Wake of the Red Witch (1948)

Director:

Edward Ludwig

Writers:

Harry Brown (writer)
Kenneth Gamet (writer)

Release Date:

1 March 1949 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Romance

Plot:

Captain Ralls fights Dutch shipping magnate Mayrant Sidneye for the woman he loves, Angelique Desaix, and for a fortune in gold aboard the Red Witch.

Plot Keywords:

Beautiful Woman | Accidental Death | Judge | Military Officer | Rescue

US TV Schedule:

Mon. July 28

6:00 PM

TCM

Cast

John Wayne	...	Capt. Ralls
Gail Russell	...	Angelique Desaix
Gig Young	...	Samuel 'Sam' Rosen
Adele Mara	...	Teleia Van Schreeven
Luther Adler	...	Mayrant Ruysdaal Sidneye
Eduard Franz	...	Harmenszoon Van Schreeven
Grant Withers	...	Capt. Wilde Youngeur
Henry Daniell	...	Jacques Desaix
Paul Fix	...	Antonio 'Ripper' Arrezo
Dennis Hoey	...	Capt. Munsey
Jeff Corey	...	Mr. Loring
Erskine Sanford	...	Dr. van Arken
Duke Kahanamoku	...	Ua Nuke

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

West Germany:6 (f) | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:Approved (PCA #13370)

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanic Garden - 301 N. Baldwin Avenue, Arcadia, California, USA

Company:

Republic Pictures (I)

Trivia:

The rubber octopus used in this movie was later stolen by Edward D. Wood Jr.'s crew and used in Bride of the Monster (1955). They forgot to steal the motor that ran the tentacles though, so Bela Lugosi was forced to wrap the tentacles around him while he "fought" the beast.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: The shipwreck is obviously a model.

Movie Connections:

Featured in That's Action (1977)

OK adventure tale

Echoes of DeMille's "Reap the Wild Wind" abound in this not-altogether successful adventure film. As in "Reap", John Wayne plays a ship captain with a dark side, a ship is scuttled, an underwater battle with a giant octopus/squid is fought (but it doesn't come close to convincing you), and a dive to a sunken ship ends in disaster for a diver. But DeMille's movie had better production values, more interesting casting, and a clever script. "Wake of the Red Witch" is told by one of the participants who is also telling a tale he was told by someone else, so sometimes it's not clear who's telling what. And, unfortunately the scenes set on the South Sea Islands are not too successful (and the depiction of the natives a bit condescending). All in all, okay, with beautiful Gail Russell to ease you over the poorer parts (although she doesn't appear for the first 45 minutes.)