The Wreck of the Mary Deare

Gary Cooper and Charlton Heston star in "The Wreck of the Mary Deare," along with an incredible supporting cast including Richard Harris, Michael Redgrave, Alexander Knox, and Emlyn Williams. The reason for such a cast? The original director was to be Alfred Hitchcock.

Heston plays John Sands, captain of a small rescue ship, who finds the freighter Mary Deare drifting. The crew seems to have abandoned the ship, but there's one person left, the first officer Gideon Patch. What happened on board isn't certain, but Patch begs Sands not to say anything about the ship until there is an official investigation and the ship is examined by an objective third party. Sands goes along, though this means not telling anyone that ship hasn't sunk, as people are led to believe, but that it is on the Minquiries Islands.

Very good drama, with a screenplay by suspense writer Eric Ambler. The shipboard atmosphere and storm sequences are great, and the performances are strong. Despite filming shutdowns due to Gary Cooper being ill, you wouldn't know it from his fiery portrayal of Patch, whose reputation and career are on the line. Heston does very well opposite him.

This is really the best of Gary Cooper's last few films. He only made one film after this, The Naked Edge, released in 1961 after his death, and that was a bomb. By that point, he had to stop filming frequently to get oxygen. He was ill while making "Mary Deare," but probably didn't realize that he had cancer. Amazing that he worked to the very end. He deservedly died the huge star that he had been for 30-plus years.

Very good movie, suspenseful, with great performances, atmosphere, and effects.