Jack London

  • The Sea Wolf (1941)

    The Sea Wolf (1941)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On Cable TV, October 2020) Let’s see: A Jack London maritime adventure novel brought to the big screen by director Michael Curtiz, and starring no less than Edward G. Robinson as a sadistic sea captain, John Garfield as a hero protagonist and a beautiful Ida Lupino as the love interest? Oh yes, there’s ample reason to have a look at the 1941 adaptation of The Sea Wolf. Reportedly the best of the numerous film version of the novel, this one does get a crucial element right: Robinson as the antagonist, a formidable presence for an equally fearsome character. Lupino is certainly an asset as well, but the film’s execution through a foggy studio set means that the atmosphere of the seagoing ship is appropriately claustrophobic and oppressive. The plot goes a bit further than an already-interesting adventure story to become a small-scale illustration of the dangers of fascism, which adds quite a bit to the result. Good special effects (for the time) and tons of atmosphere complete the portrait. While it has the clunkiness of the technical means available to studio-bound 1940s filmmakers, The Sea Wolf is nonetheless a good adaptation and a fair adventure story in its own right.

  • White Fang (1991)

    White Fang (1991)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (In French, On Cable TV, May 2019) A boy and his dog … in gold-rush Alaska. Adapted from the Jack London story but with the brutal violence considerably toned down in order to fit within the confines of a Disney movie, White Fang is a frontier adventure in the classical mould, bringing us back to late-nineteenth-century Alaska alongside so many gold rush hopefuls. Then there is the titular half-dog, half-wolf, the star of the show despite the human characters. A young Ethan Hawke shows his charm as a youngster off to make a fortune, listening to more experienced prospectors and befriending the lead canine character along the way. The images aren’t bad—the recreation of a frontier town is captivating, not to mention the Alaskan scenery—but the focus here is on the animals, and the film’s almost-mystical connection between human and canine. Beyond the dog performances, Bart the Bear turn in a good scene as an enraged animal pursuing our human protagonist. White Fang remains a family film, but it’s not entirely dull for older viewers. Of course, it’ll do better with dog people.