Wake of the Red Witch
Encyclopedia
Wake of the Red Witch is a 1948
drama film
from Republic Pictures
starring John Wayne
and Gail Russell
, produced by Edmund Grainger, and based upon the novel by Garland Roark
. The supporting cast includes Gig Young
, Adele Mara
, and Luther Adler
, and the picture was directed by Edward Ludwig
.
.
The focus of the film is the deadly rivalry between two men of the sea. Ship's captain Ralls (John Wayne
) nurses a long-standing grudge against shipping magnate Mayrant Ruysdaal Sidneye (Luther Adler
). The reason for the animosity: Van Schreeven stole away Ralls' love, Angelique (Gail Russell
).
One day, Ralls decides to "scuttle," or intentionally ground the ship, which is carrying five million dollars in gold bullion. Ralls orders his assistant, Antonio "Ripper" Arrezo (Paul Fix
), to lock the navigator, Mr. Loring (Jeff Corey
), inside his cabin while he drives the ship onto a reef. When it sinks, the crew abandons ship.
First Mate Sam Rosen (Gig Young
), Ripper and Capt. Ralls are called before a court of inquiry, at which Loring testifies that Mayrant Ruysdaal Sidneye (Luther Adler
), whose trading company, Batjak, owned the ship, had sent Ralls an order relieving him of his duties. When questioned, Ralls lies, saying that he never received the message. Sidneye's brother, who is presenting the shipping company's complaint at the inquest, asks Ralls how he managed to be rescued so quickly, only twelve hours after the wreck, but before he can answer, a messenger arrives with word that Sidneye has withdrawn his complaint.
Ralls, Sam, and Ripper set sail as fishermen on a schooner. At one port they are sold a map of an uncharted island. It turns out that the trio have been led to the island as a ruse to capture Ralls and his shipmates. Ashore, Sam sees Sidneye's niece, Teleia Van Schreeven (Adele Mara
), swimming in the lagoon, and she invites him to dinner that evening. After Teleia overhears her uncle plotting against them, she warns Sam and Ralls that their lives may be in danger. They enter despite her warning, and Sidneye accuses Ralls of scuttling the ship. Sidneye then explains that seven years ago, after he rescued Ralls from the ocean, he agreed to a deal whereby Ralls would show Sidneye the location of some sunken pearls in exchange for command of the Witch. Sidneye agreed to the arrangement, but after Ralls identified the location, Sidneye had him thrown in the brig.
Commissar Jacques Desaix (Henry Daniell
) and his daughter Angelique meet Sidneye on the pearl island. Desaix tells them of the natives' pearl-diving challenge which involves diving into an octopus' den to retrieve a sunken chest of pearls. When a challenger attempts it, he becomes stuck in a giant seashell and must be rescued by Ralls. Later, Desaix pressures Angelique to accept Sidneye's proposal of marriage. When Ralls learns of the engagement, he gets drunk and dives down to the octopus den. He tries to leave the den with the chest, but the octopus attacks, so he kills it with a knife. At his bedside, Ralls tells Angelique about his near-death experience. Angelique confesses her love for Ralls, and that evening, they attend a festival together. After the native chief determines that the pearls rightfully belong to Ralls, Desaix tries to have him arrested.
Later, Teleia tells Sam that Ralls first met Angelique when the Witch arrived in Bali to pick up the gold. After he sees Ralls kissing Angelique, Sidneye begs him to leave the island. Later, Angelique sickens and dies, while Ralls's ship sets sail, only to explode passing over a submerged gate at the lagoon's entrance.
Believing that he has killed Ralls, Sidneye is surprised when he walks in moments later unharmed. Finally, Ralls agrees to try to retrieve the gold from the wrecked ship, which teeters precariously on an underwater ledge. After loading the dive basket with gold, Ralls becomes trapped by debris and dies.
Wake of the Red Witch represented the second screen teaming of John Wayne and Gail Russell, after Angel and the Badman
the previous year, during which he and Russell had an offscreen affair; the film must also have held some special significance for Wayne, since he named his own production company, Batjac
, after the shipping firm depicted in the picture.
