The Worst Film Ever

Sorry, this movie sucks

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

Talk, talk, philosophize, throw a punch, talk, philosophize, throw a punch, philosophize, talk some more. Good gawd this movie is tedious. Waste of a good performance by Robinson. He should have been in every scene. Instead we get a pointless Garfield, that simp writer, and the wimpering Lupinon. I also wanted to punch Barry Fitzgerald in the face for two reasons: that stupid Irish accent and, well, that stupid Irish accent.

Warners in the early 1940s excelled at a number of genres, but it rarely produced works as relentlessly downbeat as this very good adaptation of a Jack London novel. It's grim and pessimistic for virtually its entire running time, and rich in atmosphere--the Ghost, the troubled ship on which it's set, is palpably filthy, leaky, and wet, and its madman captain, the always excellent Edward G. Robinson, is a sadist, albeit capable of introspection and thoughtfulness. But what a miserable crew he commands, full of good character actors; even Barry Fitzgerald turns off his monotonous Irish twinkle for a change and paints a complex portrait. John Garfield, though given star billing, hasn't that much to do, and we spend more time with Alexander Knox, never again as interesting as he is here, as a well-to-do writer who lands unluckily on the Ghost. Ida Lupino, as a thief also unluckily aboard, broods exquisitely, and the camera never captured her better. The Korngold score, not his best, does have a maritime air about it, and Michael Curtiz paces it wonderfully--he knows when to slow down. As an exploration of man's venality, and in its willingness to provide a less-than-totally-happy ending, it goes deeper than many sea adventures from the same era, and it has atmosphere that stays with you for days.

This is a wonderful movie, great acting (Edward G. Robinson, John Garfield) of a good script lead by a great director (Michael Curtiz). What makes it very much a movie of its time and not of ours is that it deals with "the scum of the earth" - a Warner Brothers specialty - but still insists on presenting them as human being with back stories. Each in his or her own way gets treated like Citizen Kane.This movie also shows that you can create a movie brimming with testosterone without anyone having to take their clothes off. These men are all explosive powder kegs. Even the writer sinks to that animal level. And yet they never cease to be recognizable as men.Add to that a good Korngold score and you have a movie well worth watching.

Not unlike Charles Laughton's Captain Bligh in Mutiny on the Bounty (1935), Edward G. Robinson plays a maniacal sadistic Captain of a ship named the Ghost, which has garnered quite a reputation. Directed by Michael Curtiz, this Jack London novel was adapted by Robert Rossen into an excellent drama featuring Special Effects that were nominated for an Academy Award.John Garfield plays a man who seeks refuge from the police and is signed on to serve aboard the infamous ship by Barry Fitzgerald's character, who acts as the secret conduit for information about what the men are doing for its Captain, Wolf Larsen (Robinson). Given the strong characters he typically plays, Garfield will naturally become the leading foe of Wolf's, as the cruelly abused crew (which includes Howard Da Silva) moves towards mutiny.Ida Lupino plays an escaped convict who, along with Alexander Knox's character, is rescued by the Ghost. Lupino's character is weakened to the point of needing a transfusion, which is performed by the stereotypical drunken ship's doctor (Gene Lockhart). Wolf pushes the doctor's (who yearns for respect) buttons with delight, and ultimately to tragedy. As the two younger and most exciting characters on the ship, Lupino and Garfield are romantically linked. The writer (that Knox plays) learns that Wolf is actually quite well read, believes the Captain is misunderstood, and begins to document his life.A dramatic climactic final third, beginning with Wolf being blinded, is not to missed.