Sea Devils (1953)

Gilliatt, a fisherman-turned-smuggler on the isle of Guernsey, agrees to transport a beautiful woman to the French coast in the year 1800. She tells him she hopes to rescue her brother from... See full summary »

Director:

Raoul Walsh

Writers:

Borden Chase (screenplay), Borden Chase (story),

Stars:

Yvonne De Carlo, Rock Hudson, Maxwell Reed

Cast

Credited cast:
Yvonne De Carlo	...	Droucette
Rock Hudson	...	Gilliatt
Maxwell Reed	...	Rantaine
Denis O'Dea	...	Lethierry
Michael Goodliffe	...	Ragan
Bryan Forbes	...	Willie
Jacques B. Brunius	...	Fouche
Ivor Barnard	...	Benson
Arthur Wontner	...	Baron de Baudrec
Gérard Oury	...	Napoleon
Larry Taylor	...	Blasquito (as Laurie Taylor)
Keith Pyott	...	General Latour
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Reed De Rouen	...	Customs man
Michael Mulcaster	...	Coastguard skipper
Rene Poirier	...	Duprez

Storyline

Gilliatt, a fisherman-turned-smuggler on the isle of Guernsey, agrees to transport a beautiful woman to the French coast in the year 1800. She tells him she hopes to rescue her brother from the guillotine. Gilliatt finds himself falling in love and so feels betrayed when he later learns this woman is a countess helping Napoleon plan an invasion of England. In reality, however, the "countess" is an English agent working to thwart this invasion. When Gilliatt finds this out, he returns to France to rescue the woman who's true purpose has been discovered by the French.

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Plot Keywords:

bare chested male bondage | smuggling | spy | bound and gagged | hands tied behind back | 

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Action

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 May 1953 (USA)

Also Known As:

Gigantes em Fúria

Filming Locations:

Channel Islands

Company Credits

Production Co:

Coronado Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

British soldiers did not wear shakos (hats) like those depicted. The shakos of the time tended to be plain black hats with only a regimental number badge at the front.

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Connections

Featured in Rock Hudson's Home Movies (1992)

User Reviews

Not as bad as some - but dull and over written (or under edited)

The dialogue in this movie is ploddingly pedantically awful - and there is so much of it! Maybe it is because the film is set the early 19th Century and people are trying to make it look classy but everyone in this film gives full weight to every syllable of their every line. There is not a single "ain't," "shalln't," "can't," or "won't" in the whole thing. Everything is delivered in a very stagy mock-formal manner that, had it been camped up might have been amusing, but, as it wasn't, is merely grindingly dull.

The writer, Borden Chase, was obviously much happier with westerns - he wrote the classic Red River amongst others - and seems to have been overawed by the language when adapting a novel by such a revered writer as Victor Hugo (who also wrote Les Misrables) - or he was just plain out of his depth when attempting to write a 'period' piece. For whatever reason, the dialogue is stilted and clumsy; sounding at times like a dubbed Italian movie rather than a film written by someone who's first language was English.

Not as bad as some - but dull.