The Sea Chase (1955)

Director:

John Farrow

Writers:

James Warner Bellah (writer)
Andrew Geer (novel)

Release Date:

4 June 1955 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | War

Tagline:

The elusive Sea Captain and his blonde woman in an explosive, suspense-packed story of high daring on the high seas!

Plot:

As World War II begins, German freighter captain Karl Ehrlich tries to get his ship back to Germany through a gantlet of Allied warships. |

Plot Keywords:

Captain | Ship | Warship | Crew | Fugitive

Cast

John Wayne	...	Capt. Karl Ehrlich
Lana Turner	...	Elsa Keller
David Farrar	...	Cmd. Jeff Napier
Lyle Bettger	...	Chief Officer Kirchner
Tab Hunter	...	Cadet Wesser
James Arness	...	Schlieter
Richard Davalos	...	Cadet Walter Stemme (as Dick Davalos)
John Qualen	...	Chief Engineer Schmitt
Paul Fix	...	Max Heinz
Lowell Gilmore	...	Capt. Evans
Luis Van Rooten	...	Matz
Alan Hale Jr.	...	Wentz (as Alan Hale)
Wilton Graff	...	Counsel General Hepke
Peter Whitney	...	Bachman
Claude Akins	...	Winkler (as Claude Akin)

Runtime:

117 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Warnercolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.55 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (35 mm optical prints) (RCA Sound Recording) | 4-Track Stereo (35 mm magnetic prints) (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

West Germany:12 (f) | Argentina:Atp | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:U | Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

Hawaii, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Prior to the start of filming in Hawaii, John Wayne went scuba diving and developed an ear infection. As a result, he was in severe pain for much of shooting. Many of Wayne's scenes could be shot only on his "good" side, since the infected ear was so swollen, and between takes he had to go lie down to rest from the pain.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: When David Farrar talks about Ehrlich's course options, he says they can rule out the vast Pacific to the west and the Indian Ocean to the east. Sailing from Sydney Australia, the Pacific would be to the East and the Indian Ocean to the West.

Quotes:

Capt. Karl Ehrlich: I won't lie for you!
Counsel General Hepke: Of course not! I wouldn't think of asking you to lie... you haven't had the proper diplomatic training.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in El día de los enamorados (1959)

A German sea captain must out fox Allied warships.

A very strange cast; very confusing story line; but a very good fox chasing the hound on the war time seas. John Wayne is a disgruntled German freighter captain that only wants to get his ship to safe port at the beginning of World War II. Not believing the ideals of Hitler, Wayne and his volunteer sailors set course for Norway. Pretending allegiance to Germany, Wayne must transport a beautiful spy(Lana Turner)to safety. The freighter must out run a determined British Commander(David Farrar)who has personal reasons to catch Wayne and his special cargo.

Diverse supporting cast includes: Lyle Bettger, James Arness, Tab Hunter and John Qualen. Action movies on the bounding sea always fascinate me. This is fun movie to watch.