Reap the Wild Wind – Ships, Shrimp, and a Bit of Sea Shanty Chaos

Alright, so you know those nights after midsommar when you eat too much sill and feel kinda adventurous, maybe even a little heroic, like you could fight off a giant squid with your Ikea salad spoon? Watching Reap the Wild Wind (1942) sort of gives you that same odd feeling. Cecil B. DeMille at the helm here – you know he never does anything modestly (honestly, this bloke loves drama more than the entire Swedish royalty).

John Wayne in sea boots! And Paulette Goddard, enough charisma to light up Stockholm in november, if you ask me. You get Ray Milland too, who always feels more like an insurance salesman than an action man, but I sort of dig it. When I watched this the first time, back in 1996, I remember eating räkmacka in my tiny studentlägenhet, and being more excited for that sandwich than the first 30 minutes of the film. It’s a slow starter, mate. The melodramatic love triangle made me tilt my head like a confused retriever, but as soon as the storms started blowing and ships began breaking apart- it picked up proper tempo.

The dialogue’s occasionally stiffer than grandma’s knäckebröd, but boy, the underwater octopus scene? Quite something for its time. Like, more intense than a surströmming opening on a packed pendeltåg.

There’s this thing about old Hollywood blockbusters- all Technicolor and huge setpieces- that feels like watching SVT drama in July: comforting but a bit outdated, a little yellowed at the edges. The whole salvaging ethics, greed vs. decency stuff, still sticks with me. Reminds me how, back home on Öland, even seaweed gets fought over if folks think there’s money in it.

So, not perfect, a bit soggy around the edges, but if you’re up for high-seas silliness and salty old-timey action, this is worth dusting off on a rainy kväl. And hey, try to make it all the way to the killer squid. Just don’t spill your coffee in shock.

watch the full movie on Mavshack Movies on YouTube

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