Wake of the Red Witch shares similarities in both character and climax to a similarly titled earlier John Wayne sea picture, Cecil B. DeMille's
Reap the Wild Wind
, but this film has a more direct approach in exploring the complex motivations of its characters.
1948 in film
The year 1948 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Laurence Olivier's Hamlet becomes the first British film to win the American Academy Award for Best Picture.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :...
drama film
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
from Republic Pictures
Republic Pictures
Republic Pictures was an independent film production-distribution corporation with studio facilities, operating from 1934 through 1959, and was best known for specializing in westerns, movie serials and B films emphasizing mystery and action....
starring John Wayne
John Wayne
Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
and Gail Russell
Gail Russell
Gail Russell was an American film and television actress.-Career:She was born Elizabeth L. Russell to George and Gladys Russell in Chicago, Illinois, and then moved to the Los Angeles, California, area when she was a teenager. Russell's extraordinary beauty brought her to the attention of...
, produced by Edmund Grainger, and based upon the novel by Garland Roark
Garland Roark
Garland Roark was an American author best known for his nautical/adventure fiction. Published in 1946, his first novel Wake of the Red Witch was a Literary Guild selection and later adapted by Republic Pictures as a movie starring John Wayne.- Life :In his own words:"I was born in Groesbeck, Texas...
. The supporting cast includes Gig Young
Gig Young
Gig Young was an American film, stage, and television actor. Known mainly for second leads and supporting roles, Young won an Academy Award for his performance as a dance-marathon emcee in the 1969 film, They Shoot Horses, Don't They?.-Early life and career:Born Byron Elsworth Barr in St...
, Adele Mara
Adele Mara
Adele Mara , born Adelaide Delgado, was an American actress, singer and dancer who appeared in films during the 1940s and 1950s. During the 1940s, the blond actress was also a popular pinup girl....
, and Luther Adler
Luther Adler
Luther Adler was an American actor best known for his work in theatre, but who also worked in film and television. He also directed plays on Broadway.-Life and career:...
, and the picture was directed by Edward Ludwig
Edward Ludwig
Edward Irving Ludwig was a Russian-born American film director and writer. He directed nearly 100 films between 1921 and 1963....
.
Plot
John Wayne stars as a sea captain in the early 1860s East Indies out for revenge against a wealthy shipping magnateBusiness magnate
A business magnate, sometimes referred to as a capitalist, czar, mogul, tycoon, baron, oligarch, or industrialist, is an informal term used to refer to an entrepreneur who has reached prominence and derived a notable amount of wealth from a particular industry .-Etymology:The word magnate itself...
.
The focus of the film is the deadly rivalry between two men of the sea. Ship's captain Ralls (John Wayne
John Wayne
Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
) nurses a long-standing grudge against shipping magnate Mayrant Ruysdaal Sidneye (Luther Adler
Luther Adler
Luther Adler was an American actor best known for his work in theatre, but who also worked in film and television. He also directed plays on Broadway.-Life and career:...
). The reason for the animosity: Van Schreeven stole away Ralls' love, Angelique (Gail Russell
Gail Russell
Gail Russell was an American film and television actress.-Career:She was born Elizabeth L. Russell to George and Gladys Russell in Chicago, Illinois, and then moved to the Los Angeles, California, area when she was a teenager. Russell's extraordinary beauty brought her to the attention of...
).
One day, Ralls decides to "scuttle," or intentionally ground the ship, which is carrying five million dollars in gold bullion. Ralls orders his assistant, Antonio "Ripper" Arrezo (Paul Fix
Paul Fix
Paul Fix was an American film and television character actor, best known for his work in westerns. Fix appeared in more than a hundred movies and dozens of television shows over a 56-year career spanning from 1925 to 1981...
), to lock the navigator, Mr. Loring (Jeff Corey
Jeff Corey
Jeff Corey was an American stage and screen actor and director who became a well-respected acting teacher after being blacklisted in the 1950s.-Biography:...
