The Wreck of the Mary Deare (1959)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Michael Anderson

Writers:

Eric Ambler (screenplay)
Hammond Innes (novel)

Release Date:

6 November 1959 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

The Saga of the Derelict, Mary Deare... the strange secret she carried... the desperate voyage and plot to sink her!

Plot:

A disgraced merchant marine officer elects to stay aboard his sinking cargo ship in order to prove the vessel was deliberately scuttled and, as a result, vindicate his good name.

Plot Keywords:

Salvage | Merchant Marine | English Channel | Minquiers | Sabotage

Cast

Gary Cooper	...	Gideon Patch
Charlton Heston	...	John Sands
Michael Redgrave	...	Mr. Nyland
Emlyn Williams	...	Sir Wilfred Falcett
Cecil Parker	...	The Chairman
Alexander Knox	...	Petrie
Virginia McKenna	...	Janet Taggart
Richard Harris	...	Higgins
Ben Wright	...	Mike
Peter Illing	...	Gunderson
Terence de Marney	...	Frank
Ashley Cowan	...	Burrows
Charles Davis	...	Yules, Quartermaster on Mary Deare

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Australia:G | USA:Approved (certificate #19326) | Canada:PG (video rating) | Finland:K-12

Filming Locations:

Elstree Studios, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Company:

Blaustein-Baroda

Trivia:

Production had to be closed down several times due to Gary Cooper's frequent illnesses.

Quotes:

Gideon Patch: You listen! I didn't ask you to come on board, and I'm in command here! Now, if you don't like it, you can go over the side and swim!

Movie Connections:

Featured in Destination Hitchcock: The Making of 'North by Northwest' (2000) (V)

Gary Cooper's Second to Last Movie

I watched the Wreck of the Mary Deare last night on TCM. I agree with the other reviewers, for the most part. However, I just love Gary Cooper, and it was quite obvious that he was not well when he made this movie. He looked sick and it seemed that he was just walking through his part. He died from prostate cancer a few years after this movie was released.

I remember the Oscar show when Gary Cooper got an honorable Oscar award and Jimmy Stewart accepted for him. Stewart was very emotional when he accepted the award on behalf of Cooper, so it was quite obvious that Cooper was seriously ill. And he was! With regard to Charlton Heston, he always gave a strong performance. And to watch him in the Michael Moore documentary, "Bowling at Columbine," was a sad sight to see! A lot of great actors and actresses in this movie, a lot of them gone.