Alaska Seas (1954)

Don't listen to the negative reviews

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

The acting in this movie is really good.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

Surprised to find out that this was a remake of "Spawn of the North", I expected a generic action/adventure with a touch of romantic intrigue and came upon an obscure B film that has many surprisingly interesting twists. This starts off with a view of the Salmon trade in Alaska with the natives praying to their God to keep the Salmon flowing in, and the sudden lack of available fish and the illegal theft that results out of this. The film surrounds the attempts to keep thieves from stealing the salmon catch, basically "fish pirates" who flood the Alaska seas and grab the nets holding the legal trade's catch. The efforts to do this are often dangerous and filled with malevolent actions, such as using a boat whistle to trigger icebergs to drop off the ice flows that guard the sea, usually ending up sinking the legal trades out in the water and causing ghastly cold deaths in those frigid waters.The romantic intrigue comes between old pals Robert Ryan as a returning fisherman who has become involved with the bad guys (lead by Gene Barry) and Brian Keith, who runs an honest salmon trade, both in love with the sultry Jan Sterling who was once involved with Ryan but has turned to Keith after Ryan left her. Sterling, who could play a femme fatale as easily as Ryan could play a brooding anti-hero, is seductive but not calculating here, underplaying her part and doing an excellent job. She would be nominated for an Oscar for the same year's "The High and the Mighty", but is equally fine here. There's little heat in Ryan and Keith's performances, and the romantic elements are outweighed by the fishing boat sequences, especially those involving the icebergs shedding off giant chunks and the fight scenes. This is one of those films that can be enjoyed for the entertainment and suspense it provides, but one wishes for more spark, even though Sterling gets to develop her character beyond just the middle part of a romantic triangle. This does appear to be a film that would have been great to watch on the big screen, especially if it had been filmed in 3-D!

Salmon fishermen in Alaska vie for dominance using both fair means and foul. Rivalry intensifies as two of the leaders compete for the same girl.Well-mounted Paramount production. No locations are cited by IMDb, suggesting the Alaskan background resulted from a studio tank, stock shots, and process photography. If so, the effect is very well done. I guess you could call this a "he-man" picture —it's Ryan at his rangiest, Keith at his brawniest, with plenty of action in the last half. But look how they've dolled-up Sterling. Her Nicky is very respectable looking, and a distance from Sterling's usual cheap, sassy blonde. Naturally the boys fight over her, which is not surprising since I think she's the only woman appearing on screen. Unfortunately, Ryan sacrifices his unique talent for tortured sensitivity to the needs of an action picture. Frankly, his is a "wobbly compass" role a hundred less talented actors could have done. Too bad too that real-life eccentric Timothy Carey (Wycoff) had yet to show his riveting brand of menace on screen. That would emerge in Kubrick's 1956 classic The Killing. Also, can't help noticing blacklisted screenwriter Dan Mainwaring (Invasion of the Body Snatchers {1956}) had a hand here. I expect the notion of a collectively owned cooperative as a solution to cut-throat competition was his idea.All in all, it's an entertaining film, mainly for guys. But I have to admit that even as a big salmon eater, I was disturbed by stock footage of masses of salmon struggling to stay alive inside the massive nets. I guess that says something about the adage of it being better not to know where your food comes from.

ALASKA SEAS 1954Robert Ryan, Jan Sterling, Gene Barry, Brian Keith and Tim Carey headline this 1954 remake of the 1938 "Spawn of the North". The earlier film starred Henry Fonda, George Raft, Dorothy Lamour and John Barrymore. The film is set in Alaska during the 1920's.The locals make their cash by catching as much salmon as they can. Soon stocks start to go down and the government steps in to limit the catch. Some play along but others resort to other methods of getting their limit. They go out at night and steal from the fish traps of others.Ryan is an anything for a buck fisherman who soon gets in deep with crooked cannery owner Gene Barry. Barry buys any and all fish no matter where it comes from.Brian Keith is the leader of the honest fishermen who just want to earn a living. Ryan and Keith were buddies at one time till Jan Sterling came between them. Soon the war between the factions heats up and there are several murders. Ryan soon comes to the conclusion he has backed the wrong horse and decides to redeem himself. He does this by taking Barry on a death ride into some icebergs. The rest of the bad guys are rounded up and Keith and Sterling become a couple.Watchable 50's style action film with plenty of noir types peppered throughout. Anything with Robert Ryan and Tim Carey is worth a look for noir fans.The director was Jerry (Secret of the Incas) Hopper. His other work includes, THE ATOMIC CITY, NAKED ALIBI and THE SQUARE JUNGLE. The d of p was four time nominated and two time Oscar winner, William Mellor. His work includes, WAKE ISLAND, TOO LATE FOR TEARS, A PLACE IN THE SUN, THE UNKNOWN MAN, WESTWARD THE WOMEN, THE NAKED SPUR, BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK, DIARY OF ANNE FRANK, ONE FOOT IN HELL and GIANT.