Stars: Ray Milland, John Wayne, Paulette Goddard, Raymond Massey, Robert Preston

Director: Cecil B. De Mille

Summary: John Wayne, Ray Milland, and Paulette Goddard team up with the legendary producer-director Cecil B. DeMille to create one of the greatest swashbuckling epics of all time. Adventures on the panoramic high seas highlight this tale of two men competing for the same woman. Key West in the 1840s is filled with salvage businesses thriving on the cargo of wrecked ships dashed against the coral reefs. Spunky ship owner Loxi Claiborne (Paulette Goddard) suspects salvager King Cutler (Raymond Massey) of foul play, since he's always first on the scene at a wreck. The independent, kittenish Southern gal is waiting on deck to help rescue the latest survivors of a wreck when she meets courageous Captain Jack Stuart (John Wayne), who instantly falls for the free-spirited Loxi. Loxi and Jack promise themselves to one another and make arrangements to meet up in Charleston. But, once in Charleston, Loxi meets lawyer Stephen Tolliver (Ray Milland). Despite Loxi's refusal to act like a typical blushing Southern belle, she quickly entices the debonair businessman, who decides that he will do anything to make her his wife. The rivals in love become enemies in the courtroom when Jack helms another wreck and Tolliver suspects foul play. Who will be found guilty and how hinges on some amazing developments. Along with the star-studded cast, this glorious sea spectacle stars huge clipper ships, storms splintering on the rocks, and a giant squid in a memorable underwater battle.

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John Wayne was in the early stages of superstardom when this lavish Cecil B. DeMille adventure was produced in 1942, so it's interesting to see the Duke in a heroic supporting role as opposed to the commanding one. Here he's on equal footing with Ray Milland in the romantic lead; they play a pair of dashing yet wildly different characters who've both fallen for a feisty Southern belle played by Paulette Goddard. It's 1840 on Florida's Key West, and while Wayne plays a daring seaman eager to command a brand-new steamship, his ambitions are hampered by his daredevil reputation and the ruthless profiteering of a salvager (Raymond Massey) who preys on ships that are routinely wrecked in the Key's rocky coastal waters. Milland plays the dapper gentleman who can decide Wayne's future, but Wayne's competitive edge leads to a progression of apparent betrayals and shifting allegiances. Ultimately, both men cast aside their differences to seek justice on the open sea, where an underwater encounter with a giant octopus threatens to bury them both in a watery grave.

Providing spectacle and romance as only DeMille could serve it up, this blustery adventure has its share of corny dialogue and obligatory crowd-pleasing action, but that's all part of the movie's considerable charm. It's like Gone with the Wind on the open sea, with the high-spirited Goddard (who had been a candidate for the role of Scarlett O'Hara) holding her own with her chest-thumping costars. DeMille fills his frame with delightful characters and background business, spicing up the story with just enough humour and hokum to offset the movie's forgivable flaws.--Jeff Shannon.

Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Year:	1942
Release Date:	June 5, 2006
Runtime:	118 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	824 179 8
Keywords:	Action, Wild, Wind, General, Adventure, Reap
Genre:	Action/Adventure