Paulette Goddard shines in her own version of "Gone with the Wind"

Paulette Goddard was the frontrunner to play Scarlett O'Hara in "Gone with the Wind" until Vivien Leigh pipped her at the post. Four years later, Goddard finally got the chance to play another firebrand Southern belle in Cecil B. DeMille's REAP THE WILD WIND, a costume adventure with the emphasis on costume--and filmed in glowing early Technicolor.

Goddard plays Loxi Claiborne, the feisty manager of a ship salvage company in 1840s Key West, Florida. Loxi falls in love with Captain Jack Stuart (John Wayne); but later finds herself caught under the spell of his attractive arch-rival, Steve Tolliver (Ray Milland). Playing one man off the other, Loxi gets caught in the middle of a dangerous battle between rival shipping companies, masterminded by scheming King Cutler (Raymond Massey).

REAP THE WILD WIND, based on a story written by Thelma Strabel, is an energetic movie with something for everyone: costume drama, romance, pirates, action, and a spectacular sequence featuring a giant squid (the film picked up an Academy Award for 'Best Visual Effects' in 1943).

Paulette Goddard is a sensation playing the firebrand heroine Loxi Claiborne; she would have been a superb Scarlett O'Hara. John Wayne and Ray Milland also provide strong performances as the two men vying for Loxi's hand. A very young Susan Hayward and Robert Preston are touching, playing ill-fated forbidden sweethearts (they would later be re-united for "Tulsa" in 1949).

A top movie.

Young John Wayne in color!

I don't know of any other Wayne film before the forgettable '47 "Tycoon" that was filmed in color. All those classic '40s Republic westerns and war movies were filmed in B&W. After his epic B&W '39 western: "Union Pacific", De Mille had the clout to insist that all his future films be shot in Technicolor, a rare luxury treatment in the '40s.
In contrast to most other reviewers, this film is perhaps my favorite Wayne film(if we can consider it a Wayne film, since he was not originally given top billing). The Technicolor treatment is certainly one factor, but I guess I'm just hooked on DeMille's better films(In spite of several other fine '39 westerns, "Union Pacific" is my clear favorite for that year). The general style of the present film often apes that of "Gone with the Wind", to which it has often been disparagingly compared. I've never been a big fan of the latter film. If given a choice,I would see DeMille's film again. It is also commonly compared with Wayne's later film "The Wake of the Red Witch", which I haven't seen, but is said to be largely a reworked version of the present film.
Considering the age of this film, I thought the DVD transfer quality was excellent, with vivid colors. I also enjoyed some of the extras. For example, we learn that much of the shooting was done on location in Charleston and around Key West, although the underwater action was done in a huge tank. Both Paulette Goddard and Susan Hayward had tried out for the role of Scarlett in "Gone with the Wind". It is speculated that Paulette lost the role because of her uncertain official relationship with her recent lover, Charlie Chaplin. By the time the present film was begun, that relationship had ended.
There are so many complexities to this film and so many interesting, if sometimes stock, characters. I thought all of the main characters and most of the supporting characters were well cast. Captain Jack and Steve Tolliver seem destined to be at each other's throat throughout the story. Yet, occasionally, they fight together against a common enemy or help the other in a desperate situation. Captain Jack is a tragic figure, sometimes in hot water through no fault of his own, yet performing a dastardly deed to help win his love that precipitates the demise of many of the main characters. Raymond Massey sheds his Lincoln and John Brown images to become an engaging masterful villain. In one of the many convoluted relationships, Susan Hayward's character falls for Massey's handsome younger brother, who lives in his brother's shadow as a marginal villain. This romance, on the sneak, will become central to the tragic and redemptive events near the end of the story. In contrast to some viewers, I thought the talking dog and mischievous pet capuchin helped provide a bit of comic relief. I also enjoyed Lynne Overman's portrayal of Captain Phil, a classic old salt and grandfatherly figure.

Grand hokum on the high seas!

Cecil B. de Mille's typically lavish tale of wrecks and wreckers, Reap the Wild Wind, stars Paulette Godard, Ray Milland, John Wayne and that giant squid. Godard gets to play a Southern belle the way she'd have probably played Scarlett O'Hara had she got it, so we all had a lucky escape there, while Raymond Massey provides the black-hearted villainy as he lures the Duke's honest skipper onto the reefs in more ways than one. There's gorgeous Technicolor photography and some generally impressive special effects work - the studio tank work on the opening wreck is particularly striking - though I could have done without Ray Milland's ventriloquist act with the dog.

Universal's DVD offers a superb transfer which corrects most of the audio problems with their video release.