Sea Devils *** (1953, Yvonne De Carlo, Rock Hudson, Maxwell Reed, Bryan Forbes) – Classic Movie Review 7842

Director Raoul Walsh’s 1953 romantic historical action adventure drama Sea Devils stars Rock Hudson as Gilliatt, the swashbuckling fisherman cum smuggler who falls for beautiful English spy Drucette (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.

Also in the cast are Maxwell Reed, Denis O’Dea, Michael Goodliffe, Bryan Forbes, 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, released by RKO, written by Borden Chase (story and screenplay), based on the Victor Hugo novel The Toilers of the Sea, shot in Technicolor by Wilkie Cooper, produced by David E Rose and John R Sloan, is scored by Richard Addinsell and is designed by Wilfrid Shingleton.

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″.

© Derek Winnert 2018 Classic Movie Review 7842

Check out more reviews on http://derekwinnert.com