Sea Wife (1957)

I started this post nearly two years ago, typing the beginning here and writing the rest on paper as I watched the film. But I never polished it up and posted it so when Realweedgiemidget Reviews announced the Regaling about Richard Burton Blogathon I thought it would be the perfect time to get the posted! Unfortunately I couldn't find my notes until I did some serious cleaning today which is why this post is a day late. Sorry Gill!

The other day (3-8-17) I watched Sea Wife (1957), which aired on TCM the night after Robert Osborne passed away to join the countless stars he loved and admired so much. After tearfully watching a message from Ben Mankiewicz before the film started, and the TCM Remembers video, the opening credits of Sea Wife began.

The opening song, "I'll Find You" sung by David Whitfield over a background of sparkling water, reminded me very much of a 1960s live-action Disney film. You can listen to the song below.

Starring Richard Burton (TCM's Star of the Month in March 2017) and Joan Collins, the film is based on the book Sea-Wyf and Biscuit by J. M. Scott. We meet Biscuit (Burton) en route to ?? by ship. He is contemplative (as only Burton can be) and after starring off into the distance for a few moments, he makes his way to telegraph office where he places an ad in the personal columns. He continues this upon his arrival at every major newspaper. All of them are addressed simply to "Sea Wife."

He finally receives a reply, from a patient in a rest home. Upon his arrival at the grand house and grounds he is met, not by the person he was expecting, but a wheelchair bound older man. They begin to talk and the old man becomes excited about some past event. We fade in time to a crowded boat in Singapore. The year, 1942.

It is the first night at sea. The boat, carrying well beyond it's weight limit of men, women, and children, is torpedoed by a Japanese sub. Panic ensues with people screaming and a fire raging in the engine room. A young girl clings to a nun in a black habit (Joan Collins) who, in order for the child to stay in the lifeboat, tosses off her habit to reveal a simple white shift. There is a bit of a "Titanic" moment as there aren't enough lifeboats to go around, one of them capsizing, spilling its' load into the sea. Some inflatable rafts are launched and the nun and a wounded Biscuit, who was also a passenger, climb onto an empty raft. Together they rescue and older man from the water - the same man we met at the rest home - and watch as their ship erupts in flames. As they are paddling away from the turbulence another passenger climbs aboard, a black man who (in an unfortunate stereotype found in many films) gazes a little too long at the nun who looks very appealing despite her short wet hair and oversized white gown (it helps when your eye shadow and false eyelashes make it through the ordeal).

The four drifters, rather than reveal their true identities, come up with nicknames for one another. The older man is called Bulldog, the black man becomes No. 4 as he was the fourth passenger, and the aforementioned Biscuit who is in charge of the rations: biscuits. They take turns watching, with Bulldog and the nun having a conversation about God when he catches her praying.

It is No. 4 who gives the nun her nickname  - he was the only one to see her onboard in her habit. As the three men watch her swimming No. 4 calls her "Sea Wife," another name for a mermaid.

After only two days adrift they are already halfway through their rations.  Bulldog begins talking about drinking blood to quench their thirst, causing tempers to flare. Their argument is cut short when Sea Wife hears something in the fog. They paddle toward the sound and come upon a submarine! Unfortunately it's Japanese. They want to know if there are any other American warships at sea. When the drifters declare they know nothing, the Japs refuse to give them food or water. They won't even take them aboard as prisoners, preferring to let them die at sea. Sea Wife begs for mercy however and they are given some provisions before the submarine slips back into the dark waters.

The next night, Biscuit gets poetic (What did you expect? It's Burton!). He is interrupted when their little raft is almost upset by a passing sub, knocking their provisions into the water! In the dark they are unable to retrieve it. The following morning they paddle along dejectedly. Some pelicans appear overhead and, when one lands in the water, the men kill it, upsetting Sea Wife who knows that the sight of the pelican means land is nearby.

Later a rainstorm comes up, at first quenching their thirst but then turning into a strong gale that tossed the raft about in the crashing waves. The sun finally comes back out however with everyone alive and land in sight. They paddle eagerly toward the shore but are carried toward some rocks, ripping their raft in the process.

After bathing in the fresh water and eating some fruit, Biscuit and Bulldog set out to do a little exploring and try, unsuccessfully, to build a structure. While Sea Wife and Biscuit are trying to catch fish, he finally asks her what her real name is. She evades the question, saying, "I'm not a real person here. None of us are. I think it's better if we keep the names we have."

