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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The Naked City

Brian Eggert — Sat, 17 Mar 2007 05:00:16 +0000

Though this film noir follows two detectives unraveling a murder case, The Naked City’s main character is, to coin a term from another noir picture, the asphalt jungle. Director Jules Dassin shot the picture on location in New York City without the benefit of studio lots or soundstages. The film’s style ignores the typical expressiveness of noir characters and replaces them with somewhat prosaic yet acceptably charming detective characters. Where they go and the people they meet are only the conduits through which we become familiar with the urban landscape. The characters themselves help to humanize the film’s apathetic nucleus: the city. The film was inspired by a book called Naked City created by independent photographer Arthur Fellig, more commonly known as Weegee. The 1945 book was a collection of photos that showed the true-crime side of the city. An unflinching look at the underbelly of urbanity, Weegee’s book caught the eye of film producer and former newspaper man, Mark Hellinger. After seeing the book, Hellinger began work on producing a filmic text in which the city is the main character. The Naked City begins with narration by Hellinger (who also produced one of the first film noirs, 1946’s The […]

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Barry Fitzgerald Archives | Deep Focus Review

The Sea Wolf

The Naked City