Wake of the Red Witch (1946)

Last year my grandpa told me about Wake of the Red Witch. He told me it was good and that I should find it to watch. Well a year later I am finally getting around to watching it. Unfortunately I should have known that this was not going to be a very good film, silly me forgot that my grandpa likes John Wayne and would any of the man’s films no matter how bad they are, are good. I was bored with Wake of the Red Witch right from the beginning.

            The Red Witch is a ship owned by a Dutch man named Mayrant Ruysdaal Sidneye. Captaining the ship is a man named Ralls (Wayne). Ralls is not a very nice person. He has the ship sunk with all its gold and has the blame put onto one man who tries to make look incapable.

            Somehow and for some reason that I cannot remember they go the island where Sidneye lives. It is clear that Sidneye and Ralls are rivals and do not get along. Sidneye invites first mate Sam Rosen for dinner and tells him the truth (well his truth) about Ralls and what kind of a man he is. Years ago Sidneye had found Ralls floating on some kind of native device as a form of punishment. He had Ralls brought up on the ship. Ralls immediately starts making all kinds of absurd demands such as the captain The Red Witch and the give him the gold. Sidneye makes it look like he agrees but then has Ralls put into the brig.

            The ship docks on the island where Sidneye calls his home. On the island is a man named Desaix and his niece Angelique. Ralls and Angelique are at once taken with each other. Apparently Ralls has been on the island before looking to find pearls that the natives worship. The islanders call him the son of their main god since he was able to do something they could not. He furthers their belief when he dives down to get a chest of pears that is guarded by a giant octopus. Ralls gets the chest and defeats the octopus. At the native’s festival Desaix has enough of seeing Ralls with his niece especially after he announced she would be marrying Sidneye. Desaix attacks Ralls and in defense Ralls throws the man into a fire pit killing him. Angelique runs away and is never able to forgive him.

            When Sam leaves the house, Sidneye’s niece Teleia, runs to him to say that her uncle is just playing games with him to pit him against Ralls. She tells him that Ralls did come back to Angelique twice the last time when she died in his arms.

            Events unfold from here that make Ralls look like the good guy after he shown to be a tough bad guy who fell in love with a good girl. The real bad guy is Sidneye who was evil and greedy.

            The acting is nothing to comment on. John Wayne is John Wayne he had his own indescribable acting style. I was not thrilled any of the actors they were not terrible but they did not leave an impression.

            Wake of the Red Witch I say to only watch if you are a real John Wayne fan otherwise do not even bother to sit through it. It took me a few sittings to get through this film. I believe this will be the last movie suggestion I ever take from my grandpa!