Sea Spoilers

Sea Spoilers finds John Wayne as the commanding officer of a Coast Guard Cutter on duty in the Pacific Northwest looking for seal poachers. This was the first of six films that Wayne did in 1936-1937 for Universal in an effort to broaden his acting horizons. Not one of these B films for Universal was a western.

It gets real personal after Wayne's sweetheart, Nan Grey, witnesses the murder of a drunken playboy on his yacht. The playboy, Ernest Hilliard realizes he's been the dupe of these seal poachers for some time and threatens to spill to the authorities. The head of the outfit, Russell Hicks, has a thing for Grey and instead of just killing the only witness, kidnaps her and takes her to his Aleutian hideaway.

In the meantime Wayne also has been superseded in command of his vessel by William Bakewell who is the son of the commanding officer George Irving. Believe it or not Bakewell has a phobia about water and wants to be in the air. He eventually gets his wish, but the villains capture him for his trouble.

Sea Spoilers is a competently made action film and the final battle with the Coast Guard and the poachers is very well staged, especially considering this is a B film. Fuzzy Knight fulfills the role of sidekick, just as if this were a western. He and the Duke worked well together, a pity he didn't do any more films with Wayne other than Shepherd of the Hills.

I have a hard time though wrapping my mind around the concept of a Coast Guardsman with a water phobia. It's explained, but how did Bakewell get in the service in the first place even with a father that had a lot of pull? And did Russell Hicks have that bad a thing for Nan Grey?

Sea Spoilers could have used a better story. Still it's not a bad action film and some of the westerns the Duke was doing for Lone Star films were a whole lot worse at this time.

John Wayne as the dutiful young officer and the best boatswain in the Coast Guard is denied his promotion by the Commander's son played by William Bakewell. That plus dad, George Irving hopes he can get over his fear of the sea. The plot thickens as the seal poucher, well played by veteran actor Russell Hicks kidnaps Duke's girl, played by gorgeous Nan Grey. The actors superbly bring the suspense to breakneck speed save for great comic relief. The best comic western sidekick, Fuzzy Knight and Oil (Chester Gan) put on a world class rescue of their own. To get some information from Oil, the landing crew has to give him a 'bottle'. Another surprise is what's in the bottle. Sea Spoilers provides great suspense with just the right amount of comic relief.

I believe this is the first Wayne film for Universal. As such, not bad for its type. Low budget hurts but it does move along well. Why aren't these older Wayne films run on television?

John Wayne is Bob Randall, the best boatswain in the Coast Guard. His ship is heading home and he's looking forward to two things: he expects to be promoted to skipper of his ship, and he knows he'll see his girl Connie. Alas, things don't work out—at least not right away.

First, the commander back in port passes over Bob and appoints his own son to command the ship. The Duke is disappointed but grits his teeth—he is too much the professional to let it affect his work. But second, Connie is kidnapped by a gang of seal smugglers and taken out to sea and who knows where. Can this be allowed to stand?

Sea Spoilers does not exactly stretch the intellect, but it's fun, nevertheless.

Nan Grey is spirited as Connie, the girlfriend. Her part is not large but she has a few good scenes—she directs some fiery speeches at the head bad guy (Russell Hicks), and she displays smarts when a swift escape becomes vitally necessary.

Hicks is a particularly nasty baddie; suave in appearance and manner, he exults in the early success of his evil plans and freely insults his captives and enemies.

Some minor subplots distract briefly, such as the young commander's fear of rough water, and the seal brought on board by the Duke's assistant and pal (Fuzzy Knight, as combination right hand man and comic relief). But it's really John Wayne's show: he plays a handsome, dutiful and daring young officer who's tall and strong and not a big talker. What's not to like?

That's what a friend said in reaction to this movie, another cheap production from Paul Malvern and Trem Carr, with John Wayne slowly pulling himself out of the mass of cheap westerns and bit parts as corpses he had played over the past six years. If they wanted to make a movie about the Coast Guard, why didn't they look at Wayne, throw away the script and write something fo this obviously nascent star? Didn't they know what they had?

I think they knew what they had. That's why they gave him the part, instead of telling Wayne that he should do another western. However, producers Trem Carr and Paul Malvern weren't in the business of rewriting a B movie for a B movie actor. They didn't get a Universal release -- a definite step up from the States Rights distribution network they had been selling through -- because they could make a real star out of someone who had gotten his shot with Raoul Walsh half a dozen years earlier, and nearly sunk Fox Films. They got it because of their track record of being able to make a passable B western for no money, and passing the savings on. Could Wayne act? Well, they probably replied, we've got Frank Strayer directing, and he's good with no money. Wayne? He'll stand where Frank tells him, and do what Frank tells him, and he can say any old tripe with conviction. Is that what you mean? Besides, the movie isn't really about Wayne. It's about Bakewell redeeming himself, the discipline and service of the Coast Guard, and the big battle scene at the end -- that's where your money is going -- and there's a seal for comedy relief. If you wanted an actor, why'd you let Lew Ayres get away? We can get Wayne cheap.

Even ten years later, John Ford would look at RED RIVER and say "I didn't know he could act." If he didn't know -- or hadn't cared to find out earlier -- why should Carr and Malvern? They weren't creating art. They were creating B movies to be rented out at a flat rate for kiddie matinees. Rewriting the script, delaying production, restaging the sequence would add to the cost, and cut into their thin profit margin, and annoy Universal executives. They weren't in the business of risking a quarter of a million dollars on a production, and if it didn't pay back its costs, the other 51 productions on the slate would make up the deficit.

Besides, it's actually a pretty good example of the Poverty Row B action movie of the time. It's about redemption and forgiveness, and natural resources. And it's got a cute seal. AND Fuzzy Knight.