,part of the young jet set ,drinking and picking up girls in the low dives of the harbor.When dad learns that his boy is on his own ship,in the clutch of a -rather sadistic- captain ,he does not panic and wisely mumbles something like " it 'll make a man of him" ;which is not entirely false.Not only ,the boy born silver spoon in hand will learn the harsh realities of life ,but he'll also feel for his unfortunate shipmates (many of them poor press-ganged aboard victims like himself ).

Although the movie is centered on Ladd's misadventures ,it actually depicts "Henry Dana's crusade to expose mistreatment of men at sea" (Maltin).But the reviewer is wrong when he writes that it is a "badly scripted story":in fact only the female character gets in the way and the ending is botched.All that remains is absorbing ,the standout being for me the ship's boy.Farrow was better at film noir ,but his attempt at an adventures movies is recommendable.

Like this ? try these ....

"Mutiny on the Bounty" (Frank Lloyd's 1935 version is still the best) "Captain Courageous" (Fleming,1937) "Down to the sea in ships" (Henry Hathaway,1949) "Ghost Ship" (Mark Robson/Val Lewton,1943) "White squall" (Ridley Scott,1996)