Deep Waters (1948)

Director:

Henry King

Writers:

Ruth Moore (novel)
Richard Murphy (screenplay)

Release Date:

26 May 1949 (Finland)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

RIP-TIDE...OF THRILLING ROMANCE - ROAR...OF HIGH ADVENTURE (original print ad - all caps)

Plot:

A Maine lobster fisherman, trained as an architect, prefers to be a fisherman over the objections of his fiancée...

Plot Keywords:

Orphan | Petition | Judge | Reform School | Architect

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Dana Andrews	...	Hod Stillwell
Jean Peters	...	Ann Freeman
Cesar Romero	...	Joe Sanger
Dean Stockwell	...	Donny Mitchell
Anne Revere	...	Mary McKay
Ed Begley	...	Josh Hovey
Leona Powers	...	Mrs. Freeman
Mae Marsh	...	Molly Thatcher
Will Geer	...	Nick Driver
Cliff Clark	...	Harris
Bruno Wick	...	Druggist
Harry Tyler	...	Hopkins

Runtime:

85 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

USA:Approved | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | Finland:S

Filming Locations:

Knox County Courthouse - 62 Union Street, Rockland, Maine, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Case Against the 20% Federal Admissions Tax on Motion Picture Theatres (1953)

Another film from Fox that never shows up on television...

DEEP WATERS was the kind of film that slipped by without much notice, a simple tale about an orphan boy (DEAN STOCKWELL) who longs for adventure on the high seas and has to be restrained by an old maid (ANNE REVERE) and a couple of townspeople who are carrying on an affair while arguing about the boy's future (JEAN PETERS and DANA ANDREWS).

Jean was an interesting actress at Fox who never quite reached her potential as a star--and given material like this, it's a wonder she achieved the success she did in a number of other films. The story is pedestrian, saved by the good child performance of young Stockwell and benefits from some location photography in Maine mixed with studio shot scenes.

She plays a young woman in charge of Stockwell who is engaged in arguments with Andrews over his being a lobster-man who won't seek a safer job on land and is even more incensed when he takes Stockwell along with him aboard his vessel. CESAR ROMERO shows up as a Portugese fisherman and manages to give the film's only spirited performance.

Unfortunately, they're all stock characters adrift in a story that doesn't really hold water, no matter how deep it is. Based on a novel by Ruth Moore called SPOONHANDLE and directed by Henry King, it really doesn't amount to much, even with its storm at sea sequence.