), inside his cabin while he drives the ship onto a reef. When it sinks, the crew abandons ship.
First Mate Sam Rosen (Gig Young
Gig Young
Gig Young was an American film, stage, and television actor. Known mainly for second leads and supporting roles, Young won an Academy Award for his performance as a dance-marathon emcee in the 1969 film, They Shoot Horses, Don't They?.-Early life and career:Born Byron Elsworth Barr in St...
), Ripper and Capt. Ralls are called before a court of inquiry, at which Loring testifies that Mayrant Ruysdaal Sidneye (Luther Adler
Luther Adler
Luther Adler was an American actor best known for his work in theatre, but who also worked in film and television. He also directed plays on Broadway.-Life and career:...
), whose trading company, Batjak, owned the ship, had sent Ralls an order relieving him of his duties. When questioned, Ralls lies, saying that he never received the message. Sidneye's brother, who is presenting the shipping company's complaint at the inquest, asks Ralls how he managed to be rescued so quickly, only twelve hours after the wreck, but before he can answer, a messenger arrives with word that Sidneye has withdrawn his complaint.
Ralls, Sam, and Ripper set sail as fishermen on a schooner. At one port they are sold a map of an uncharted island. It turns out that the trio have been led to the island as a ruse to capture Ralls and his shipmates. Ashore, Sam sees Sidneye's niece, Teleia Van Schreeven (Adele Mara
Adele Mara
Adele Mara , born Adelaide Delgado, was an American actress, singer and dancer who appeared in films during the 1940s and 1950s. During the 1940s, the blond actress was also a popular pinup girl....
), swimming in the lagoon, and she invites him to dinner that evening. After Teleia overhears her uncle plotting against them, she warns Sam and Ralls that their lives may be in danger. They enter despite her warning, and Sidneye accuses Ralls of scuttling the ship. Sidneye then explains that seven years ago, after he rescued Ralls from the ocean, he agreed to a deal whereby Ralls would show Sidneye the location of some sunken pearls in exchange for command of the Witch. Sidneye agreed to the arrangement, but after Ralls identified the location, Sidneye had him thrown in the brig.
Henry Daniell
Henry Daniell was an English actor, best known for his villainous movie roles, but who had a long and prestigious career on stage as well as in films....
) and his daughter Angelique meet Sidneye on the pearl island. Desaix tells them of the natives' pearl-diving challenge which involves diving into an octopus' den to retrieve a sunken chest of pearls. When a challenger attempts it, he becomes stuck in a giant seashell and must be rescued by Ralls. Later, Desaix pressures Angelique to accept Sidneye's proposal of marriage. When Ralls learns of the engagement, he gets drunk and dives down to the octopus den. He tries to leave the den with the chest, but the octopus attacks, so he kills it with a knife. At his bedside, Ralls tells Angelique about his near-death experience. Angelique confesses her love for Ralls, and that evening, they attend a festival together. After the native chief determines that the pearls rightfully belong to Ralls, Desaix tries to have him arrested.
Later, Teleia tells Sam that Ralls first met Angelique when the Witch arrived in Bali to pick up the gold. After he sees Ralls kissing Angelique, Sidneye begs him to leave the island. Later, Angelique sickens and dies, while Ralls's ship sets sail, only to explode passing over a submerged gate at the lagoon's entrance.
Believing that he has killed Ralls, Sidneye is surprised when he walks in moments later unharmed. Finally, Ralls agrees to try to retrieve the gold from the wrecked ship, which teeters precariously on an underwater ledge. After loading the dive basket with gold, Ralls becomes trapped by debris and dies.
