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      The Sea Chase

      1955 1 hr. 57 min. War Mystery & Thriller List
      Reviews 54% 2,500+ Ratings Audience Score Karl Ehrlich (John Wayne) is the German captain of a freighter stationed in an Australian port. Ehrlich, a fervent opponent of Nazism, receives word that World War II has commenced in Europe, and that he must immediately make his way to Germany while avoiding the pursuing Allied ships. Aboard his ship is a German spy (Lana Turner), whose safe passage he must ensure. Meanwhile, a British ship -- with Cmdr. Jeff Napier (David Farrar) at its helm -- is hot on their trail. Read More Read Less Watch on Fandango at Home Premiered Apr 30 Buy Now

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      Audience Reviews

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      lanfranco c The Duke in an unusual role! Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member German naval officer Karl Ehrlich loves his country but hates Hitler. Busted to the command of a lowly freighter docked in Australia as World War II erupts, Ehrlich must choose: be interned by the British or sail to Germany so his men can determine their own fates. On a foggy night, Ehrlich decides - and casts off! John Wayne as Ehrlich and Lana Turner as a woman forced into Nazi espionage are a formidable romantic team in this harrowing adventure directed by John Farrow (Wake Island, Hondo). Through a relentless high-seas pursuit, Ehrlich drives his exhausted men (James Arness, Tab Hunter and others). The pursuing British have the navy that rules the waves. The freighter Ergenstrasse has the Duke. Any action fan knows that's an even - and exciting - match! Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/14/23 Full Review Audience Member Not Wayne's best movie, but still on my favorites list. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/19/23 Full Review s r Unusual story, but well told despite its solemn moments and epically slow approach. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member The Duke playing a German during WWII? Unusual casting to say the least, sparks fly between him and Lana Turner. It is a good old fashioned war film but with an intriguing twist, is it possible to hope the German freighter outwits the British? Oh and there is a real baddie to hate too! Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/15/23 Full Review Audience Member Captain Karl Ehrlich (John Wayne) is the master of the elderly German steam freighter Ergenstrasse, in port at Sydney, Australia on the eve of the Second World War. Ehrlich is depicted as a patriot, once a career naval officer who lost his rank and position having fallen out of favour with the current regime and refusing to support the Nazi Party. As his ship prepares for sea (or to be interned if war is declared) he meets with an old friend, British Commander Jeff Napier (David Farrar) and his fiancée Elsa Keller (Lana Turner). Germany has invaded Poland, and war is imminent. As his ship prepares to slip away, Ehrlich receives a visit from the German Consul-General, who asks him to take with him a spy to prevent his capture. It is only after the Ergenstrasse slips out of harbour in thick fog that Ehrlich discovers the spy is in fact Keller. Old, slow, short on coal, the Ergenstrasse is seen as easy prey by the Australian Navy, and by Napier in particular, who understandably holds a grudge. But Napier is the only man who does not underestimate Ehrlich as the wily Captain leads his enemies on a wild goose chase across the Pacific Ocean, beginning with a run to the south to throw off pursuit, pausing for supplies at an unmanned rescue station on Auckland Island. While there, Ehrlich's first officer, the pro-Nazi Kirchner (Lyle Bettger), murders three marooned seamen, but does not tell the captain about it. Napier discovers the bodies while in pursuit and believes his old friend is responsible. He vows to bring the German to justice as a war criminal. Ehrlich burns the ship's lifeboats for fuel, upsetting the crew, then stops for wood at the fictitious Pom Pom Galli Atoll in mid-Pacific.[2] While there Ehrlich discovers that Kirchner murdered the fishermen and forces him to sign an account of his actions in the ship's log. The ship arrives at Valparaiso in neutral Chile and Ehrlich encounters Napier, as his ship HMAS Rockhampton has pursued him from New Zealand. Luck is with them as the Ergenstrasse, re-provisioned and fuelled slips away in the darkness; the British forces waiting for them have been called away in support of the cruisers facing the German pocket battleship Graf Spee at Montevideo, Uruguay. Napier requests a transfer to the British Naval patrols in the North Sea, believing that Ehrlich must pass through the patrols in his attempt to reach Kiel. For political reasons, German radio broadcasts a message from Lord Haw Haw that discloses the position of the Ergenstrasse as it passes Norway, thus giving up the ship and crew to the Royal Navy. And to the waiting Napier, as his swifter passage home places the corvette under his command in Ehrlich's path. Napier tracks down Ehrlich's ship and sinks it in the North Sea, with Elsa and Ehrlich aboard, and with Kirchner as an unwilling particpant in the short one sided battle. The ship's log is handed over to Napier by the survivors, and proves Ehrlich innocent of the Auckland incident. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/21/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

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      Critics Reviews

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      Nathanael Hood The Retro Set John Wayne channels the energy suffusing the entire film-exhausted, uneasy, yet instinctively driven and distinctively Wayne. Rated: 6/10 Dec 29, 2018 Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com To enjoy this John Wayne's popular action adventure, you'll have to disregard its terrible script and bizarre casting of the Duke as a German sea captain. Rated: C Jan 31, 2007 Full Review Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews "This letterboxed version was watchable only to see how Lana acts while wearing furs..." Rated: C- Jul 25, 2001 Full Review Read all reviews

      Movie Info

      Synopsis Karl Ehrlich (John Wayne) is the German captain of a freighter stationed in an Australian port. Ehrlich, a fervent opponent of Nazism, receives word that World War II has commenced in Europe, and that he must immediately make his way to Germany while avoiding the pursuing Allied ships. Aboard his ship is a German spy (Lana Turner), whose safe passage he must ensure. Meanwhile, a British ship -- with Cmdr. Jeff Napier (David Farrar) at its helm -- is hot on their trail.
      Director
      John Farrow
      Screenwriter
      John Twist, James Warner Bellah
      Production Co
      Warner Brothers/Seven Arts
      Genre
      War, Mystery & Thriller
      Original Language
      English
      Release Date (Streaming)
      Sep 1, 2009
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