The film's plot, as the titles points out, used one of the most powerful standby of a motion picture medium - the chase...
Wayne plays an anti-Nazi German sea captain, opposed to the new regime, but as a loyal citizen he feels he must save his ship from destruction...
At the outbreak of World War II, just before news reaches Australia that the Nazi armies have moved into Poland, Wayne slips his steamer a rusty old 5,000-ton freighter named the Ergenstrasse - out of Sydney harbor back to Valparaiso... To his bad luck, a British warship (The H.M.S. Rockhampton) sails in his pursuit...
From that foggy night, it takes all of Wayne's ability to keep the ship from falling into the hands of the British... Adding to his problems are both the Ergenstrasse's shortage of fuel and provisions, and the presence of a mysterious lady, a beautiful German spy (Lana Turner) with an unseemly past who had been forced to take along by official orders...
With a look suggesting intimacy, wearing a terrific white gown and a mink coat to lie back upon, and holding an elegant cigarette case and displaying a bracelet of diamonds, this consummate blonde, was once Wayne's mistress, and is now engaged to David Farrar, who just happens to be in command of the pursuing Rockhampton...
While the Ergenstrasse is being amply provisioned in Auckland island, Lyle Bettger, its ruthless chief officer, callously murders a group of shipwrecked fishermen, thereby causing dishonor on Wayne and his crew...
Eventually, the ship arrives at Pom Pom Galli (an island in the South Pacific Ocean) where is completely refueled, and sets sail for home... But the commander of Rockhampton, still in pursuit, learns of the massacred fishermen and determines, more than ever, to sink the German freighter...
In addition to its bizarre ending that left much to be desired, the film offers a storm at sea, an attack by sharks, a suicide and a near mutiny...
Wayne plays the courageous captain in his mild resolute way... Lana's performance is on a par with Wayne, handling the part with facile authority...
As a naval melodrama 'The Sea Chase' is good entertainment...
Wayne plays an anti-Nazi German sea captain, opposed to the new regime, but as a loyal citizen he feels he must save his ship from destruction...
At the outbreak of World War II, just before news reaches Australia that the Nazi armies have moved into Poland, Wayne slips his steamer a rusty old 5,000-ton freighter named the Ergenstrasse - out of Sydney harbor back to Valparaiso... To his bad luck, a British warship (The H.M.S. Rockhampton) sails in his pursuit...
From that foggy night, it takes all of Wayne's ability to keep the ship from falling into the hands of the British... Adding to his problems are both the Ergenstrasse's shortage of fuel and provisions, and the presence of a mysterious lady, a beautiful German spy (Lana Turner) with an unseemly past who had been forced to take along by official orders...
With a look suggesting intimacy, wearing a terrific white gown and a mink coat to lie back upon, and holding an elegant cigarette case and displaying a bracelet of diamonds, this consummate blonde, was once Wayne's mistress, and is now engaged to David Farrar, who just happens to be in command of the pursuing Rockhampton...
While the Ergenstrasse is being amply provisioned in Auckland island, Lyle Bettger, its ruthless chief officer, callously murders a group of shipwrecked fishermen, thereby causing dishonor on Wayne and his crew...
Eventually, the ship arrives at Pom Pom Galli (an island in the South Pacific Ocean) where is completely refueled, and sets sail for home... But the commander of Rockhampton, still in pursuit, learns of the massacred fishermen and determines, more than ever, to sink the German freighter...
In addition to its bizarre ending that left much to be desired, the film offers a storm at sea, an attack by sharks, a suicide and a near mutiny...
Wayne plays the courageous captain in his mild resolute way... Lana's performance is on a par with Wayne, handling the part with facile authority...
As a naval melodrama 'The Sea Chase' is good entertainment...