Grimossfer
Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%
Zandra
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.
Billy Ollie
Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable
Cristal
The movie really just wants to entertain people.
edwagreen
After a while, while you know who the good and bad guys are, you get somewhat confused regarding the intent of the Nazis off Newfoundland.Dana Andrews turns out to be much more of a fisherman from Glouchester who sets out to the area above and soon takes on a woman, a nurse, who is going to see her naval father who is ailing.There is immediate action once it's determined that the wireless on board has been tampered with. Suspicion immediately falls on Philip Dorn, a supposed Dane, who has signed on with the cargo ship.Meeting up with a boat with Claude Rains, speaking perfect English without an accent, we soon learn who Rains really is and we think we know what his plans are.The small village nearby has to be evacuated and it's bombs away by film's end, but we come away unsatisfied. More of this story needed to be told.
krocheav
Makes me wonder why this mini classic is not better known. This marvelous tale of the Sea, not only offers very good performances by Claude Rains, Dana Andrews, and Philip Dorn, but is based on an intriguing novel "The Gaunt Woman" by Edmund Gilligan. The Screenplay receives fine treatment, with plenty of suspense by Dale Van Every (A.K.F. that other great Sea Classic: "Captains Courageous") It's the eerie look of the film thats the real star. Great, moody B/W Cinematography by George E. Diskant who gave us those fine Noir images in several other RKO features: "The Narrow Margin" - "Riffraff" - "They Live By Night" and "On Dangerous Ground". Some neat special effects also help lift the tension as it moves along.Combined with the evocative Direction of Award Winner: Alfred Werker ("He Walked by Night" - "Lost Boundaries") 'Sealed Cargo' is packed with viewing enjoyment, filled with mystic shots (in dense fog at sea) during the dangerous days of WW11. This tale will keep any not overly demanding viewer very happily occupied for its nicely paced 90mins. Pretty Carla Balenda ("Hunt the Man Down" and much on TV) supplies the female interests and carries it off with likable style. While it's set in wartime, you would not call this a 'war' film.RKO sure knew how to entertain audiences with a wide range of assorted themes throughout the 30's - 50's. Both Werker and Diskant went on to give some of the better shows of B/W Television their look and feel, creating a stylized look on small budgets. Seems 'Cargo' is rarely shown, so well worth looking for. Some TV Prints are not so good, being from old CC Movietime copies, so look for a true RKO print if you can.
bob the moo
While out on a fishing trip off Nova Scotia, a fishing crew (and some guests) come across a damaged Danish schooner which has apparently been damaged by an attack from a German U-Boat. The captain, Pat Bannon boards to find only the captain of the schooner (Capt Skalder) alive on board. However Bannon suspects something is wrong.I love Dana Andrews and will often watch films simply because he is in them, however I got stung here because this film isn't very good. The plot is a little muddled and lacking logic, preferring a bit of `beat the Germans' flag waving instead. The sense of mystery isn't sustained towards the end of the film and is replaced by a bit of action. The action works reasonably well with Bannon in cat and mouse games with U-Boats, but it isn't great.Andrews does OK work here, just really playing a straight, strong-jawed leading man. Balenda is an unnecessary leading lady who has little to really do. Rains is alright, adding another strong actor to the film didn't hurt even if he wasn't really well served at any point. The support cast didn't really grab me and none of them stood out either as characters of actors.Overall this was passable for a cold, wet Saturday afternoon but no more than that. The story isn't really gripping and it doesn't have a flow to it. That said there is enough in the way of semi-mystery and thrills to make it watchable.
johnmperry
It was just on tv yesterday. Quite well cast and acted, and a good storyline too. A couple of gaping holes in the script (do trawlers fish singly?) but not entirely implausible. Apart from the female lead wearing a white coat and a white sweater on a fishing boat, and it staying white.