It's a mutiny-at-sea drama set in the Pacific Ocean off of New Zealand in the 1950s. The captain of a trouble freighter, S. S. Berwind, has suddenly died under suspicious circumstances on a ship already known for a troubled history. Ed Rummill (James Mason), a career sailor and First Officer on board another vessel, accepts the position as a career move against the advice of his wife, Joan (Katharine Bard).
As soon as Rummill arrives on the Berwind, trouble has begun. The cook and assistant have suddenly quit. Rummill hires a local aboriginal man, Pete (Joel Fluellen), and his strikingly beautiful wife, Mahia (Dorothy Dandridge), as cooks.
We soon learn of a plot by two of Berwind's sailors to take over the ship and eliminate all the crew while making it look like an abandoned vessel and leaving them to get the salvage money. Henry Scott (Broderick Crawford) and Leroy Martin (Stuart Whitman) are experienced seamen and begin to foment trouble immediately. Sporadic violence breaks out.
The film follows Scott's and Martin's efforts to carry out the plot and the response of the ship's officers, especially Captain Rummill.
"The Decks Run Red" is the definition of a B-movie. The script is underwhelming, and the plot is laughable for its improbabilities. The film is known for its rare feature of an African American woman as the lead female actor in a Hollywood movie in the 1950s. Dorothy Dandridge does fine, and finally, is not just eye candy. James Mason is earnest; Crawford and Whitman are villainous. The ship's machine room is the main feature, as Stone lovingly shows all many levers being turned and pulled in a multilevel machine room. Too bad the script didn't match the setting.
As soon as Rummill arrives on the Berwind, trouble has begun. The cook and assistant have suddenly quit. Rummill hires a local aboriginal man, Pete (Joel Fluellen), and his strikingly beautiful wife, Mahia (Dorothy Dandridge), as cooks.
We soon learn of a plot by two of Berwind's sailors to take over the ship and eliminate all the crew while making it look like an abandoned vessel and leaving them to get the salvage money. Henry Scott (Broderick Crawford) and Leroy Martin (Stuart Whitman) are experienced seamen and begin to foment trouble immediately. Sporadic violence breaks out.
The film follows Scott's and Martin's efforts to carry out the plot and the response of the ship's officers, especially Captain Rummill.
"The Decks Run Red" is the definition of a B-movie. The script is underwhelming, and the plot is laughable for its improbabilities. The film is known for its rare feature of an African American woman as the lead female actor in a Hollywood movie in the 1950s. Dorothy Dandridge does fine, and finally, is not just eye candy. James Mason is earnest; Crawford and Whitman are villainous. The ship's machine room is the main feature, as Stone lovingly shows all many levers being turned and pulled in a multilevel machine room. Too bad the script didn't match the setting.