The Sea Wolf (1920 film)

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The Sea Wolf
The Sea Wolf poster.jpg
Film poster
Directed by George Melford
Written byWill M. Ritchey (scenario)
Based on The Sea-Wolf
1904 novel
by Jack London
Produced byGeorge Melford
Starring Noah Beery, Sr.
CinematographyPaul P. Perry
Distributed byParamount Pictures / Artcraft
Release date
  • May 16, 1920 (1920-05-16)
Running time
70 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageSilent (English intertitles)
Noah Beery as Wolf Larsen Motion picture actor Noah Beery (SAYRE 4159).jpg
Noah Beery as Wolf Larsen

The Sea Wolf is a lost [1] 1920 American drama film based upon the 1904 novel by Jack London, directed by George Melford, and starring Noah Beery as the brutal sea captain Wolf Larsen, sometimes referred to as "The Sea Wolf." The supporting cast includes Mabel Julienne Scott, Tom Forman, Raymond Hatton, and A. Edward Sutherland. [2] [3]

Contents

The film was remade twenty-one years later with Edward G. Robinson in Beery's role.

Plot

As described in a film magazine, [4] Wolf Larsen, the captain of the sealing steamer Ghost, is severely injured in a fight with his brother Death Larsen on the day he is set to sail. Following the wreck of a ferry boat, wealthy idler Humphrey Van Weyden and his fiancée Maud Brewster are rescued by Larson's crew. Wolf refuses to put the couple ashore and instead makes Humphrey the cabin boy. George Leach, the former cabin boy, and sailor Old Man Johnson, angered by Wolf's brutal treatment, throw Wolf and his mate Black Harris overboard. The mate drowns, but Wolf manages to return to the deck, where he beats his entire crew. Death Larsen's ship comes into sight, and Death, along with part of his crew, attempts to board Wolf's ship but is overpowered and bound. That night, Wolf steers his ship into a fog bank to escape. Wolf later attacks Maud in her cabin, and Humphrey puts up a losing fight. At the climax, Wolf succumbs to a severe headache and is left alone on the Ghost after his crew deserts him and the ship runs aground on an uninhabited island. Maud cares for the paralyzed, blind, and helpless Wolf until he dies, after which she and Humphrey are rescued by a revenue cutter.

Cast

References

  1. The Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog: The Sea Wolf Retrieved October 23, 2014
  2. Progressive Silent Film List: The Sea Wolf at silentera.com. Retrieved October 23, 2014
  3. The AFI Catalog of Feature Films: The Sea Wolf Retrieved October 23, 2014
  4. "Reviews: The Sea Wolf". Exhibitors Herald. 10 (21). New York City: Exhibitors Herald Company: 70. May 22, 1920.