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The Sea Wolf (1941) More at IMDbPro »

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Overview

User Rating:
7.8/10   988 votes
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Director:
Michael Curtiz
Writers:
Jack London (novel)
Robert Rossen (writer)
Contact:
View company contact information for The Sea Wolf on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
21 March 1941 (USA) more
Genre:
Drama | Adventure more
Plot:
Humphrey van Weyden, a writer, and fugitives Ruth Webster and George Leach have been given refuge aboard... more | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
Nominated for Oscar. more
NewsDesk:
Yet Another Remake Of The Sea Wolf?
 (From Studio Briefing - Film News. 11 December 1997)
User Comments:
The best version of this old chestnut, despite plot changes. more (25 total)

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)

Edward G. Robinson ... 'Wolf' Larsen
Ida Lupino ... Ruth Webster
John Garfield ... George Leach
Alexander Knox ... Humphrey Van Weyden

Gene Lockhart ... Dr. Prescott
Barry Fitzgerald ... Cooky
Stanley Ridges ... Johnson
David Bruce ... Young Sailor
Francis McDonald ... Svenson
Howard Da Silva ... Harrison
Frank Lackteen ... Smoke
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Additional Details

Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parents
Runtime:
USA:90 min (video version) | 100 min (original version) | 87 min (edited version) (TCM print)
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Black and White
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (RCA Sound System)
Certification:
Australia:G | Finland:K-16 | Portugal:M/12 (re-release: 2000) | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #6866)
Company:
Warner Bros. Pictures more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
The first movie to have its world premiere on a ship: the luxury liner "America" during a trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles. more
Quotes:
Humphrey Van Weyden: There's a price no man will pay for living. more
Movie Connections:
Featured in Between Two Worlds: Erich Wolfgang Korngold (2001) (TV) more
Soundtrack:
Ma Blushin' Rosie more

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User Comments

   (Comment on this title)
6 out of 6 people found the following comment useful.
The best version of this old chestnut, despite plot changes., 9 February 2003
Author: robertguttman from Tappan, New York

Jack London's novel "The Sea Wolf" is one of those old chestnuts that seemingly won't go away. It has served as an subject for movies almost since they began being made, including Italian and Russian versions. This 1941 Warner version remains the definitive screen adaptation, however, in spite of numerous alterations to the plot of the original novel.

In the book, Wolf Larson is a giant Norwegian sea captain who rules his ship by virtue of his strength and brutality. He is the embodiment of the old joke which runs: "Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I shall fear no evil, because I am the meanest, toughest son of a b--- in the valley!" One would ordinarily think that the five foot six inches tall Edward G. Robinson would be a poor choice to play such a character. However, Robinson is a good enough actor, and a forceful enough screen personality, to carry it off.

John Garfield is equally perfect as a chip-on-the-shoulder working class seaman who dares to oppose Larson. He's a perfect foil for Robinson, and it's great fun watching the two of them snarl at each other like a couple of wild dogs.

Ida Lupino and Alexander Knox do some of their best work as the two castaways rescued by Larson's vessel. Lupino plays a female ex-convict trying to conceal her past, and Knox is an effete writer whom Larson decides to educate in what he considers the ways of the real world.

Gene Lockhart and Barry Fitzgerald are equally good in supporting roles as the ship's drunken and degraded doctor, and the thoroughly corrupt cook. It is particularly refreshing to see Fitzgerald play a really unpleasant character for a change, and one can only wonder why he didn't get more parts like this. In The Sea Wolf, Fitzgerald plays an individual so slimy that one almost expects to see him leave a trail behind him, like a slug.

Director Michael Curtiz managed to impart a dank and foggy atmosphere to The Sea Wolf that seems to suit the story perfectly, and that feeling is enhanced by Erich Korngold's moody score. The first view of the schooner "Ghost", looming out of the fog like a real ghost, is particularly memorable.

Granted, the ending differs radically from that of the book. This film's ending seems rather more satisfying than London's was, however. London was virtually forced to end the novel the way he did because it is presented in narrative form and the writer, Van Wyden, is the one actually telling the story. Warner Brothers could change the ending because, as a movie, the story was no longer restricted to Van Wyden's point of view.

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