Someone should have showed Charlton Heston how to do a rope climb. When his character, John Sands, attempts to board the Mary Deare during that storm, he uses only his arms to make his way up the length of cable. Same thing when he tried to leave the ship during the storm. You would think it would be intuitive to wrap your legs around the rope to maintain a better grip and provide additional support. It was one of the first things we learned in high school gym class. Heston strikes me as the athletic type, so unless that was the direction he got, it didn't make sense.
Disparate elements throughout the story eventually come together to flesh out an insurance scam that the owners of the Mary Deare attempted to pull off, with Gary Cooper's Captain Patch looking like a bit of a lunatic trying to make his case in court. It doesn't help that he's already been proven a hot head in previous incidents marring his judgment as a ship's captain, but with Sands' help, the pair manage to prove that his initial instincts were correct. I don't think I've seen Richard Harris in a villain portrayal before, he takes to the role of Lieutenant Higgins without a qualm about leaving men to die to cover for a bogus insurance settlement.
The principal draw for the film obviously is watching two screen icons do their thing - Charlton Heston and Gary Cooper. In his next to last film role, Coop looks a bit tired but up to the challenge. Both have appeared in better pictures, but this was a bit of a change of pace. It's a good story that switches gears from a violent sea storm to a tense courtroom drama. If you're prone to seasickness, you might need some Dramamine in the early going.
Disparate elements throughout the story eventually come together to flesh out an insurance scam that the owners of the Mary Deare attempted to pull off, with Gary Cooper's Captain Patch looking like a bit of a lunatic trying to make his case in court. It doesn't help that he's already been proven a hot head in previous incidents marring his judgment as a ship's captain, but with Sands' help, the pair manage to prove that his initial instincts were correct. I don't think I've seen Richard Harris in a villain portrayal before, he takes to the role of Lieutenant Higgins without a qualm about leaving men to die to cover for a bogus insurance settlement.
The principal draw for the film obviously is watching two screen icons do their thing - Charlton Heston and Gary Cooper. In his next to last film role, Coop looks a bit tired but up to the challenge. Both have appeared in better pictures, but this was a bit of a change of pace. It's a good story that switches gears from a violent sea storm to a tense courtroom drama. If you're prone to seasickness, you might need some Dramamine in the early going.