''Deep Waters'' is a 1948

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by Henry King. The film is based on the 1946 novel ''Spoonhandle'' written by Ruth Moore''The American Film Institute Catalog'', Volume 1, Part 1, (1971). p.577 and was nominated for a 1949

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology) ...

for Best Special Effects (specifically, for the storm at sea sequence), but lost to ''

Portrait of Jennie ''Portrait of Jennie'' is a 1948 American fantasy film based on the 1940 novella by Robert Nathan. The film was directed by William Dieterle and produced by David O. Selznick. It stars Jennifer Jones and Joseph Cotten. At the 21st Academy A ...

''. The film was released in the UK in 1949, a year after its American theatrical release.

Plot

Because he has given up his study of

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...

to become a

fisherman A fisher or fisherman is someone who captures fish and other animals from a body of water, or gathers shellfish. Worldwide, there are about 38 million commercial and subsistence fishers and fish farmers. Fishers may be professional or rec ...

, State of Maine social worker Ann Freeman breaks her engagement to Hod Stillwell, explaining that she could never bear being constantly concerned about his safety. In this same period, she convinces her friend Mary McKay to take in 11-year-old

orphan An orphan (from the el, ορφανός, orphanós) is a child whose parents have died. In common usage, only a child who has lost both parents due to death is called an orphan. When referring to animals, only the mother's condition is usuall ...

Donny Mitchell, whose father and uncle died at sea. Longing for the sea, Donny has run away several times. Ann hopes the tough but fair Mary will bring some discipline into his life. The following day, Donny befriends Hod while

hunting Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products ( fur/ hide, bone/tusks, horn/antler, ...

. Soon after, Hod, returning from a fishing trip on his boat with his partner, Portuguese Joe Sanger, discovers Donny on his lobster bank, having rowed out to it in a dingy and stolen two of Hob's lobsters, without knowing they belonged to Hod and Joe. Hod gives him a good telling off and returns him home to Mary and suggests that she let Donny work for him on his boat on Saturdays. She agrees and Donny is very happy out at sea on the boat and even catches a large halibut, his share of the catch earning him $5.75. This worries Ann, who has recently witnessed her friend Molly Thatcher's loss of her husband to the sea and she threatens to move the boy to an inland family if Hod allows Donny to go out to sea on his boat again. Reluctantly, Hod follows Ann's advice and tells Donny he cannot work for him any longer and that their partnership is ended. Very upset and feeling betrayed and rejected by Hod, Donny stands on the jetty and watches the boat go off into the distance without him, before going into town and stealing a camera from a drug store and selling it to make enough money for him to run away from home again and return to the sea. He steals a boat and puts to sea, but is caught in a terrible storm and has to be rescued by Hod and Joe. Realizing that she cannot prohibit Donny from being near the sea, Ann allows him to return to work for Hod. Donny goes to Hod and tells him the good news and Hod agrees to let Donny go out with him on his boat again. Happy beyond words, Donny runs home to tell Ann and Mary the good news, but as he runs into the house, he notices the local sheriff and the owner of the second hand shop to whom Donny sold the stolen camera are awaiting him. Ashamed, Donny admits the theft and begs Ann and Mary not to tell Hod he is being sent away to a

reform school A reform school was a penal institution, generally for teenagers mainly operating between 1830 and 1900. In the United Kingdom and its colonies reformatories commonly called reform schools were set up from 1854 onwards for youngsters who wer ...

, fearing Hod will not want to see him anymore. Hod soon asks Ann about Donny's whereabouts. Ann does not tell him. Hod starts to investigate and finds out that Donny is in a reform school. Not wanting Donny to be in this situation, Hod prompts the state to let him adopt Donny. Donny initially refuses the adoption, ashamed of what he had done. However, when he finds out Hod is not mad at him, he allows himself to be reunited with him and he returns home accompanied by Hod and Ann.

Cast

Dana Andrews Carver Dana Andrews (January 1, 1909 – December 17, 1992) was an American film actor who became a major star in what is now known as film noir. A leading man during the 1940s, he continued acting in less prestigious roles and character parts ...

as Hod Stillwell *

Jean Peters Elizabeth Jean Peters (October 15, 1926 – October 13, 2000) was an American film actress. She is known as a star of 20th Century Fox in the late 1940s and early 1950s, and as the second wife of Howard Hughes. Although possibly best remembered f ...

as Ann Freeman *

Dean Stockwell Robert Dean Stockwell (March 5, 1936 – November 7, 2021) was an American actor with a career spanning seven decades. As a child actor under contract to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, he first came to the public's attention in films including ''Anchors A ...

as Donny Mitchell *

Cesar Romero Cesar Julio Romero Jr. (February 15, 1907 – January 1, 1994) was an American actor and activist. He was active in film, radio, and television for almost sixty years. His wide range of screen roles included Latin lovers, historical figures in c ...

as Joe Sanger *

Anne Revere Anne Revere (June 25, 1903 – December 18, 1990) was an American actress and a progressive member of the board of the Screen Actors' Guild. She was best known for her work on Broadway and her film portrayals of mothers in a series of critical ...

as Mary McKay *

Ed Begley Edward James Begley Sr. (March 25, 1901 – April 28, 1970) was an American actor of theatre, radio, film, and television. He won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the film ''Sweet Bird of Youth'' (1962) and ...

as Josh Hovey * Leona Powers as Mrs. Freeman *

Mae Marsh Mae Marsh (born Mary Wayne Marsh; November 9, 1894U.S. Census records for 1900, El Paso, Texas, Sheet No. 6 – February 13, 1968) was an American film actress with a career spanning over 50 years. Early life Mae Marsh was born Mary Wayne M ...

as Molly Thatcher *

Will Geer Will Geer (born William Aughe Ghere; March 9, 1902 – April 22, 1978) was an American actor, musician, and social activist, who was active in labor organizing and other movements in New York and Southern California in the 1930s and 1940s. In Ca ...

as Nick Driver * Cliff Clark as Harris * Bruno Wick as Druggist * Harry Tyler as Hopkins

Production

In December 1946,

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

bought the rights of the book ''Spoonhandle'' by Ruth Moore in order to produce a film adaption. Initially,

Louis de Rochemont Louis Clark de Rochemont (January 13, 1899 – December 23, 1978) was an American film maker known for creating, along with Roy E. Larsen, the monthly theatrically shown newsreels ''The March of Time''. His brother, Richard, was also a pro ...

was assigned to produce and Mark Stevens was set to star. Filming took place during late 1947, in the original

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and ...

locations of the story.

Legacy

''Deep Waters'' was the first film to be broadcast (joined a half-hour in progress) on

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

-based Superstation WTCG (now TBS) at 1 p.m. Eastern Time on December 17, 1976, when the station's signal was beamed via the

Satcom 1 Satcom, a portmanteau of satellite communications, was a brand of artificial geo-stationary communications satellites originally developed and operated by RCA American Communications ( RCA Americom) that facilitated wide-area telecommunica ...

satellite A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioi ...

to all cable providers across the

Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...

References

External links

* {{Henry King 1948 films 1948 drama films American drama films American black-and-white films Films based on American novels Films about fishing Films set in Maine Films directed by Henry King Films scored by Cyril J. Mockridge 20th Century Fox films 1940s English-language films 1940s American films