THE SEA CHASE (1955)

[The Burgomaster]

I bought this movie a while ago on a double feature DVD with BLOOD ALLEY.  I really wanted BLOOD ALLEY and didn't really know anything about THE SEA CHASE.  I finally got around to watching THE SEA CHASE last night and I thought it was a much more enjoyable movie than BLOOD ALLEY.

It's pretty off-beat for a John Wayne movie (maybe that's why I thought it was interesting and many other people don't like it very much).  To begin with, Wayne doesn't play his usual red-blooded American character . . . he plays a German freighter captain named Karl Ehrlich!  Thankfully, he speaks in his regular voice; he doesn't attempt to use a German accent, which probably would have been laughable coming out of John Wayne. 

The movie takes place at the outbreak of World War II.  Wayne is not a supporter of the Nazi party, but he still wants to avoid having his ship captured by the British navy. 

The cast is pretty interesting: Lana Turner (looking VERY nice), Tab Hunter, James Arness, Alan Hale, Jr., and a very young (and light-haired) Claude Akins (whose name is spelled "Akin," without the "s," in the credits).  Most of them aren't very believable as Germans, but what the heck.  It was still interesting to see them in their younger days.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70QyOGKEdr0

[ulthar]

I think I've seen this, but it sounds like it merits another look.  Thanks for posting this.

[BoyScoutKevin]

I have seen both films. Both  not your typical Wayne western and/or Wayne war film, which (IMHO) makes them worth checking out. "Blood Alley" also has the distinction of pairing John Wayne with Lauren Bacall. They would make one more film together, Wayne's last film "The Shootist" 21 years later.

[alandhopewell]

     I enjoyed both films immensely.