It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

Fresh and Exciting

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

I thought it was refreshing to see a WW2 film where the German characters are the protagonists for a change, even though I ended up supporting the British side. But THE SEA CHASE commits a case of epic miscasting in putting John Wayne in the role of the German captain. You know, John Wayne, the all-American western actor. You can't get much MORE American, so he never convinces as a German for a second.Aside from the miscasting, THE SEA CHASE tells an interesting, sea-bound tale that occasionally reminded me of the Jack Higgins novel STORM WARNING, albeit with less tension. And that's the problem with this lengthy film: there's no suspense, even though there are some good set-pieces including the occasional shock here and there. The story just sort of plods along while the Lana Turner characters adds extra cliché and slows things down even more.There's never a sense of pursuit or real menace here, or even survival against the odds. Instead the writers go through the motions, putting all of that effort into setting the scene and location and then not doing much with it. The ensemble cast members are fine but nothing much really happens and I was twiddling my thumbs at times. And the end looks like they ran out of money, it's so cheaply achieved.

Decent war film starring John Wayne, Lana Turner, Lyle Bettger, Tab Hunter, James Arness, John Qualen and Paul Fix. Wayne plays a German ship captain, Karl Ehrlich, who, because he's not a Nazi and opposed to them, has been stripped of his command and given an old ship, the Ergenstrasse. Now, short on fuel and food, he's trying to get it from Australia back to Germany. Before they leave, he's asked by the German consulate to take an intelligence agent, who is about to be arrested, on the ship. It's a woman, Elsa Keller, the fiancé of his old Royal Navy friend (David Farrar). She was given the assignment of marrying into a British Navy family.Once on the ship, though initially they dislike each other, Ehrlich and Elsa are drawn to one another, and Chief Officer Kirchner (David Farrar) who is on board ship under protest, wants her for himself. When Kirchner is sent aboard to get supplies in Auckland, he kills four unarmed fishermen. He tells Ehrlich that the men are fine and well-provisioned. Meanwhile, the Royal Navy intends to capture the ship and hang everyone on it for the murders. On the Ergenstrasse, Ehrlich, determined to get home, drives his men hard as they break up wood for fuel.John Farrow, an experienced director, oversaw this film but apparently he was distracted. Okay, no one on the German ship and no other Germans speak with a German accent because obviously, they would be speaking German, not English with a German accent. Perfectly correct. But why, oh why, did John Wayne's butchering of "auf wiedersehen" get past the director? It was the only German he spoke! Instead of saying wiedersehen with a soft "v", he pronounces the beginning of the word like he's saying wiener. It is such a glaring error and sounds ridiculous. Later, when Ehrlich is writing a report, the camera focuses on what he is writing, and it is clearly written "Ehrlick" and not "Ehrlich." Sloppy.Wayne is masculine and authoritative as Ehrlich, and the soft-spoken, sexy Lana is appealing as Elsa. Wayne here is about 48, and Turner 35 (according to Maureen O'Hara, Turner took a year off and was actually born in 1920). They're both too old for their roles.A young Tab Hunter has a small role in this, as does a blond James Arness. "The Sea Chase" looks to be a big-budget color film for the wide screen. If only someone had paid attention to the dailies.

There are several aspect to the selection of a favorite movie star. One would like to view with interest the full potential of said actor when playing different roles in films. However, the true test of any given actor is when the actor can effectively play heroes as well as playing the heavy convincingly. It is difficult to see one of the most prominent leading actors in Hollywood, the Duke, Mr. All American in obvious bad guy roles. For the most part he always played the hero. Thus it is with amusement to see Wayne in this film, " The Sea Chase " playing Capt. Karl Ehrlich a German Officer during World War Two. Further, his ship's crew is loaded with additional actors who have a history of playing good guys siding with him. If you look closely you'll see Jeffrey Hunter, Tab Hunter, James Arness, John Qualen, Paul Fix, Alan Hale Jr., John Doucette and even Claude Akins. The story is of a German cargo vessel, which is believed interned by the British, abruptly escapes and plans on making it's way back home to Germany. With David Farrar playing Cmd. Jeff Napier, who gives reluctant chase, Lyle Bettger as Chief Officer Kirchner, Waynes' foil, and sultry Lana Turner playing Ehrlichs' former heartthrob, the movie has a great deal of potential. However, as a fan of Wayne, it's difficulty to snarl at him for being a German. In addition, him being in the close quarters of Lana Turner on board ship, one can only feel disappointment as so little happens. Still, the movie is entertaining and since Wayne remains true to his screen image, one can enjoy all the action, slight as that might be. ****

1955 marked the last year of John Wayne's streak of being number one at the box office and it was films like The Sea Chase that helped bring about an end to his reign.I cannot understand for the life of me why John Wayne, as American as they come was cast as a German. Right around the same time there were players like Curt Jurgens or the newly arrived in Hollywood Yul Brynner who would have been far better and believable in the role of freighter captain Karl Ehrlich. Brynner in fact later on did quite well in the film Morituri playing a German freighter captain. James Mason would have done well also. What was the Duke thinking.Offhand I can only think of three films in which he played a non-American, this one, The Long Voyage Home, and The Conqueror. Of course The Conqueror was one of the biggest flops in film history with Wayne as Genghis Khan. He did all right in The Long Voyage Home, but it's a small part in an ensemble production. John Ford must have been very patient with him getting that proper Swedish accent there. Wayne did not have Robert Mitchum's ear for dialect. In fact Mitchum might have been able to play Karl Ehrlich.The story starts in Sydney harbor right before the Nazis march into Poland. With war talk in the air, Captain David Farrar visits his old friend Wayne on his tramp steamer and he brings his new fiancé, Lana Turner. Wayne knows her to be an adventuress and probably an agent for the Nazis. He tells her to leave Farrar while the leaving is good, little dreaming he'd be asked by the German consul to transport Turner back to Germany.Wayne sneaks his ship out of Sydney Harbor and the Royal Navy gives chase. While stopping at an island for supplies, second officer Lyle Bettger, a hardened Nazi, murders the survivors of a fishing vessel who were stranded there. Of course the atrocity redounds to Wayne's ship and gives the Royal Navy real reason to pursue.David Farrar is a fine British sea captain in the best stiff upper lip tradition. Of course Lyle Bettger adds to that wonderful group psychotics he developed a patent on during the fifties. Lana Turner is well cast in her role as femme fatale.A whole lot of young players are in the crew of Wayne's ship like James Arness, Tab Hunter, Richard Davalos, and Alan Hale, Jr. When the ship stops and makes some repairs and provisions, the crew is put to work cutting down trees. Lots of topless beefcake for the audience there.In addition Richard Davalos has a very touching death scene, probably the acting highlight of the film.It's not the worst film John Wayne ever did, but fans of the eternal Duke will find his playing a German incongruous to say the least.