The Sea Wolf (1941)

A writer (Alexander Knox) and an escaped convict (Ida Lupino) are aboard a boat when it collides with another ship and they are cast adrift. They are rescued by a seal hunting ship whose captain (Edward G. Robinson) is a sadistic brute who takes great pleasure is humiliating his crew and playing them against each other. Based on the novel by Jack London and directed by Michael Curtiz. This is a wonderful movie with a solid adaptation from Robert Rossen (ALL THE KING'S MEN) and a terrific performance by Edward G. Robinson. Robinson's Wolf Larsen is such a monster of a man that the film is practically a horror movie. After being pushed overboard, Curtiz films his climb back on board like an ominous creature emerging from the depths of the sea. One can't ignore the political subtext of the film as Robinson's fascist Captain is all too reminiscent of what was going on in Europe at the time. Although Robinson, Lupino and John Garfield are all top billed, the second billed Knox equals Robinson in importance to the story's narrative. There's also a wonderful underscore by Erich Wolfgang Korngold. With Barry Fitzgerald, Gene Lockhart and Howard Da Silva.