The Wreck of the Mary Deare – 1959 | 105 mins | Drama | Colour

Plot Synopsis

This seafaring adventure based on the Hammond Innes novel of a shipwreck and its moral consequences was originally a project to be directed by Alfred Hitchcock until he passed it over to direct North by Northwest. This lavishly staged MGM adventure has some spectacular ocean scenes and is straightforwardly directed by Michael Anderson – who again teams up with writer Eric Ambler following their collaboration on Yangtse Incident (1957). The resultant mystery is compelling but nevertheless forgettable; it was well-received by critics but poorly marketed by MGM. Gary Cooper is suitably rugged and distant, but at 58 too old to be diving underwater two years before his death, but still gives his co-star Charlton Heston a lesson in restrained acting. There’s a particularly strong supporting cast in the later scenes that includes Richard Harris, Michael Redgrave, Emlyn Williams, Cecil Parker, Alexander Knox and Virginia McKenna.

John Sands (Charlton Heston), captain of the Sea Witch salvage vessel in the English Channel, boards the seemingly abandoned and drifting freighter Mary Deare one stormy night. The smouldering ship appears to have been on fire and abandoned,but whilst exploring the decks, Sands encounters Captain Patch (Gary Cooper),the only crew member aboard. Patch claims to have been knocked unconscious and deserted by his crew, and that he had put the fires out after regaining consciousness. When Sands attempts to return to his tugboat in heavy seas,Patch saves him, and requests that keep this incident quiet until after an official enquiry and not reveal where the ship is grounded. Sands reluctantly agrees.

Petrie(Alexander Knox), an investigator for the Mary Deare’s owners, is suspicious of the Mary Deare’s demise and begins to look into the matter. Meanwhile, whilst the court of inquiry is underway, a French salvager finds the Mary Deare and one of the crew saboteurs, Higgins (Richard Harris), is working on behalf of the owners to sink the ship once it is back at sea and collect an insurance settlement worth millions. Sands and Patch take scuba equipment and sneak back to the Mary Deare’s hold, but Higgins spots them, and intends to send both to the bottom with the ship.