Tempers flare again when No. 4 finds a machete and refuses to let anyone else touch it. He also privately questions why Sea Wife hasn't revealed her true identity to the other men, especially Biscuit who clearly has feelings for her.

They begin to work on a bamboo raft, as Biscuit thinks he has spotted land some 15 miles away. Once completed, they wait for the proper time to set sail. Biscuit accuses Sea Wife of running away from life and professes his love for her. Rather than reveal that she is a nun she simply says that she is promised to someone else.

Bulldog hides No. 4's machete and, while he's looking for it, tricks the others onto the raft and pushed it out to sea, leaving No. 4 behind. He knocks Biscuit out and reveals that he has the knife on board. No. 4 tries to swim out to the raft but is attacked and killed by a shark. Bulldog isn't even sorry, saying they couldn't have a knife, a girl, and a negro all on the same raft. They can have two, but not three (this is the part where I wish Sea Wife would push his racist you-know-what overboard but, being a nun she doesn't).

Biscuit is unconscious all that night and into the next day, when Sea Wife spots a ship. As dramatic music swells in the background we are suddenly back at the rest home where Biscuit is told the shocking news that Sea Wife died aboard the ship. But, as he walks away from the rest home, he passes two nuns. After he has passed, one of them turns around. She is Sea Wife. "No one looks at the face of a nun," she remarks to her companion, and they continue on their way.

This post is part of the Regaling about Richard Burton Blogathon hosted by Realweegiemidget Reviews. Check out everyone else's contributions by clicking the links below!

Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3

The Remake of the "They Remade What?!" Blogathon has Arrived!!

Today is the day! The Remake of the "They Remade What?!" Blogathon has finally arrived!!

The Story Enthusiast kicks off the day with The Male Animal (1942) and She's Working Her Way Through College (1952).

The Midnite Drive-In takes things in a heavenly direction with Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941) and Heaven Can Wait (1978).

Caftan Woman sees ladies everywhere in the two star-packed versions of When Ladies Meet (1933 & 1941).

Critica Retro issues a warning for watching both versions of Magnificent Obsession (1935 & 1954) back-to-back.

 

The Flapper Dame does some fast talking about The Front Page (1931) and His Girl Friday (1940).

Pale Writer tackles The Big Sleep (1946 & 1978) in The Big Remake Part I and The Big Remake Part II.

Realweegiemidget Reviews takes a look at when a classic film-star-riddled TV show is remade with TV...A Dynastic Disaster or Delight.?

The code clearly didn't apply to poster art lol

 

Top 10 Film Lists shows us how the code effected remakes with a look at Red Dust (1932) and Mogambo (1953).

Movies Meet Their Match takes on the challenge of comparing The Shop Around the Corner (1940) with it's subsequent remakes (plural!).

Back to Golden Days takes us back to the heavens and closes the blogathon with A Guy Names Joe (1943) and Always (1989).

A huge thank you to all who participated!! I hope to bring this blogathon back in a couple years. Now to read these!

James Mason in "A Story of Three Loves" (1953)

The Story of Three Loves (1953) tells, as the title plainly states, the story of three loves! The thread that joins them together is that several of the characters are traveling on the same ocean liner. But even then that thread is very thin as the stories are presented in flashback, with the ships only purpose being a place for the camera to pan from one passenger to another.

 

The first “love” of the story is titled Jealous Love. The passenger is James Mason as famous ballet creator Charles Coudray. He is recognized by a fellow passenger who inquired as to why the creators best ballet was only shown once. Coudray does not reply and his mind drifts back to the first time he saw HER.

At an audition, where Coudray scarcely pays attention to the girls dancing with all their heart for a chance to join his company, one young ballerina (Moira Shearer) with striking red hair catches his attention. She is the best he’s seen so far but unfortunately faints after dancing only a few exquisite moments. He looks away, disappointed, and the girl is carried out.

The young ballerina's aunt, played by Agnes Moorehead, is informed that it is Paula's (Shearer) heart and she must give up dancing or she will die. It is a sad moment for someone who loves the ballet so much. However, she can still attend the ballet as a spectator and it is after a performance of one of Coudray's ballets where we find Paula next.

After the ballet is over, Paula remains behind and walks out onto the empty stage. She begins to hear the music and starts to sway and then dance gracefully around the stage. It is a lovely, slow dance full of heart and longing. Coudray witnesses the moment and comes out of the shadows to talk to her. He asks her to accompany him back to his studio and becomes annoyed when she hesitates. Here's a movie clip of the moment. She changes her mind however, after he recognizes her as the promising ballerina at the audition.

