Watch Wake of the Red Witch For Free

The first must-see film of the year.

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

WAKE OF THE RED WITCH is an unusual outing for John Wayne and a far cry from the typical western pictures that he's best known for. Here he plays a grizzled sea captain who hunts for a hidden fortune, fights with powerful rivals, and romances a girl in exotic climes. The story is slightly episodic and unusually downbeat, with harsh characterisation and an emphasis on conflict throughout, but it also feels quite fresh and engaging and the change of scenery for the star works well. It also has the inimitable scene of Wayne battling a giant octopus, which is worth the admission price alone.

From one of the many novels written by Garland Roark comes this dramatic story which the Legendary John Wayne enhanced with his mere presence. Directed by Edward Ludwig the story is masterfully written and tells the naval tale of an adventurous sea Captain named Ralls (John Wayne) who's a courageous soldier of fortune. Created with duel personalities, Ralls is both blessed and cursed because of them. Instintivly knowledgeable of the sea and his ship with many skills having to do with caring about his cargo and his 18 sail masted schooner, he's a skilled navigator who instills confidence in all of his crew. This bears well with his boss Mayrant Ruysdaal Sideye (Luther Adler) who is always trying to out think his chosen Captain. To insure that Sideye gets his way, he designates a second in command trustworthy enough to get the task done. What the ship's owner plans is to insure his precious cargo is scuttled to the bottom of the sea, so's as to collect on the insurance. What those involved don't know is that Ralls has his own way of doing things and puts in danger the owners plans. It's a story of deception versus skill, which may put all those involved in jail or get them killed. To complicate matter there are several beautiful women who believe their men and the Island native who trust in their gods as well. All in all, it a good movie for Wayne and any audience member will be hard pressed to select whether Wayne is playing a Good Guy or not. It's hard. The great cast is there to insure the quality of the film which is superior. They include Gail Russell, Gig Young, Luther Adler, Henry Daniell, Paul Fix and Jeff Corey. If this is your first Wayne movie you'll realize why he became a great star. The movie is listed as a Classic and I agree. ****

The first thirty minutes or so of Wake Of The Red Witch has so many characters, and it's so hard to figure out what's happening, it may remind you of The Big Sleep. After two lengthy flashback sequences, told by two different characters, the waters of the plot were a little less muddy. Unfortunately, at that point the story slowed down and sagged a little. Nevertheless, this is a very exotic (as in strangely but appealingly different) and entertaining movie and a different direction for John Wayne, who plays one of the most sinister and cruelest characters of his career.Republic Pictures was a studio with a reputation for making movies on the cheap without the final product looking cheap. Most of their output were programmers, but they liked to turn out one or two "quality productions" per year. It looks as if Wake Of The Red Witch with a budget of over $1,200,000 was the quality of 1948. The movie premiered in Houston, Texas in late 1948 but did not get a general release until March 1949, which probably indicates some re-editing and perhaps new scenes. It has a terrific cast, headed by Wayne and Gail Russell, excellently supported by Gig Young, Adelle Mara, Luther Adler, Henry Daniel, Eduard Franz, Paul Fix, and Grant Withers. Edward Ludwig's direction is sharp, especially considering the complex script handed him by screen writers Harry Brown and Kenneth Gamet. Cinematography by Reggie Lanning is up to the best standards of beautiful back and white era. Though there is some obvious back projection in places, the South Sea sets by John McCarthy, Jr. and George Milo are lush and convincing, and stock footage from other movies (one of Republic's favorite cost-cutters) is blended in flawlessly. On the other hand the fluid editing we take for granted in pictures from the 'forties is spoiled by too many abrupt, blackout scene changes. This may point to some radical re-editing between the premiere and the general release three months later.Set in the 1860's Dutch East Indies and surrounding area, the story revolves around a bitter but respectful rivalry between sea captain Wayne and ship owner Adler. These two strong, morally challenged men are locked in a long-standing mutual hatred. But each grudging admires the other as the most ruthless and competent man he knows. Their rivalry eventually becomes the sole reason each has for living.Wayne was coming off the release of the highly successful Red River, which had actually been filmed two years earlier, when Wake Of The Red Witch was made. There was a little of Tom Dunson, the cruel, tyrannical rancher he played in Red River in practically every movie John Wayne subsequently made. There is a lot of Dunson in his Captain Ralls in Wake Of The Red Witch. He is Dunson magnified. Wayne and Adler's intense character studies are what makes this movie really worth watching. As for the rest of the cast .... judging by this picture, it would seem that Gail Russel, in addition to wrecking her career with booze, just wasn't really much of an actress. Adele Mara should have had the female lead instead of the second lead. And Gig Young should have kept the mustache.Wake Of The Red Witch is one of John Wayne's best performances, an entertaining, action-packed, and mysterious picture.

We're in the 1860s somewhere in the Pacific. John Wayne is looking for riches surrounded by natives, Gail Russell, Luther Adler and a very young Gig Young.The picture should have been in color for starters. Wouldn't you really like to see The "Red" Witch of a boat?The story is one of revenge between Luther Adler, a vicious, cunning individual who stole Gale Russell from the clutches of Wayne.To get revenge, Wayne sunk Adler's Red Witch boat and Adler shall reciprocate as the film goes on.Miss Russell must have thought that she was Merle Oberon in the way that she attempted to play her death scene similar to Oberon's "Wuthering Heights." The uneven writing doesn't help one bit.Wayne joining Miss Russell in death at the end while searching for gold at the bottom of the sea is Hollywood mush.This film needs to be waked.