Customer Reviews

Sea Devils

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The image is soft and the voices of the actors are somewhat high pitched. It almost sounds like a recording that's been speeded up ever so slightly or duplicated on inferior equipment. The Technicolor look of this 50's actioner has, surprisingly, been fairly well rendered. And the script is not to be believed. Now to the big question: did I enjoy watching the gorgeous twosome, Rock and Yvonne, in this movie? I hate to admit it, but I sure did. It was everything I expected. A romantic adventure, great costumes (open shirts, plunging necklines) and not a dull moment. They sure don't make em like this anymore. Darn it.

Not by way of a review, rather a question which Amazon Customer Service are unable to answer. This DVD release has (Rmst Rstr Amar) after the title. Does anyone know what this means? Could it be that Rmst stands for 'remastered'. Rstr for 'restored'? If not, then what? I've not been able to work out what Amar means. Any help would be appreciated.

Veteran director Raoul Walsh was behind the camera of this average but nonetheless enjoyable swashbuckler cocktail. Yvonne De Carlo (looking quite fetching) is an English spy in Napoleonic France attempting to ferret out invasion plans and Rock Hudson is the smuggler who falls for her and unintentionally botches her both her plans and her cover. Shot in bright Technicolor, it's fun if you're not too demanding. Hudson was on the rise here at the beginning of his stardom but it's really the top billed De Carlo's picture here. Maxwell Reed as a traitorous smuggler and Bryan Forbes (before he became a director of such films as THE WHISPERERS) is Hudson's pal co-star.

The VCI transfer is adequate, nothing more.

THIS IS ONE OF TWO MOVIES WITH THE DE CARLO AND HUDSON AND LIKE THE SCARLET ANGEL, IT IS VERY GOOD. YVONNE DE CARLO SHOULD HAVE BEEN BETTER APPRECIATED BY THE PUBLIC.

Can't really recommend this one unless you're a dyed-in-the-wool Hudson fan, and even then it's nothing to write home about.

It's early Rock before Hollywood quite knew what to do with him, he's still got his a-bit-beefy baby-fat, and neither the role nor the plot are that inspiring. Actually, he was capable of Errol-Flynn-type swashbuckling (he did very well in The Golden Blade, made the same year -- 1953), but "Sea Devils" was almost plotless, plus one couldn't quite believe that hunky Hudson would fall for Yvonne DeCarlo, who, though voluptuous, seems a bit long in the tooth to be a love interest for him.
Hudson plays a Lil Abner-type sailing smuggler in and about the English channel; he's barefoot a good part of the time, and eats with his hands; DeCarlo is a refined spy of some sort during the Napoleonic era. He saves her, she saves him, they save each other and end up sailing into the sunset, arms entwined. If you're looking for love scenes, forget it. I can't even begin to imagine why studio executives bothered making this, except that they probably figured that females would pay to see Rock Hudson shirtless and bound in the hold of a sailing ship.
Whatever.