The Sea Wolf (1941 film)

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The Sea Wolf
Directed by	Michael Curtiz
Produced by	Hal B. Wallis Jack L. Warner Henry Blanke
Written by	Robert Rossen
Starring	Edward G. Robinson Ida Lupino John Garfield
Music by	Erich Wolfgang Korngold
Cinematography	Sol Polito
Editing by	George Amy
Distributed by	Warner Bros. Pictures
Release date(s)	March 21, 1941 October 20 October 11, 1942
Running time	100 min.
Country	U.S.A.
Language	English
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The Sea Wolf is a 1941 black-and-white film adaptation of Jack London's novel The Sea Wolf with Edward G. Robinson, Ida Lupino, and John Garfield. The film was written by Robert Rossen and directed by Michael Curtiz.

[edit] Plot

At the helm of the Ghost, a seal-hunting ship, is the brutal Captain Wolf Larsen (Robinson), a compassionless individual who delights in abusing his crew. A sophisticated author named Humphrey van Weyden (Knox), whom Larsen had earlier rescued from the sea, is puzzled by the captain’s complexity and contradictions. Van Weyden soon becomes the closest thing Larsen can call a “friend.” Other misfits onboard include George Leach (Garfield), a rough urban character of misfortune who quickly rises above his sordid past to challenge Larsen’s brutal authority, and Ruth Webster (Lupino), a poet whose aspirations surpass her station in life, and who depends on Leach for protection.

Most of the film is centered on Larsen’s peculiar character. He is very well read, yet cannot see anything useful in his education. He is aware of a progressive condition that will eventually claim his eyesight. In one scene, he pretends at length to defend the dignity of the ship’s drunk of a doctor (Lockhart), only to conclude by kicking the man down a flight of stairs in amusement. Larsen also first enlists the ship’s cook (Fitzgerald) to spy on the crew, then betrays him to them.

Leach’s escape plans are continually foiled by the wily Larsen. Larsen eventually goes completely blind. When the Ghost starts to sink, Larsen is determined to go down with her, taking as many others with him as he can. Van Weyden is fatally shot by Larsen, but manages to hide the fact from the captain. He tricks Larsen into giving Webster the key to the brig, where Leach is trapped, by promising to stay with Larsen to the bitter end. This act of seeming self-sacrifice troubles Larsen, causing him to question his whole philosophy, until he realizes that van Weyden is already dying. Vindicated in his own mind, Wolf Larsen awaits his demise.

[edit] Cast

• Edward G. Robinson as Wolf Larsen
• Ida Lupino as Ruth Webster
• John Garfield as George Leach
• Alexander Knox as Humphrey van Wyden
• Gene Lockhart as Louis J. Prescott
• Barry Fitzgerald as Cookie

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