Sea Wife
Encyclopedia
Sea Wife is a British film
based on the 1955 James Maurice Scott novel Sea-Wyf and Biscuit. Shot in Jamaica
, the film is set around events in 1942 among a group of survivors from a torpedoed British refugee ship.
During the evacuation of Singapore we see them all board a ship set for England which is later torpedoed at sea. Four of the survivors manage to get into a small lifeboat: a beautiful young woman (nicknamed "Sea Wife"), an army officer ("Biscuit"), a bigoted administrator ("Bulldog") and a black seaman ("Number Four").
After many days at sea without water, Bulldog begins to reveal his darker, racist, side and expresses the view that they would be better off without Number Four. They encounter a Japanese submarine whose captain at first refuses to give aid, but gives them food and water when persuaded in Japanese by Number Four, though what he said is kept a secret between him and Sea Wife.
After near-sinking by a passing vessel, they find refuge on a desert island. Finding supplies of water and coconuts, they build a raft. Bulldog continues to stir suspicion about Number Four, suggesting that it is unsafe to trust him with the group's machete. As they set sail, Bulldog tricks Number Four by casting off prematurely; the latter attempts to swim to the raft, but is killed by a shark.
The survivors are eventually picked up by a merchant ship, and Biscuit recovers from delirium to find Sea Wife's whereabouts is unknown. Having fallen in love with her, he searches for her via the newspaper advertisements.
Bulldog tells Biscuit that Sea Wife died on the rescuing ship. Biscuit, saddened, leaves the hospital grounds and walks past Sea Wife without noticing her: her secret, shared only with Number Four, was that she is a nun.
Cinema of the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom has had a major influence on modern cinema. The first moving pictures developed on celluloid film were made in Hyde Park, London in 1889 by William Friese Greene, a British inventor, who patented the process in 1890. It is generally regarded that the British film industry...
based on the 1955 James Maurice Scott novel Sea-Wyf and Biscuit. Shot in Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
, the film is set around events in 1942 among a group of survivors from a torpedoed British refugee ship.
Plot
A man is shown leaving advertisements in a national newspaper (The Daily Telegraph - The newspaper distributing miniaturised copies of the newspaper, showing the 'ad' in the personal column, at U.K. cinemas after each performance of the film being shown) in which "Biscuit" is seeking "Sea Wife". Eventually the man, who is the Biscuit in the advertisements, gets a letter summoning him to a hospital where he meets a terminally ill man nicknamed "Bulldog". Bulldog warns Biscuit off the search, and through flashback we are told the backstory.During the evacuation of Singapore we see them all board a ship set for England which is later torpedoed at sea. Four of the survivors manage to get into a small lifeboat: a beautiful young woman (nicknamed "Sea Wife"), an army officer ("Biscuit"), a bigoted administrator ("Bulldog") and a black seaman ("Number Four").
After many days at sea without water, Bulldog begins to reveal his darker, racist, side and expresses the view that they would be better off without Number Four. They encounter a Japanese submarine whose captain at first refuses to give aid, but gives them food and water when persuaded in Japanese by Number Four, though what he said is kept a secret between him and Sea Wife.
After near-sinking by a passing vessel, they find refuge on a desert island. Finding supplies of water and coconuts, they build a raft. Bulldog continues to stir suspicion about Number Four, suggesting that it is unsafe to trust him with the group's machete. As they set sail, Bulldog tricks Number Four by casting off prematurely; the latter attempts to swim to the raft, but is killed by a shark.
The survivors are eventually picked up by a merchant ship, and Biscuit recovers from delirium to find Sea Wife's whereabouts is unknown. Having fallen in love with her, he searches for her via the newspaper advertisements.
Bulldog tells Biscuit that Sea Wife died on the rescuing ship. Biscuit, saddened, leaves the hospital grounds and walks past Sea Wife without noticing her: her secret, shared only with Number Four, was that she is a nun.
Cast
- Joan CollinsJoan CollinsJoan Henrietta Collins, OBE , is an English actress, author, and columnist. Born in Paddington and raised in Maida Vale, Collins grew up during the Second World War. At the age of nine, she made her stage debut in A Doll's House and after attending school, she was classically trained as an actress...
as Sea Wife - Richard BurtonRichard BurtonRichard Burton, CBE was a Welsh actor. He was nominated seven times for an Academy Award, six of which were for Best Actor in a Leading Role , and was a recipient of BAFTA, Golden Globe and Tony Awards for Best Actor. Although never trained as an actor, Burton was, at one time, the highest-paid...
as Biscuit - Basil SydneyBasil SydneyBasil Sydney was an English actor who made over fifty screen appearances, most memorably as Claudius in Laurence Olivier's 1948 film of Hamlet. He also appeared in classic films like Treasure Island , Ivanhoe and Around the World in Eighty Days , but the focus of his career was the legitimate...
as Bulldog - Cy GrantCy GrantCy Grant was a Guyanese actor, singer, writer and poet, who in the 1950s became the first black person to appear regularly on British television...
as Number Four - Ronald SquireRonald SquireRonald Squire was an English character actor.Born in Tiverton, Devon, England, he spent his early acting career in Liverpool repertory theatre in light comedy roles, before moving on to films...
as Clubman - Harold GoodwinHarold Goodwin (English actor)Harold Goodwin was an English actor born in Wombwell, Yorkshire, England.Goodwin trained at RADA and was a stage actor at Liverpool repertory theatre for 3 years...
as Daily Telegraph Clerk - Roddy HughesRoddy HughesRoddy Hughes was a British film and television actor. He appeared in over 80 films between 1932 and 1961.-Selected filmography:* Say It With Flowers * Poison Pen * Saloon Bar...
as Club Barman - Gibb McLaughlinGibb McLaughlinGibb McLaughlin was an English film actor. He appeared in 118 films between 1921 and 1959. He was born in Sunderland, England and died in London, England.-Selected filmography:* The Road to London...
as Club Porter - Lloyd LambleLloyd LambleLloyd Nelson Lamble was an Australian actor who worked in theatre, television, radio and film. He lived and worked two-thirds of his life in the United Kingdom .- Personal life :...
as Captain 'San Felix' - Ronald AdamRonald Adam (actor)Ronald Adam OBE , born Ronald George Hinings Adams, was a British RAF officer, an actor on stage and screen and a successful theatre manager.-Early life:...
as Army Padre - Beatrice VarleyBeatrice VarleyBeatrice Varley was a British actress who appeared in a variety of television and film roles between 1936 and 1964...
as Elderly Nun