At his studio he shows her around. She admires his sketches and sculptures, his attempts to capture a moment. There's also a little diorama behind curtains of a ballet. Coudray provides Paula with a costume and music and she begins to dance. It's exquisitely beautiful and Coudray attempts to capture some of it on paper. Paula is near collapse at the end but radiantly happy at dancing again. Coudray, now in love with Paula, begs her to work with him, to be his muse. She promises to be with him always. They kiss and then she goes to change. When she doesn't return Coudray discovers that she has vanished.

At her home, Paula confesses to her aunt what she has done. Full of happiness, she begins to climb the stairs but collapses and dies. End of the first love.

To read about the other two loves click here.

I was enchanted by this story (and had to go check out The Red Shoes, which I'd never seen). Mason and particularly Shearer were perfect in their roles. The lovely costumes worn by Shearer, her graceful dancing, and the beautiful music of the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini by Rachmaninoff complement one another perfectly. I wish clips of her dance were on YouTube. I highly recommend you to seek this out. I found out the film is available on Filmstruck until Nov. 8th, if you have a subscription or want to do a free trial.

A longer version from the soundtrack can be found here.

 

 

This post is part of The James Mason Blogathon hosted by Maddy Loves Her Classic Films. Please go to her blog and check out the other posts celebrating this actor!

The Films of Deborah Kerr

I've been watching a lot of Deborah Kerr movies this year and thank goodness I came across the banner for this blogathon on someone's blog as I would have been very upset to have missed this event! It was impossible to choose just one film to write about so I decided to do and overview of Kerr's films that I have seen!

I've always known who Kerr was. I saw The King and I (1956) when I was young and An Affair to Remember (1957) regularly aired on TV (though I usually just saw the end - I have yet to watch the whole thing in one sitting).That was my extant of Kerr's films until last October when I shivered through The Innocents (1961). The next month I watched one of Caftan Woman's recommendations, Vacation From Marriage (1945), And it is here that we will start.

 *May contain Spoilers*

Before and After

In Vacation From Marriage (1945) Kerr plays the dull wife of a dull man, played by Robert Donat. His routine never changes and she always seems to have the sniffles. War strikes and they both go off to do their part, he in the Royal Navy and she with the Wrens (Women's Royal Navy Service). During the three years they are apart, they both become more self confident through their service. Donat was lost at sea for five days and has shaved off his mustache. Kerr, no longer constantly sick, now wears makeup and has her hair styled attractively (of course) thanks to her fun friend Dizzy (played delightfully by Glynis Johns). Both have become attracted to other people yet remain faithful to one another. As the war comes to an end, the two confide in their friends that they don't want to go back to their old lives as they've both changed so much. Not wanting to go back to their dreary apartment, they meet at a bar and are surprised at how different they have become. They decide to release each other so they can begin a new life but can't hide their new attraction for one another and end up deciding to stay together.

This film has delightful performances all around (it was also my introduction to Robert Donat - I've now watched over half of his films). Kerr plays both sides of her character perfectly. It is also an interesting look at how a person can change due to circumstances beyond their control. The film was released to great success in both the UK (as Perfect Strangers) and in the US.

The Hucksters (1947) was Kerr's first film in America and paired her with the King of Hollywood, Clark Gable. Gable plays Victor Norman, a war veteran looking to get a high-paying job in advertising. His strategy? Pretend like he doesn't need a job! He also likes to throw money away (literally!) every so often to remind himself that money isn't everything. He visits his friend Mr. Kimberly (Adolph Menjou) of the Kimberly Advertising Agency and offers to help him out with his toughest client, Evans' Beauty Soap. Evan's (Sydney Greenstreet) wants to secure the  endorsement of twenty-five socially prominent for his soap. Gable takes the top name off the list, Mrs. Kay Dorrance (Kerr). Mrs. Dorrance, who is immediately attracted to Victor and vice-versa, readily agrees to having her photo taken. The two begin seeing one another, though Kay has some  competition in Jean, the attractive singer friend of Victors' (played by a young Ava Gardner). After Kay and Victor have a misunderstanding they part ways. Victor travels out to California to secure the services of a certain radio comic for Evan's Beauty Soap and ends up on the same train as Jean. Jean is in love with Victor but discovers he is still in love with Kay. Kay realizes she loves Victor and goes to meet him in California. Victor tells her that if Evan's likes the radio program it will mean a good paying job to pay for her kids education after they're married. Back in New York, Evan's first insults then offers Victor a job with a fantastic salary. Victor doesn't like the way that Evan's has just treated him and so he ends up turning it down - and giving Evan's a taste of his own tactics. He breaks the news to Kay that they can't get married after all and she reminds him that money isn't everything. Kiss and fade.

