Sea Devils *** (1953, Yvonne De Carlo, Rock Hudson, Maxwell Reed, Bryan Forbes) – Classic Movie Review 7,842

The 1953 romantic historical action adventure film Sea Devils stars Rock Hudson as Gilliatt, the swashbuckling fisherman cum smuggler who falls for beautiful English spy Droucette (Yvonne De Carlo).

Director Raoul Walsh’s 1953 romantic historical action adventure drama film Sea Devils stars Rock Hudson as Gilliatt, the swashbuckling fisherman cum smuggler who falls for beautiful English spy Droucette (Yvonne De Carlo) and sets her on her way to France just as Napoleon (Gérard Oury) attempts to invade England in the 1800s.

The rather daft plot, in the story and screenplay by Borden Chase based distantly on a Victor Hugo novel called The Toilers of the Sea, is spiced up by the snappy action-packed sequences, expertly handled by director Walsh. Pretty costumes, Wilkie Cooper’s lovely Technicolor cinematography and glossy sets prevail over the soppy dialogue to produce a harmless, easy-to-watch historical adventure movie.

De Carlo and Hudson make a remarkably handsome star couple, and give attractive performances too. Bryan Forbes plays Hudson’s sidekick Willie, and Maxwell Reed, Denis O’Dea, Michael Goodliffe have good roles as Rantaine, Lethierry and Ragan.

By the way, the Sea Devil is Gilliatt’s ship, inspiring the film’s title.

Also in the cast are Ivor Barnard, Arthur Wontner, Jacques B Brunius, Laurie [Larry] Taylor, Keith Pyott, Rene Poirier, Reed De Rouen and Michael Mulcaster.

Sea Devils is directed by Raoul Walsh, runs 90 minutes, is made by Coronado Productions, is released by RKO Radio Pictures, written by Borden Chase (story and screenplay), based on the Victor Hugo novel The Toilers of the Sea [Les Travailleurs de la mer], is shot in Technicolor by Wilkie Cooper, is produced by David E Rose and John R Sloan, is scored by Richard Addinsell, and is designed by Wilfrid Shingleton.

Release dates: April 25, 1953 (UK) and May 23, 1953 (US).

It was shot in the Channel Islands; Concarneau, Finistère, France and in the studio at Nettlefold Studios, Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, England, UK.

The sell line ‘Six-Feet-Four of fighting Man… to Tame a Wildcat Beauty’ reminds us of just how tall Hudson [Roy Harold Scherer Jr] was, actually 6′ 5″.

Hudson and De Carlo had just made Scarlet Angel together in 1952.

Bryan Forbes recalled: ‘The film reminds me both of happy times and, less agreeably, my ludicrous performance in a fairly ludicrous film.’ Forbes helped to rewrite the part to suit himself.

The cast

The cast are Rock Hudson as Gilliatt (“Gil”), Yvonne De Carlo as Droucette, Maxwell Reed as Rantaine, Denis O’Dea as Lethierry, Michael Goodliffe as Ragan, Bryan Forbes as Willie, Jacques B Brunius as Fouche, Ivor Barnard as Benson, Arthur Wontner as Baron de Baudrec, Gérard Oury as Napoleon, Larry Taylor [Laurie Taylor] as Blasquito, Keith Pyott as General Latour, Reed De Rouen as Customs man, Michael Mulcaster as Coastguard skipper, Rene Poirier as Duprez.

© Derek Winnert 2018 Classic Movie Review 7,842

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