Very well executed

Really Surprised!

Watch something else. There are very few redeeming qualities to this film.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Cecil B. DeMille's romantic adventure tale about a love triangle between feisty Paulette Goddard, lawyer Ray Milland, and ship's captain John Wayne. There's also some stuff about salvager Raymond Massey who is really just a pirate. Interesting film in that it doesn't look the least bit authentic yet I still like the look of it. It's very setbound and the matte painting backdrops are obvious, as is the pool pretending to be the sea. But there's something charming about it all. Paulette Goddard is radiant in technicolor. John Wayne is solid as ever though he has to play runner-up to Ray Milland. For his part, Milland is pretty good considering he's outside of his comfort zone a bit. Raymond Massey is probably the best of the cast in his role as the villain. Susan Hayward and Robert Preston also appear. This is a DeMille picture so that obviously means the acting is broad and sometimes over-the-top. So expect that going in. The romantic stuff is the pits. The real selling point to the movie is the special effects which won an Oscar but are the butt of jokes today. As I said before, I enjoyed the look of the film even though I didn't believe for a second that they filmed on location anywhere. Also the giant squid at the end, while clearly fake, was pretty impressive for the time. It's undeniably cute today, though. The point behind this picture seems to have been to sell Ray Milland as a tough guy to audiences at the time. On that front, it's pretty silly stuff. I like Milland but even I wouldn't flinch at the thought of taking a punch from him and I'm hardly a tough guy.

The good news is: * The production is visually lush and colorful. Very high production standards. * As others have pointed out, you get an idea of what kind of Scarlett O'Hara Paulette Goddard would have made. * This is definitely one of John Wayne's best roles.The bad news here is: * Cecil B. DeMille was a great director, but he was definitely of another era, even in the 1940s. * Cecil B. DeMille was clearly jealous of Victor Fleming and David O. Selznick and their success with GWTW. * Paulette Goddard would have made a poor Scarlett O'Hara, unless all you wanted was a Scarlett who couldn't decide whether she was supposed to be a simpering and nauseating little fool or a female swashbuckler. * While Ray Milland does a good job here, it seems like an odd role for him.The underwater diving scenes toward the climax of the film, while primitive by today's standards of special effects, are imaginative and stunning. Kudos!There are quite a few great character actors in this film, although with the exception of Raymond Massey (as the ultimate bad guy), few have very big parts -- Robert Preston, Susan Hayward, Charles Bickford, and Louise Beavers (who is delightful). Milburn Stone of "Gunsmoke" is there too, although I missed him entirely. You'll also recognize Oscar Polk when you hear his voice -- one of the memorable slaves in GWTW.This is a difficult film for me to rate. It is certainly not a "great film" (such as GWTW or "Ben-Hur" or even DeMille's "The Ten Commandments"), but it is entertaining. Recommended to be seen at least once.

These were easy times for Cecil B. DeMille. The lavish epic was once more acceptable Hollywood fare, although still rare enough to minimise competition, and there was also a good crop of bankable stars – action men and shrewish tomboys – who fitted into DeMille's world. For a short time, DeMille could just churn them out and rake in the profits. It's a pity. He was so much better when there was a bit of pressure on him.This is not to say that DeMille was doing his own job badly. He always was a superb director, although he is rarely recognised as one. In another age DeMille might have been a great painter, most likely in the romanticist style of the early 19th century. With the nautical theme of Reap the Wild Wind his shots are appropriately reminiscent of the works of Turner and Gericault, with storm clouds, ropes and derelict sailors in dynamic tableaux. He also finds room for more delicate compositions, such as those in the sumptuous riverboat scenes. A particular favourite of mine is the one of Susan Hayward trying on the green shawl in the hold of the Southern Cross. The mass of cargo is all dull browns and greys, but Hayward shines like a jewel in a tiny corner of the screen. As well as being a gorgeous shot this is also a functional one, as it's important we remember this moment. DeMille's long-time collaborator Victor Milner deserves an honourable mention for his cinematography, which completes the painterly feel of the arrangements.DeMille's real problem is that he had a bunch of incompetents in the screen writing department. The men behind Reap the Wild Wind are usual suspects Alan Le May, Charles Bennett and Jesse Lasky Jr., and their story is pure B-Movie twaddle, with dull characters and feeble dialogue. Ray Milland's dog ventriloquism act is one of the oddest and least effective attempts to make a character likable I have ever seen. At least John Wayne is likable because he's John Wayne, as there is nothing in the screenplay to make him appealing. The action sequences have an almost cartoonish quality to them – for example a bunch of baddies having a big net dropped on them.But at least this is a good cast… isn't it? Well yes, but DeMille had this uncanny knack of making good casts look mediocre. Ray Milland gives an exceptionally bland performance, and it's almost impossible to believe he is the same man who won an Oscar in The Lost Weekend. Paulette Godard is reduced to a mere stereotype of herself. Thankfully John Wayne manages to find something in his character that wasn't in the script, and gives a reasonably tortured performance. Susan Hayward looks like she might have been quite good but we don't really see enough of her to find out for sure. The only other player of note is Robert Preston, who does a fine job getting all red-faced and emotional in the courtroom scene.As ever, DeMille was the shrewd businessman, and the secret of his success was largely chasing public interest. Here you can see him going after the Errol Flynn/Tyrone Power swashbuckling vote. There are also some fairly obvious attempts to cash in on Gone with the Wind-fever, with the antebellum south setting and Louise Beavers as a rather unimaginative rip-off of Hattie McDaniel's Mammy. But more than ever it looks as if DeMille is doing a desperate knock-off rather than leading the pack. Reap the Wild Wind can be enjoyed as a series of beautiful images, but has little else of salvageable value.

Having seen this film many times, I can understand those critics who regard it as yet another ripe example of director Cecil B. DeMille hokum and excess. But for me, it is far easier to side with folks who like "Reap the Wild Wind" as a prime example of rousing old-fashioned screen storytelling at its best.Made just at the outbreak of World War II, Paramount spared no expense to mount this super-lavish yarn about romance, treachery, maritime adventure, shipwrecks, salvage risks involving "dead" ships, and the spectacle of rivals searching for evidence in the deep-----where diving to find it involves less danger than the chance encounter with a giant squid lurking in a sunken hull.John Wayne appears in an uncharacteristic role-----a flawed anti-hero (long before that term was ever coined) who is likable, weak, not too swift but yet charming and easy to root for. Ray Milland also does an unusual turn here. He is both a man of intellect and action----clever, funny and brave. Paulette Goddard is a revelation to those who are unfamiliar with her screen work. Remember, this was 1942. The super-independent, feisty woman she plays with such enthusiasm----while a role model for today's feminists----also shows an understandable human vulnerability. She has never appeared in another film that allowed her to be strong, sexy and appealing all at the same time.The extraordinary supporting cast is an absolute delight. They carry off some of the most outrageously cornball dialogue ever spoken with such conviction that it becomes enjoyable. Raymond Massey's slimy over-the-top villain is unique---and so is Robert Preston's pathetic character as Massey's far less crafty brother. Preston is given the task of uttering one of the film's most unforgettable lines when arriving at a prearranged meeting with his girl friend (a very young Susan Hayward) that may never EVER have been topped as a "groaner.".Special mention should be made of the beautiful Technicolor employed in "Reap the Wild Wind", the engrossing special effects (outstanding for their time) and the exciting musical score written by Victor Young.Altogether, this is a film that holds your interest from the start and never lets it down. It is grand entertainment from the Golden Age of Hollywood. Almost 65 years old, it is still fun to watch. Lots of fun!