Please Believe Me (1950) was written especially for Kerr with her comedic talents in mind. Her character, Alison Kirbe, is a young working girl in London that corresponds with an old soldier she met during the war who lives on a big ranch in Texas. He dies and leaves it to her so she sets sail for America, not knowing that his letters were embellished and it's actually just a bunch of worthless land. While onboard she is romanced by two men: Jeremy Taylor (Peter Lawford) who has millions and wants a girl that doesn't want him for his money, and Terence Keath (Robert Walker) who owes a lot of money to a casino owner and pretends to be rich so he can marry Alison for her money. Keath loans her money until she gets her inheritance and Taylor's attorney, Matt Kinston (Mark Stevens) tries to prevent Taylor from giving her his money. Alison is attracted to all of them but seems to especially like Kinston. When they find out that her land is worthless their true colors are revealed. Alison admonishes them and, after realizing they were wrong, all three propose to her. I'll let you guess who she chose ;)

 

King Solomon's Mines (1950) finds Kerr in Africa looking for her husband who disappeared several years ago with the help of her brother (Richard Carlson) and Granger, who is a hunter and guide. He does not approve a women trekking through the jungle but Kerr keeps up with him, determined to match his strength and stamina. They are led to the fabled treasure caves by the natives and trapped inside, where they find the skeleton of her husband. By this point Granger and Kerr have fallen in love and, as she and her husband had drifted apart, they are able to stay together. They escape through the back of the cave and arrive in time to see the current evil king of the tribe battle for the throne with the rightful heir.

Dream Wife (1953) teamed Kerr with Cary Grant for the first of three times. Grant plays Clemson Reade, an American Salesman engaged to Priscilla "Effie" Effington (Kerr). She works in the state department. While on a business trip to Bukistan he is fascinated with how the Khan's daughters are raised to be the perfect wife. This is reinforced when he returns and finds out that Effie has pushed the date of their wedding to deal with an oil crisis. Fed up, he decides to marry the Khan's daughter, Tarji. It turns into a nightmare however when he finds out he must wait three months and isn't allowed to be left alone with her. She also doesn't speak English. Effie, as chaperone lest Reade cause a national incedent, meanwhile teaches Tarji how American women live. By the time the wedding finally rolls around, Tarji is no longer a "dream wife" and Reade decides to break it off. Tarji tells her father she wants to marry someone of her own choosing and Reade goes back to Effie, realizing he'd rather a woman who is his equal and not merely someone who sees to his every need.

I loved Kerr's character in this film. She holds her own with the men she works with while wearing ultra-feminine gowns. As much as I love Grant, his character was somewhat annoying in his expectations of women. Luckily he saw his errors at the end ;)

From Here to Eternity (1953) has one of the most famous on-screen kisses in history. Since this film is so readily available I'm going to presume most of you have seen it. I will say that I found Kerr's American accent disconcerting. It didn't sound like her at all!

In The End of the Affair (1955) Kerr plays an unfaithful wife who begins an affair with Van Johnson and, after a few months, right after Johnson's flat is bombed and he is hurt, abruptly ends it. The reason why is revealed later after Johnson hires a detective who manages to steal her diary. In the diary she reveals that after the building was bombed she rushed downstairs to find a heavy door on Johnson with only his dead hand sticking out. She goes back upstairs and finds herself praying to God that she will give him up if only He will make Johnson be alive. At that moment Johnson walks into the room, shaken and scratched but okay. The rest of the journal tells how she struggles to keep her promise as she had never really prayed before and wasn't even sure there was a God. I won't give away the end.

In The Innocents (1961) Kerr is governess to two children in a creepy house and comes to believe that they are possessed by the gardener and maid who died there. Don't watch this one at night!

This post is part of The Deborah Kerr Blogathon hosted by Maddy Lovers Her Classic Films. Be sure to visit her blog to check out the other posts on this wonderful actress!

This photo was just begging to be made into a banner.

Hope you don't mind Maddy :)