Fri 10 Dec 2021
A Movie Review by Dan Stumpf: THE WORLD IN HIS ARMS (1952).
Posted by Steve under Action Adventure movies , Reviews[7] Comments
THE WORLD IN HIS ARMS. Universal, 1952. Gregory Peck, Ann Blyth, Anthony Quinn, John McIntire, Hans Conried, and Sig Ruman. Screenplay by Borden Chase and Horace McCoy, from the novel by Rex Beach. Directed by Raoul Walsh.
Rollicking.
Greg plays a two-fisted seal hunter known as The Boston Man, just arrived in San Francisco (1850) with the richest haul of pelts ever, full of ambitious plans to buy Alaska from the Russians and stop their rapacious seal-slaughter. He also engages in friendly rivalry with a scoundrel called The Portugee (Anthony Quinn, playing the part like Chico Marx) and more serious pursuit of Ann Blyth, a Russian Princess passing as a commoner for the sake of the plot.
Screenwriter Borden Chase once said the secret of his success was to write in a part for John McIntire, a character deliberately added, whose dialogue will provide background, explication and foreshadowing, and relieve the leading man of a lot of burdensome talk. In this case the part is played by McIntire himself as a sort of soloist in a Greek Chorus, and done quite smoothly.
And in this case Chase also wrote in a part for Bill Radovich, an ex-linebacker built like a tow truck and entrusted with the role of Ogeechuk, Greg’s Inuit pal, whose function it is to break down doors and throw folks around—it seems The World in His Arms was originally written for John Wayne, who could do all the door-breaking and folk-throwing himself, but with Greg it just didn’t work. Hence Ogeechuk.
This film could have coasted along on sheer charm, but someone felt constrained to fill in some kind of story. Something about Greg being disappointed in love, fighting with Anthony Quinn, getting blown out of the water and captured by Russians, but the whole thing is so hopelessly interlarded with fights and chases, it’s hard to care about the story, much less follow it.
One thing does stick in my mind, though. I saw this movie on local TV back in the 1960s, and I distinctly remember a scene where Greg and his boys go about clubbing baby seals to death while John McIntire explains that what looks like gleeful Pinniped Slaughter (Clunk!) is actually a responsible culling (Boink!) of excess population (Whack!) necessary to protect the species (Smack!)
Which is as may be, but when The World in His Arms showed up on my streaming service, those few minutes were conspicuously absent.
December 10th, 2021 at 10:55 am
This comment has little ‘Bering’. But, I much admire John McIntire in radio and film. He’s reliable as the day is long with that creaky-barn-door, hard rock miner, western drawl.
They could have used him on ‘The Paradine Case’. Too much talk kills a good yarn.
December 10th, 2021 at 1:38 pm
Millard Mitchell carried the ball admirably in Chase’s screenplay for WINCHESTER ’73
December 10th, 2021 at 4:50 pm
Based on Rex Beach’s last novel, and superior to it, The film was designed as romantic fun and delivers the goods. Grand entertainment, and American history the way I would like it to have been. Possibly was in some respect.
December 10th, 2021 at 4:55 pm
If John Wayne was initially tapped to play The Boston Man, he was completely wrong for it, and that could only have been discussed because of his performance in The Spoilers, also for Universal. The right guy got the part.
December 10th, 2021 at 5:04 pm
I agree. THE WORLD IN HIS ARMS is a wonderful movie.
It succeeds on every level.
It is a great work of cinema, and an important part of our American cultural heritage.
Gregory Peck is so good, it is hard to imagine anyone else in the role.
I found the plot of the film easy to follow.
It succeeds both as storytelling, and as positive social commentary.
December 10th, 2021 at 8:56 pm
Love this film, which is rollicking good fun and gorgeous to look at too.
I agree it is better than the much more constrained novel by Beach, and while Peck might not be the first actor you would think of for the Boston Man role, he is great in it, letting his hair down and swashbuckling with some flair.
Louis L’Amour’s SITKA covers some of the same territory, and there is at least one novel by Edison Marshall pre his success as a historical novelist about seal hunting, which was once a massive industry.
A call out to Raoul Walsh on this one, who also directed Peck in CAPTAIN HORATIO HORNBLOWER. Walsh is a consummate action director, and it shows here
December 13th, 2021 at 2:32 am
Learnt sumptin’ new. I wasn’t aware Peck and Quinn had ever met before on a film prior to ‘Navarone’. What a coupla husky, barrel-chested, two-fisted brutes. Peck was said to have a punch like a mule’s hoof.