What if they made a movie and no one could watch it? Perhaps it's not quite THAT bad, but it's close. Alda, Rooney, Carter and Tupou play four naval crewmen during WWII who become shipwrecked on a south sea island and who stumble upon a beached, old ship called the Curmudgeon. On board is mysterious and old-fashioned Niven, who guzzles scotch from a never-ending bottle and who wishes to get his rust bucket back in order and on to Australia. While looking for applicable supplies, the men are joined by gun-toting Dunaway, who winds up boarding the ship as well. The motley crew works on getting the ship seaworthy and heads off to Australia, but not before encountering the enemy and not before Alda discovers some "shocking" secrets about Niven. All through the film, old newsreels and classic footage from the 30's and 40's is inserted for comedic and/or ironic effect. Sometimes, the footage is more interesting or entertaining than any of the strained, dull or pointless new material that makes up the bulk of the film, though none of it is very arresting, in any case. Niven gives a laid back performance, to say the least. Alda is his typical self, which will appeal to some viewers more than others. Dunaway looks great, despite the lack of fashionable clothes or glamour and she also has a bit of spunk, at least at first. However, she's not given a lot to do and the part ends up as thankless. Rooney claims to have no memory of making the film at all according to his auto-bio and despite the reportedly trying conditions where it was filmed. Carter mostly hollers and eats baked beans. It's a bad film with very little to recommend it. If it were just a bit worse, it could count as campy or unintentionally funny, but it's just plain bad. Misguided, choppy and banal are other words that could be used to describe it. It's not the jewel of anyone's resume, but it's got to be one of the least notable films on Dunaway's, especially for this time period.
Review of The Extraordinary Seaman
