That's what a friend said in reaction to this movie, another cheap production from Paul Malvern and Trem Carr, with John Wayne slowly pulling himself out of the mass of cheap westerns and bit parts as corpses he had played over the past six years. If they wanted to make a movie about the Coast Guard, why didn't they look at Wayne, throw away the script and write something fo this obviously nascent star? Didn't they know what they had?
I think they knew what they had. That's why they gave him the part, instead of telling Wayne that he should do another western. However, producers Trem Carr and Paul Malvern weren't in the business of rewriting a B movie for a B movie actor. They didn't get a Universal release -- a definite step up from the States Rights distribution network they had been selling through -- because they could make a real star out of someone who had gotten his shot with Raoul Walsh half a dozen years earlier, and nearly sunk Fox Films. They got it because of their track record of being able to make a passable B western for no money, and passing the savings on. Could Wayne act? Well, they probably replied, we've got Frank Strayer directing, and he's good with no money. Wayne? He'll stand where Frank tells him, and do what Frank tells him, and he can say any old tripe with conviction. Is that what you mean? Besides, the movie isn't really about Wayne. It's about Bakewell redeeming himself, the discipline and service of the Coast Guard, and the big battle scene at the end -- that's where your money is going -- and there's a seal for comedy relief. If you wanted an actor, why'd you let Lew Ayres get away? We can get Wayne cheap.
Even ten years later, John Ford would look at RED RIVER and say "I didn't know he could act." If he didn't know -- or hadn't cared to find out earlier -- why should Carr and Malvern? They weren't creating art. They were creating B movies to be rented out at a flat rate for kiddie matinees. Rewriting the script, delaying production, restaging the sequence would add to the cost, and cut into their thin profit margin, and annoy Universal executives. They weren't in the business of risking a quarter of a million dollars on a production, and if it didn't pay back its costs, the other 51 productions on the slate would make up the deficit.
Besides, it's actually a pretty good example of the Poverty Row B action movie of the time. It's about redemption and forgiveness, and natural resources. And it's got a cute seal. AND Fuzzy Knight.
I think they knew what they had. That's why they gave him the part, instead of telling Wayne that he should do another western. However, producers Trem Carr and Paul Malvern weren't in the business of rewriting a B movie for a B movie actor. They didn't get a Universal release -- a definite step up from the States Rights distribution network they had been selling through -- because they could make a real star out of someone who had gotten his shot with Raoul Walsh half a dozen years earlier, and nearly sunk Fox Films. They got it because of their track record of being able to make a passable B western for no money, and passing the savings on. Could Wayne act? Well, they probably replied, we've got Frank Strayer directing, and he's good with no money. Wayne? He'll stand where Frank tells him, and do what Frank tells him, and he can say any old tripe with conviction. Is that what you mean? Besides, the movie isn't really about Wayne. It's about Bakewell redeeming himself, the discipline and service of the Coast Guard, and the big battle scene at the end -- that's where your money is going -- and there's a seal for comedy relief. If you wanted an actor, why'd you let Lew Ayres get away? We can get Wayne cheap.
Even ten years later, John Ford would look at RED RIVER and say "I didn't know he could act." If he didn't know -- or hadn't cared to find out earlier -- why should Carr and Malvern? They weren't creating art. They were creating B movies to be rented out at a flat rate for kiddie matinees. Rewriting the script, delaying production, restaging the sequence would add to the cost, and cut into their thin profit margin, and annoy Universal executives. They weren't in the business of risking a quarter of a million dollars on a production, and if it didn't pay back its costs, the other 51 productions on the slate would make up the deficit.
Besides, it's actually a pretty good example of the Poverty Row B action movie of the time. It's about redemption and forgiveness, and natural resources. And it's got a cute seal. AND Fuzzy Knight.