Platicsco Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Numerootno A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

SanEat A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

Calum Hutton It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

PimpinAinttEasy (SPOILERS ALERT!)I am a big fan of John Wayne. I like Ray Miland too. I bought the DVD of this film only because the two of them were in it. I must admit that the DVD print was quite shoddy. I might have enjoyed this film a lot more if I saw it on Blu-ray or something. Though I doubt it.I found it hard to sit through this one. The film is about the rivalry between two sailors - Wayne and Milland over a woman - Pauline Goddard (who has inherited a marine salvage business), even as the three of them try to stave off and defeat pirates in the Key West. Wayne's character is saved by Goddard at the beginning of the film and even gets beaten up at one point by Milland's competing character when he is about to get married to Goddard on a ship. Wayne switches sides at least twice and him and Milland are constantly at odds with each other. Goddard has a soft corner for Wayne though. Wayne's character dies in the end and Goddard goes back with Milland. The climax involves a prolonged underwater scene where Wayne and Milland wear underwater suits to search for the body of a woman. An octopus/squid attacks Miland. Wayne looks on for a while. Then he decides to intervene and he gets killed by the creature. It is pathetic. As I said earlier, Miland and Pauline Godard decides to unite in the end. Zzzzzz! The film did boast of some fine shots of monstrous waves and underwater sequences. But I could tell that the scenes on the ship were all shot on a set. The film did win an Oscar for visual effects.John Wayne was a lot thinner compared to his later films and looked quite dashing. A word you would not associate with his more beefy avatar in the prime of his career. The film was quite talky and overtly dramatic.It was directed by Cecille.B.Demille. I would not recommend this. But I am from another era. Some of the reviewers seem to be quite fond of this film which explains the respectable 6.8 rating on IMDb. I did not like it. Even though I enjoyed Mutiny on the Bounty - the version that came 20 years after this one.

Michael_Elliott Reap the Wild Wind (1942) *** (out of 4) Cecil B. DeMille's over-the-top but fun adventure takes place in the 1840s as ships try to reach the Atlantic ocean but often end up wrecked on the shoals of Florida. Southern belle Loxi Claiborne (Paulette Goddard) has Captain Jack Stuart (John Wayne) and Stephen Tolliver (Ray Milland) battling for her before the men end up battling a giant squid. REAP THE WILD WIND is a pretty fun movie, although there's no question that it doesn't rank among the director's best work and there are some fairly big flaws scattered throughout the picture. I love Milland but I thought he just wasn't right for this role. In later years John Wayne would say that he was cast in the movie to make Milland seem more like a man and perhaps that's true. There just wasn't a single second where I bought Milland and Wayne battling each other for this woman and their fight scenes aren't very believable either. Milland gives a good performance, don't get me wrong, but he just wasn't right for the part. Wayne, still not a star, does a nice job in his role, although there's a scene early on where he gets knocked out and the way Wayne does this is somewhat laughable. Goddard is her usual good self and we get nice support from villain Raymond Massey, Robert Preston, Charles Bickford and Susan Hayward. The visual effects ended up winning an Oscar when this was originally released and I'm sure people only used to CGI effects are going to think these here are awful. For 1942 they're actually pretty good and this includes the scenes with the ships on the sea. I'm not exactly sure what DeMille put into the pool that they were shooting these scenes but the water looks beautiful. As for the giant squid at the end, it's certainly very fake looking and I was a little surprised that they didn't do more with it as the fight is pretty small. REAP THE WILD WIND isn't a classic by any stretch of the imagination but it's certainly worth watching.

skimari I liked this film very much, it is a wonderful tale about the old south, the rich ship-owners , the captains of the ships, and the pirates who destroy these ships. It is a romantic story, but also an adventure and an action film, so it has something for everyone. I personally liked most the scenes in the rich houses in Charleston, the tea parties and the dances, they were magnificently shot and most realistic. Some great actors and actresses give their best performances to make the characters believable. The leading man, Ray Milland, portrays with gusto and charm Steeve Tolliver, a clever sea lawyer, head of a big ship owner firm. He seems interested only in frivolous games, an eccentric who dresses in the latest fashion for men, goes to dances and promenades always with his "son", a dog that "speaks" , and his impeccable manners fool everyone into believing that he is not cut for rough action. Later on, we see that this is not the case. His love, Loxy,(Paulette Godard) is a head strong girl that loves , or thinks she loves, captain Stuart, a "real man" (John Wayne). Later on, we see that this is not the case with him, as well. There are a lot of other characters, all played very well by great actors. What I did not like so much was the sequence with the giant squid underwater. The danger of the deep, the struggle of the two men could be shown without using this "special effect" that diminishes the credibility of the story. Also the end scene was somewhat abrupt and short. I would have liked a little more development on how Loxy made the comparison between her two "suitors" and understood her real feelings. All in all, it is a film worth seeing, mostly for the scenery, the costumes, the colors, and the acting. Ray Milland is the most credible of all, he never over-acts, despite his difficult and contradictory role, and manages to maintain a perfect balance between the romantic, the daring and the comic, that is not to be missed. Paulette Godard is trying a little too much, but she is undeniably very beautiful and spontaneous, while John Wayne has got the correct expression of the man of force but lacking in intellect and self control.

ebiros2 There's two attractions to this movie. First the period the movie is set is done beautifully, and the other is the high seas adventure.The movie is set on 19th century American south about a sea captain Jack Stuart (John Wayne), and a young woman shipping company owner Loxi Claiborne (Pulette Goddard) . The issue is complicated by intervention of a third lover Steve Tolliver played by Ray Miland who becomes the prosecutor on the sinking of Southern Cross, captained by Stuart. Stuart endangers his life to find an evidence that a woman was aboard Southern Cross on the day of the sinking by diving to the ship's wreckage.This is a pretty exciting movie. Beautifully shot with young John Wayne, and Ray Milland showing their best performances.It's a quality movie that has aged well over the years and is recommended for viewing.