The Sea Wolf

Brian Eggert — Thu, 26 Jun 2025 14:07:25 +0000

Wolf Larsen, the barbarous, intelligent, and vengeful despot who clings to his authority with cruelty and violence, is the unforgettable villain of 1941’s The Sea Wolf. Edward G. Robinson delivers a combustible performance that dominates the film, just as Larsen dominates his ship, the Ghost. A distinguished entry in Warner Bros.’s many literary adaptations of the era, this film version of Jack London’s novel features a richly baroque visual aesthetic and Oscar-nominated special effects, overseen by the brilliant direction of Michael Curtiz, a taskmaster himself. However, the picture’s voice stems from the talented screenwriter and actors, mindful of how the events onscreen mirrored their contemporary political dynamics. Like many historical and literary adaptations made by Warner Bros. during this period, The Sea Wolf is an anti-Nazi film that never mentions Nazism and an anti-Hitler film that presents a fictional counterpart to Hitler. It supplies a passionate message against the fascist ideologies that fuel authoritarians, and at a time when it mattered most. The Sea Wolf is at once a sterling example of prestige filmmaking in the Golden Age of Hollywood and an impassioned work that demonstrates how even commercial art can have a perspective. The full 4,500-word essay is currently […]

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Force of Evil

Brian Eggert — Sun, 02 Apr 2023 17:01:06 +0000

Force of Evil opens on a shot of Wall Street, the frame almost twenty stories high in the asphalt jungle. Below, a crowd full of wannabe movers and shakers bustles, and each one of them is desperate to make their fortune. Among them is Joe Morse (John Garfield), a successful attorney who, in his voiceover, schemes to make his “first million.” But this 1948 film noir has other things in store for Joe; he starts out with an office “in the clouds,” and he ends up at the lowest point imaginable. At first glance, Force of Evil might seem to be a standard noir programmer of the classic Hollywood postwar era, built up around the illegal numbers racket. Except, with his screenplay and direction, Abraham Polonsky takes an unflinching jab at America’s all-consuming capitalism, powerfully links the film’s themes with its noirish visual treatment and cutting, and uses poetic dialogue that has the gravitas of a Greek tragedy. Anchored by a razor-sharp yet sensitive performance from Garfield, Polonsky’s film is the legacy of two talents whose careers would be derailed by the House Un-American Activities Committee. Although it marks their only collaboration as actor and director, their production weighs ambition […]

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John Garfield Archives | Deep Focus Review

The Sea Wolf

Force of Evil