Movie Review: The Sea Ghost (1931)
Synopsis: After choosing to search for survivors on a torpedoed ship, Alatania, instead of following orders and chasing the German submarine that sunk it, Greg Winters is court martialed and discharged from the Navy. After World War I, he makes a living as captain of a salvaging vessel and is hired by a lawyer to retrieve items from Alatania.
When he learns the lawyer, Henry Sykes, had him retrieve documents he plans to use to defraud a woman, Evelyn, out of an inheritance, he decides to help her. Complicating matters is Syke's other employee, Karl Ludwig, the man who captained the submarine that sunk Alatania.
The movie also goes by the title U-67
Who's in it? The movie stars Alan Hale, Laura La Plante, Clarence Wilson, Peter Erkelenz and Claud Allister.
Review: I was running a bit late this morning and didn't have time to re-find the movie I intended to watch. As a result, I once again picked out the first film that sounded reasonably interesting and could be watched in about an hour. That turned out to be The Sea Ghost.
To be honest, the movie's description left a lot to be desired, and I mostly picked the film because it starred Hale. Overall, it turned out to be an OK movie but was also a film that probably could have been better had it had a longer run time.
Greg (Hale) was an intriguing protagonist. He was one of those main characters who was clearly the movie's hero but at the same time, wasn't always the most likable person. This is especially true of his awkward romance with Evelyn (La Plante), that saw her rejecting him at every turn and him practically forcing himself on her, which would not fly in a movie today.
I also liked the mystery surrounding Ludwig (Erkelenz). His history was revealed relatively early in the movie, but his motives were unclear. He was one of those characters who could be a villain or could prove to be a surprise ally, and the film did a good job keeping the answer to that secret until close to the very end.
As I mentioned, the 62-minute runtime did hurt the film a bit, at least in my opinion. The plot was relatively complex, and the story felt rushed at times, especially toward the end. The filmmakers could have easily added another half hour to the film without feeling as though they were padding it.
Final Opinion: It did have an interesting plot and had the movie been long enough to expand on that and maybe add a bit more action in the process, this would have been a memorable movie. In its present form, it was entertaining but felt a bit incomplete.
My Grade: A
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Here are some reviews of other movies from the 1930s:
Movie Review: Tarzan the Ape Man (1932)
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