MissSimonetta Wake of the Red Witch (1948) is a pretty poor romantic drama and its plot is virtually the same as the Gothic novel, "Wuthering Heights" or at least the famous 1939 adaptation of it. Heck, there's even a scene which almost rips off Merle Oberon's death shot-for-shot! The acting is mostly uninspiring. And don't get me started on the laughable sea creature John Wayne battles! It was more memorable in Ed Wood's masterpiece of schlock, The Bride of the Monster (1955)! The script is equally cheesy. The ending is supposed to be poignant, but you're so unattached to these characters, so it's all moot.Skip it.

vitaleralphlouis This movie simply has everything a sea adventure could possibly offer. In 1949 our family saw it twice, two nights in a row, at our neighborhood theater; the only such movie.A mean and brooding John Wayne sails the South Seas in search of riches and power, and will find Gail Russell in the process. He'll encounter treachery, a powerful island tycoon, underwater perils, one interesting problem after another. But the one thing you'll never forget is the long climax whereby John Wayne gets into a diver's suit to pursue $5 million in gold which is still in the belly of a sunken ship. The big problem is the ship has landed precariously on an underwater ledge, not on a flat sea-bottom.Three years later, Republic starred John Wayne in "The Quiet Man." No doubt their all time best movie. But for 3 years, Red Witch was their very best. The original black & white version looks better than the under-par colorized version.

writers_reign This will provide a treat for those nostalgic for the kind of 'character' and 'supporting' actors that once fleshed out every film that came out of Tinsel Town. For me the attraction was Luther Adler, scion of a great acting family (father, Jacob, sister Stella) who did sterling work with the Group Theatre but made only a handful of films. Here he is cast as the type of 'heavy' played around the same period by the likes of George MacReady, Elliot Sloane, etc. Also on hand is Paul Fix, Jeff Corey and third featured male Gig Young, a good ten years before he evolved into 'friend of the leading man', in the shapes of Rock Hudson, James Garner etc. The plot is more or less Wuthering Heights with seaweed and in the Heathcliff role Duke Wayne acquits himself reasonably well whilst Gail Russell trades heavily on her fragile beauty and lacks the spine of a Cathy Earnshaw. Nevertheless it's an entertaining romp from Republic and worth a look.

rsda Wake of the Red Witch may be John Wayne in his most demanding role. He plays Captain Rawles who skuttles the Red Witch to later go back and rescue it's treasure in gold bullion. Wayne has never has so many colorful character elements in any film. And along side the beautiful Gail Russell, he manages his best performance. Ms. Russell as Anglelique is at her most beguiling and tragic. Her death scene in which Wayne carries her, dying, to look at the sea once more is as powerful as the death scene in "Wuthering Heights" which it is lifted from. The main advantage here is that Gail Russell is more vulnerable and beautiful than Merle Oberon was in "Heights" And the last scene with John and Gail at the wheel of the ghost ship, Red Witch is a never to be forgotten Hollywood film moment.Haunting!