HotToastyRag
Get ready for an epic love quadrangle aquatic adventure with Cecil B. DeMille's Reap the Wild Wind. Paulette Goddard, Ray Milland, John Wayne, and Susan Hayward all sneak behind each other's backs, deceive, seduce, and fall in love for real. And it takes two hours to sort it all out!It's a little complex, though, and miraculously at the same time, a little tedious. It's as if screenwriters Charles Bennett, Jesse Lasky, Jr., Alan Le May, and Jeanie Macpherson, wanted the audience to take so long to figure out who's who and what they're doing that it would stretch the running time out. But, if you like large-scale adventures with lots of boat scenes, you might not mind. It reminded me of Tap Roots in a way, an attempt to recapture the epic splendor of Gone with the Wind but not really succeeding. You can tell everyone in this movie thinks it's an incredible blockbuster-which, to be fair, it was at the time-but nowadays with so many ship movies out there with more up-to-date special effects, it doesn't feel the same. The famous crane shot in Gone with the Wind doesn't feel the same today, either, so if you like stepping back in time, and you're totally riveted by hurricanes and shipwrecks, you might like this one.
utgard14
Cecil B. DeMille's romantic adventure tale about a love triangle between feisty Paulette Goddard, lawyer Ray Milland, and ship's captain John Wayne. There's also some stuff about salvager Raymond Massey who is really just a pirate. Interesting film in that it doesn't look the least bit authentic yet I still like the look of it. It's very setbound and the matte painting backdrops are obvious, as is the pool pretending to be the sea. But there's something charming about it all. Paulette Goddard is radiant in technicolor. John Wayne is solid as ever though he has to play runner-up to Ray Milland. For his part, Milland is pretty good considering he's outside of his comfort zone a bit. Raymond Massey is probably the best of the cast in his role as the villain. Susan Hayward and Robert Preston also appear. This is a DeMille picture so that obviously means the acting is broad and sometimes over-the-top. So expect that going in. The romantic stuff is the pits. The real selling point to the movie is the special effects which won an Oscar but are the butt of jokes today. As I said before, I enjoyed the look of the film even though I didn't believe for a second that they filmed on location anywhere. Also the giant squid at the end, while clearly fake, was pretty impressive for the time. It's undeniably cute today, though. The point behind this picture seems to have been to sell Ray Milland as a tough guy to audiences at the time. On that front, it's pretty silly stuff. I like Milland but even I wouldn't flinch at the thought of taking a punch from him and I'm hardly a tough guy.
wes-connors
In Cecil B. DeMille's 1840 America, pretty Paulette Goddard (as Loxi Claiborne) is a Southern belle who runs a "salvage business" inherited from her daddy. After a hurricane hits the Florida Keys with "wild winds," Ms. Goddard heads out to inspect a ship wreck. She helps rescue the ship's manly skipper, a wounded and light-headed John Wayne (as Jack Stuart). Nursing Mr. Wayne back to health are Ms. Goddard and her superstitious mammy Louise Beavers (as Maum Maria). Goddard and Wayne kiss and pledge their love, although he must go to sea and she travels to Charleston with pretty cousin Susan Hayward (as Drusilla Alston). At a fancy tea party, Goddard sings a song badly. This doesn't bother the third part of the film's love triangle, seafaring ventriloquist and lawyer Ray Milland (as Stephen 'Steve' Tolliver)...Getting cozy, Goddard and Mr. Milland exchange come hither looks and talk about marriage. As you might expect, the men clash over Goddard. Mr. De Mille gets some good costumes and color photography (by Victor Milner and William V. Skall) for his effort, but fails to make this an artful epic. Apparently, something approaching "Gone with the Wind" (1939) was intended. While nicely decorated, many of the ship set scenes seem directed to look small. The relationships between the three leads – Goddard, Wayne and Milland – is confused and juvenile. Better acting honors go to the squirrelly monkey, the talking dog and the giant squid; although Robert Preston (as Dan Cutler) somehow finds his character and makes it work. Still, the film was a success at the box office and won an "Academy Award" for special effects.***** Reap the Wild Wind (3/18/42) Cecil B. DeMille ~ Paulette Goddard, John Wayne, Ray Milland, Raymond Massey
tomwal
I was eight years old when I first saw this movie on the big screen in 1942. It was my first color movie and the scenes with the giant octopus gave me nightmares for a long time after. Today I still enjoy the film for its beautiful color photography, exciting sea scenes and fine performances from Ray Milland and John Wayne. Wayne is unjustly accused of causing his ship to sink for profit. The story unfolds as he tries to clear his name .Paulette Goddard provides the love interest. The film never drags,whether on land or at sea where some of the most exciting action takes place.The underwater scenes,especially the finale ,are memorable. Supporting cast, score and special effects are all top notch.DeMille directs in his usual showman style. A fine effort from all concerned.
AD
