Reap the Wild Wind (1942)

Clipper ships taking the shortest route between the Mississippi and the Atlantic often end up on the shoals of Key West in the 1840s. Salvaging the ships' cargos has become a lucrative ... See full summary »

Director:

Cecil B. DeMille

Writers:

Thelma Strabel (story), Alan Le May (screenplay),

Stars:

Ray Milland, John Wayne, Paulette Goddard

Won 1 Oscar. Another 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ray Milland	...	Stephen Tolliver
John Wayne	...	Capt. Jack Stuart
Paulette Goddard	...	Loxi Claiborne
Raymond Massey	...	King Cutler
Robert Preston	...	Dan Cutler
Lynne Overman	...	Capt. Phillip Philpott
Susan Hayward	...	Cousin Drusilla Alston
Charles Bickford	...	Bully Brown
Walter Hampden	...	Cmmdre. Devereaux
Louise Beavers	...	Maum Maria
Martha O'Driscoll	...	Ivy Devereaux
Elisabeth Risdon	...	Mrs. Claiborne
Hedda Hopper	...	Aunt Henrietta Beresford
Victor Kilian	...	Mathias Widgeon
Oscar Polk	...	Salt Meat

Storyline

Clipper ships taking the shortest route between the Mississippi and the Atlantic often end up on the shoals of Key West in the 1840s. Salvaging the ships' cargos has become a lucrative business for two companies -- one headed by a feisty young woman. Then she falls in love with the captain of a wrecked ship while he recuperates at her home. She travels to Charleston and is charming to the man most likely to be head of the captain's company, thinking she will be able to get the captain the position he wants on the company's first steam ship.

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Plot Keywords:

ship | 1840s | florida keys | florida | lawyer | 

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Taglines:

Cecil B. DeMille's Greatest

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 June 1942 (UK)

Also Known As:

Cecil B. DeMille's Reap the Wild Wind

Filming Locations:

20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$4,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

123 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

For the 1954 theatrical re-release, John Wayne was given top billing in the posters because of his increased star status, and Susan Hayward, who had since 1942 become a major star instead of a supporting player, was misleadingly billed second. Formerly top-billed Ray Milland got third billing in the new posters, while leading lady Paulette Goddard was demoted to fourth billing.

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Goofs

Hinge lines can be seen in the arms of the octopus on two occasions (1:50.30 and 1:52.06).

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Quotes

Loxi: Where is Captain Jack?
Capt. Phillip Philpott: He's on a diving job. He'll be back this afternoon
[chuckle]
Capt. Phillip Philpott: if his hat didn't leak!

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Connections

Referenced in Star Spangled Rhythm (1942)

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Soundtracks

"Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean"
(1843) (uncredited)
Written by David T. Shaw
Arranged by Thomas A. Beckett
In the score at the start of the movie

User Reviews

The Squid Is Ready When You Are...Mr. DeMille...

Cecil Blount DeMille, CB. The original 'Name Above The Title'. No matter what Frank Capra stated it was DeMille who put the Director/Producer over the title. His was a name that brought in the public and their money when Capra was still a 'gag man' for Mack Sennett. From the first feature film in Hollywood, THE SQUAW MAN (1914) to his last production, THE BUCCANEER (1958) he represented HollyWoods commercial success.

With DeMille people fall into two (2) camps. We HATE that hack and his hokey movies or we love him for he put our dreams on the screen. We fall into that second group seeing our first DeMille film circa 1957 THE TEN COMMANDMENTS (1956). My brother was four (4) and I was six (6) and we were enthralled with CB from then on. He dared to put BIG THINGS on the screen. They may not of always worked but he was unafraid to do them, stretching the envelope technically and did not give a damn what his critics thought and neither do we.

REAP THE WILD WIND (1942) was his second color film and we saw it in a re-release circa 1958. The plot is typical DeMille, obscure historical incident blown up for the big screen. Romance triangle punctuated by action sequences leading to a rousing conclusion. The film is well cast with Paramount Stars Paulette Goddard and Ray Milland. Not able to get Errol Flynn or Tyrone Power CB obtained John Wayne who turned in a credible and sincere performance. Milland stood up well to the 'Duke' and Ms. Goddard was a radiant love interest. A young Susan Hayward also showed her stuff with Robert Preston. Over shadowing all was Raymond Massey as the head villain with stooge Victor Kilian. Not to be forgotten was the CB stock company, from players who were with him during the silent era to Akim Tamiroff in a voice over for the 'Lamb'. Paramounts special visual effects wizard Gordon Jennings led that team and garnered a Oscar and Victor Young provide the score. Music being very important in carrying some of the fantastic goings on. Especially the Giant Squid scene that was directed underwater by CB himself.

The one (1) thing we never understood about CB is that he left many (BETTER) projects go fallow after investing money and time developing them. A few were THE WAR OF THE WORLDS, TITANIC and WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE. Two (2) were done by George Pal with CB as uncredited producer. It would have been very interesting to see how these would have turned out if made in the 1930s. Just thinking about the casting and how the special visual effects would have been done is a fascinating mind game.