THE SEA WOLF (1941) B/W 88m dir: Michael Curtiz

w/Edward G. Robinson, John Garfield, Ida Lupino, Alexander Knox, Gene Lockhart, Barry Fitzgerald, Stanley Ridges, Francis McDonald, David Bruce, Howard da Silva

From Variety's review of the film: "Jack London's famous hellship sails for another voyage over the cinematic seas in this version of The Sea Wolf. Edward G. Robinson steps into the role of the callous and inhuman skipper, Wolf Larsen.

"John Garfield signs on to the sailing schooner to escape the law. Ida Lupino (also a fugitive) and the mild-mannered novelist (Alexander Knox) are rescued from a sinking ferryboat in San Francisco bay. Robinson is the dominating and cruel captain who takes fiendish delight in breaking the spirits of his crew and unwilling passengers."

From The Movie Guide: "THE SEA WOLF contains little of the prolixity of Jack London's philosophically oriented novel, yet it is true to the spirit of the book. The megalomania of the ship's master is wonderfully expressed in Edward G. Robinson's fine portrayal of the contemptuous captain. Alexander Knox's reserve makes a perfect foil for Robinson's sneering bombast; in his screen debut, this fine stage actor is beautifully restrained. Ida Lupino, in her role as a loser, gives one of her best screen performances; John Garfield is also fine as her masculine counterpart; and a laudable assemblage of Warner Bros. stock-company character actors ably supports the leads. Required to work a romance into London's all-male work to satisfy studio formula, screenwriter Robert Rossen did very well with the unenviable task. He added the characters played by Garfield and Lupino, which help flesh out the story, substituting for the novel's uncinematic dialogue. Warners' all-purpose director, Michael Curtiz, performed up to par, shooting all the seafaring scenes in studio tanks. THE SEA WOLF earned an Oscar nomination for Best Special Effects, Erich Wolfgang Korngold's score melds well with the excellent sound effects ---the constant creaking of timbers under stress, the whipping of ratlines --- that create the ambiance of a ship at sea."

THE SEA WOLF was nominated for an Oscar for Best Visual Effects (Byron Haskin, Nathan Levinson).