Wake of the Red Witch represented the second screen teaming of John Wayne and Gail Russell, after Angel and the Badman
Angel and the Badman
Angel and the Badman is a 1947 black-and-white Western film, starring John Wayne, Gail Russell, Harry Carey and Bruce Cabot which examines the ability of a gunman to renounce violence. This film, which was the first one Wayne produced as well as starred in, was a departure for this genre at the...
the previous year, during which he and Russell had an offscreen affair; the film must also have held some special significance for Wayne, since he named his own production company, Batjac
Batjac Productions
Batjac Productions is an independent film production company founded by John Wayne in the early 1950s as a vehicle for Wayne to produce as well as star in movies. Its first release was Big Jim McLain with Warner Brothers in 1952, and its final film was also with Warner Brothers, McQ, in 1974...
, after the shipping firm depicted in the picture.
Wake of the Red Witch shares similarities in both character and climax to a similarly titled earlier John Wayne sea picture, Cecil B. DeMille's
Cecil B. DeMille
Cecil Blount DeMille was an American film director and Academy Award-winning film producer in both silent and sound films. He was renowned for the flamboyance and showmanship of his movies...
Reap the Wild Wind
Reap the Wild Wind
Reap the Wild Wind is a serialized story written by Thelma Strabel in 1940 for The Saturday Evening Post, which was the basis for the 1942 film starring Ray Milland, John Wayne, Paulette Goddard, Robert Preston, and Susan Hayward, and directed by Cecil B. DeMille, his second picture to be filmed in...
, but this film has a more direct approach in exploring the complex motivations of its characters.
Cast
- John WayneJohn WayneMarion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
as Captain Ralls - Gail RussellGail RussellGail Russell was an American film and television actress.-Career:She was born Elizabeth L. Russell to George and Gladys Russell in Chicago, Illinois, and then moved to the Los Angeles, California, area when she was a teenager. Russell's extraordinary beauty brought her to the attention of...
as Angelique Desaix - Gig YoungGig YoungGig Young was an American film, stage, and television actor. Known mainly for second leads and supporting roles, Young won an Academy Award for his performance as a dance-marathon emcee in the 1969 film, They Shoot Horses, Don't They?.-Early life and career:Born Byron Elsworth Barr in St...
as Sam Rosen - Adele MaraAdele MaraAdele Mara , born Adelaide Delgado, was an American actress, singer and dancer who appeared in films during the 1940s and 1950s. During the 1940s, the blond actress was also a popular pinup girl....
as Teleia Van Schreeven - Luther AdlerLuther AdlerLuther Adler was an American actor best known for his work in theatre, but who also worked in film and television. He also directed plays on Broadway.-Life and career:...
as Mayrant Ruysdaal Sidneye - Eduard FranzEduard FranzEduard Franz , born Eduard Franz Schmidt, was an American actor of theater, film, and television. Franz portrayed King Ahab in the 1953 biblical low-budget film Sins of Jezebel, Jethro in Cecil B...
as Harmenszoon Van Schreeven - Grant WithersGrant WithersGrant Withers was an American film actor. With early beginnings in the silent era, Withers moved into talkies establishing himself with a list of headlined features as a young and handsome male lead...
as Captain Wilde Youngeur - Henry DaniellHenry DaniellHenry Daniell was an English actor, best known for his villainous movie roles, but who had a long and prestigious career on stage as well as in films....
as Jacques Desaix - Paul FixPaul FixPaul Fix was an American film and television character actor, best known for his work in westerns. Fix appeared in more than a hundred movies and dozens of television shows over a 56-year career spanning from 1925 to 1981...
as Antonio "Ripper" Arrezo - Jeff CoreyJeff CoreyJeff Corey was an American stage and screen actor and director who became a well-respected acting teacher after being blacklisted in the 1950s.-Biography:...
as Mr. Loring - Duke KahanamokuDuke KahanamokuDuke Paoa Kahinu Mokoe Hulikohola Kahanamoku was a Hawaiian swimmer, actor, lawman, early beach volleyball player and businessman credited with spreading the sport of surfing. He was a five-time Olympic medalist in swimming.-Early years:The name "Duke" is not a title, but a given name...
as Ua Nuke - John M. PickardJohn Pickard (American actor)John M. Pickard was an American actor who appeared primarily in television Westerns.-Early life and career:...
(uncredited)