Les naufrageurs des mers du sud

Yet another star-studded box office hit few people have today even heard of. (Years later Raymond Massey remembered so little of 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).

No matter. It doesn't take itself too seriously, and with a cast like that burnished with plush costume design and interior decor in sumptuous Technicolor it's an agreeable way to squander a couple of hours.

In 'Reap the Wild Wind' we have a chance to see Paulette Goddard, front-runner for the Scarlett O'Hara role until Vivien Leigh showed up, sporting a Southern accent and enjoying herself as a feisty Southern belle heroine. Unfortunately, her part is nowhere as complex as the role she almost got in the Selznick epic.

It's a lusty period adventure about two battling ship salvagers who vie for a strong-willed Georgian girl. The outstanding special effects steal the film, as do the lavish sets and costumes of a bygone era. Susan Hayward is featured in a smaller role as Paulette's unfortunate cousin. Both are heavily burdened by Southern accents and roles that are paper-thin giving them little more to do than flounce around in frilly costumes and bonnets while the men--Ray Milland, John Wayne and Robert Preston--carry the main weight of the action-filled romance.

A stunning climax involves an underwater battle with a giant squid. Understandably, it won an Oscar for Best Special Effects. Beautifully photographed in technicolor, it's given the lavish Cecil B. DeMille treatment and makes an entertaining if foolish epic that shows its pulp romance origins.

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.

Reap the Wild Wind is Cecil B. DeMille's contribution to such sea-faring adventure classics as The Sea Hawk or 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. John Wayne plays a ship captain, Ray Milland plays a lawyer, and Paulette Godard a feisty southern belle who comes between them. There's plenty of fights, a trial, and an entertaining squid. There's Susan Hayward, Robert Preston, Louise Beavers, and Raymond Massey. There's a wonderful music score and beautiful Technicolor. There's a playful monkey and a talking dog (coutesy of Milland's ventriloquism). And it begins with DeMille's narration to set the tone for an action-packed, if occasionally talky, picture. This is good old-fashioned filmaking at its finest! For fans of all of the above, plus Hedda Hopper in her last role not playing herself, I highly recommend you definitely seek this one out!

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.