L'Orphelin de la mer

This is a very nice family film...the sort of project you just don't see any more...and that's a real shame. The story is set in a small fishing village in Maine and has a lovely cast of characters. It surprised me to see Dana Andrews and Cesar Romero as lobstermen...but it worked. Additionally, Jean Peters and Dean Stockwell round out the excellent cast.

When the story begins, social worker Ann (Peters) and lobsterman Hod (Andrews) just broke their engagement. It seems that she hates having a husband in such a dangerous line of work and Hod just doesn't want any other sort of life.

Soon Ann brings a troubled boy into town to be placed in a foster home. It seems that Donny is an orphan and has been passed from foster home to foster home and Ann hopes that the kind but no- nonsense Mary (Ann Revere) can make the kid feel at home. But what really makes the boy want to stay put is the relationship he soon forges with Hod...as the kid comes from a long line of lobstermen and enjoys spending time on the water. But Ann, as a responsible social worker, intervenes when Hod takes the boy for a day out on the water. She insists that this is too dangerous for the boy...and the kid is heartbroken. So what's next for everyone in this little town?

This film had a lot going for it. The acting was lovely and seeing Andrews in Maine was actually very nice--though he sure sounded very Middle America and so did many of the other actors. As for Romero, while a very cultured Mexican-American, here he ably plays a Portuguese sailor with a very strong accent. The one actor who did approximate the accent well was Ed Begley...but he was only a bit player in the picture. The exterior shots were all done in Maine and the location shoot was great. What also was great was the excellent storm sequence--with a rather realistic and seamless rear projection subbing for the real thing! And, to top it off, the direction and story were excellent. A bit of a sleeper that you rarely see on TV...but worth looking for sometime.

By the way, I was bawling away at the end...so you might wanna have some Kleenex handy. Sentimental? Of course...but never cloying or fake.

Ruth Moore's best-selling novel SPOONHANDLE was renamed DEEP WATERS for this 1948 film. Straightforward story about an orphaned boy and the lives of several people he changes.

Jean Peters plays a young, idealistic social worker in coastal Maine. She is afraid of the sea and its power, especially its dangers for the lobstermen and the heartache of those left behind when the sea claims them. Dana Andrews plays a lobsterman who loves Peters but also loves his job. Dean Stockwell is a troubled boy whose father was a fisherman. Peters tries to keep the boy away from the sea but it's in his blood. She places the orphan with a crotchety old lady (Anne Revere) who is tough but fair on the boy. The boy runs away and gets into trouble.

Something must change, but these Mainers are all stubborn. Finally, one last incident changes all their lives forever.

Andrews is excellent as the lobsterman, and Peters is quite believable as the over-protective social worker. Stockwell turns in a great performance as does Revere as the rock-solid old lady. Cesar Romero plays Andrews' fishing partner. Ed Begley plays an influential friend. Raymond Greenleaf is the wise old judge, and Mae Marsh is the grieving widow. In small parts, Harry Tyler and Will Geer are recognizable.

The exteriors were filmed on Vinalhaven and in Rockland and Belfast. The ocean scenes are terrific as is the big storm which won an Oscar nomination for special effects. The location shooting just screamed out for color.

Dana Andrews is a Maine lobsterman in partnership with esar Romero. He's also in love with Jean Peters, but she knows the tolls of the sea, and wants him to quit before she'll marry him..... and when he finally agrees, she knows it will make him miserable to have a land job, and eventually her. So she continues with her job with the state welfare board, and he continues lobstering, and they yearn a lot. Along comes orphan Dean Stockwell; everyone knew his father, and his uncle, both of whom were lost at sea. He's staying with Ann Revere, but the only person he feels a connection with is Andrews.

It's a small-town story, so with Henry King in charge, you know you're going to get some good characters; there's Ed Begley as an amiable local politician, Raymond Greenleaf as a judge, and other old-time performers like Mae Marsh to make this tale of a boy who just needs some understanding to make me weep to myself.

There are also some grand special effects of a ship in a storm. This was nominated for the special effects Oscar, and well-deserved it.

Director Henry King continues to impress me. Having recently watched films of his as diverse as THE BRAVADOS, CAROUSEL, REMEMBER THE DAY, in DEEP WATERS I found yet another specimen of the director's versatility and expertise.

Shot in lovely B&W off the Maine seashore, DEEP WATERS contains some very realistic footage of action at sea, further enhanced by Dana Andrews and Romero looking very professional and knowledgeable as they handle boats, lobsters, and bad weather with consummate ease.

In fact, Andrews was at the top of his powers here, and this seems like a small film for such a great actor, but he goes about it manfully and wholeheartedly, and delivers a superb performance that brims with honesty.

Romero also does well as his Portuguese help who wants to turn to farming, or to mink or rabbit rearing, instead. In contrast, young Roddy McDowall likes the sea like his late father and uncle. However, he is under the charge of beautiful Jean Peters, who does not want the youngster to go to sea because of the dangers therein. Another spanner in the works is that the film opens with Peters and Andrews breaking off their engagement but clearly still feeling deeply for each other... and the wonderful Anne Revere as the no-nonsense boy's foster carer - a truly great short role.

Wonderful cinematography and editing. Well worth a watch. 7/10.

Deep Waters which stars Dana Andrews and Jean Peters is a modest story with some special effects that earned the film an Oscar nomination. But for that the film would probably be forgotten today save for its one surviving cast member Dean Stockwell.

Peters is a social worker who comes from a Maine lobster fishing family who lost her father at sea. Stockwell is an orphan who lost his father and uncle at sea. Dana Andrews is a lobster fisherman who takes a liking to the troubled kid.

For reasons having to do with her own issues on the subject Peters places Stockwell in foster care in places that are nowhere near the sea. Running out of them she places him with Anne Revere as a foster mother. Still Stockwell wants to go to sea, it's in his blood and when he doesn't get his way he acts out in ways that will send him to reform school.

I don't think you need a road map to see where this film is going. The special effects of the storm at sea where Andrews and partner Cesar Romero rescue Stockwell are nice and the film's exteriors are done on the Maine coast. Cesar Romero had an interesting character in the Portugese fishing partner of Andrews, shades of Captains Courageous. I wish we had more of him in the film.

Deep Waters is a modest film that kids may like, but can be safely passed over by adults if they're not fans of any of the cast.