Sea Fury *** (1958, Stanley Baker, Victor McLaglen, Luciana Paluzzi, Grégoire Aslan) – Classic Movie Review 7843

Director Cy Endfield’s 1958 British movie Sea Fury presents a tale of adventure, romance and drama on salvage tug boats sailing between Spain and England.

Stanley Baker stars as second-in-command handsome English sailor Abel Hewson opposite Hollywood veteran Victor McLaglen as old drunken tugboat Captain Bellew, clashing over control and over sexy young village girl Josita (Luciana Paluzzi), in this hoary, man’s-man seafaring tale of love and stormy seas that is unfortunately weighed down with a sadly soggy story. Nevertheless it scores in the old-style adventure, action and drama departments, as well as in its performances, and Endfield runs a tight ship.

Famous guitarist Julian Bream is not stretched too far to play a guitarist. Also in the decent cast of mainly British stalwarts are Grégoire Aslan, Francis de Wolff, David Oxley, Rupert Davies, Robert Shaw, Roger Delgado, Barry Foster, Dermot Walsh, George Murcell, Percy Herbert, Joe Robinson, Richard Pearson, Fred Jackson and Jack Taylor.

Sea Fury is directed by Cy Endfield [C Raker Endfield], runs 97 minutes, is made by The Rank Organisation, Aqua Film Productions, S Benjamin Fisz Productions, is released by Lopert and Rank, is written by John Kruse (story and screenplay) and Cy Endfield (story and screenplay), is shot in black and white by Reg Wyer, is produced by S Benjamin Fisz and is scored by Philip Green.

Endfield and Baker went on to make Zulu together in 1964. They also made Hell Drivers (1957) and Sands of the Kalahari (1965) together. Baker died young, of cancer, on 28 June 1976, aged 48.

It was McLaglen’s last film. He died on 7 November 1959, aged 72.

© Derek Winnert 2018 Classic Movie Review 7843

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