Review of The Wreck of the Mary Deare (1959) by Stuart K — 10 Aug 2010
Based on the 1956 novel by Hammond Innes, this is a good old fashioned adventure film from director Michael Anderson, best known for The Dam Busters (1955), Around the World in Eighty Days (1956) and Logan's Run (1976).
It does sag a little bit in the middle with the courtroom action, but it's enjoyable while it lasts. It begins in the English Channel, and has rescue boat captain John Sands (Charlton Heston) discovering a freighter called the Mary Deare drifting around, there's been a fire on board, the ship seems deserted, and Sands thinks he will get a big salvage fee for finding this ship, but then he discovers First Officer Gerald Patch (Gary Cooper) on board.
Back on dry land, the matter of why the Mary Deare was abandoned is taken to court, and nothing is what it seems, why did the crew abandon ship?? Why was Patch still on board?? Was he hiding something?? The ship had just come back from Rangoon, but not with the cargo it seems to have claimed it had.
It is the sort of adventure film you don't get anymore, the seabound sequences are well done indeed, but it's a pity it slows down back on dry land. To think that Alfred Hitchcock was asked to do this, but he couldn't make it work the way he wanted it to, so he did North By Northwest (1959) instead.
This review of The Wreck of the Mary Deare (1959) was written by Stuart K on 10 Aug 2010.
The Wreck of the Mary Deare has generally received positive reviews.
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