''Reap the Wild Wind'' is a 1942 American

adventure film An adventure film is a form of adventure fiction, and is a genre of film. Subgenres of adventure films include swashbuckler films, pirate films, and survival films. Adventure films may also be combined with other film genres such as action, a ...

produced and directed by Cecil B. DeMille and starring

Ray Milland Ray Milland (born Alfred Reginald Jones; 3 January 1907 – 10 March 1986) was a Welsh-American actor and film director. His screen career ran from 1929 to 1985. He is remembered for his Academy Award and Cannes Film Festival Award-winning ...

, John Wayne, and

Paulette Goddard Paulette Goddard (born Marion Levy; June 3, 1910 – April 23, 1990) was an American actress notable for her film career in the Golden Age of Hollywood. Born in Manhattan and raised in Kansas City, Missouri, Goddard initially began her career ...

, with a supporting cast featuring Raymond Massey, Robert Preston, Lynne Overman, Susan Hayward and

Charles Bickford Charles Ambrose Bickford (January 1, 1891 – November 9, 1967) was an American actor known for supporting roles. He was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, for '' The Song of Bernadette'' (1943), '' The F ...

. DeMille's second

Technicolor Technicolor is a series of color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films running through a special ...

production, the film is based on a serialized story written by Thelma Strabel in 1940 for ''

The Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine, currently published six times a year. It was issued weekly under this title from 1897 until 1963, then every two weeks until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely ...

''. The screenplay was written by Alan Le May (author of the

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

'' The Searchers''), Charles Bennett,

Jesse Lasky, Jr. Jesse Louis Lasky Jr. (September 19, 1910 – April 11, 1988) was an American screenwriter, novelist, playwright and poet. Early life He was the son of film producer Jesse Lasky Sr. and his wife, Bessie Ida Ginsberg. Lasky was born on Broadwa ...

and Jeanie MacPherson. While he based his film on Strabel's story, set in the 1840s along the

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, a ...

coast, DeMille took liberties with details such as sibling relationships and subplots, while staying true to the spirit of the story, which centers on the headstrong, independent woman portrayed by Goddard. Released shortly after the United States' entry into

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, ''Reap the Wild Wind'' was wildly successful at the box office and earned three

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment in ...

nominations, winning for Best Special Effects.

Plot

In 1840, Loxi Claiborne is running a

marine salvage Marine salvage is the process of recovering a ship and its cargo after a shipwreck or other maritime casualty. Salvage may encompass towing, re-floating a vessel, or effecting repairs to a ship. Today, protecting the coastal environment from ...

business started by her deceased father. A

hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depe ...

is passing through the

Key West Key West ( es, Cayo Hueso) is an island in the Straits of Florida, within the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Island, it con ...

area, leaving behind at least one wreck on the nearby

shoal In oceanography, geomorphology, and geoscience, a shoal is a natural submerged ridge, bank, or bar that consists of, or is covered by, sand or other unconsolidated material and rises from the bed of a body of water to near the surface. It ...

s. The ''Jubilee'' founders, and Loxi and other salvagers race to claim the cargo. Not arriving first, Loxi and her crew rescue the captain, Jack Stuart, but do not share in the salvage rights. Apparently, the first salvager on the scene, King Cutler, may have actually planned the wreck. John Wayne and Paulette Goddard in Reap the Wild Wind trailer

John Wayne and Paulette Goddard in Reap the Wild Wind trailer

Nursing Jack back to health, Loxi falls in love with him. When she visits

Charleston Charleston most commonly refers to: * Charleston, South Carolina * Charleston, West Virginia, the state capital * Charleston (dance) Charleston may also refer to: Places Australia * Charleston, South Australia Canada * Charleston, Newfoundlan ...

with her cousin Drusilla, Loxi schemes to win a plum captain's position for Jack by seducing Steve Tolliver, who is running the

sailing ship A sailing ship is a sea-going vessel that uses sails mounted on masts to harness the power of wind and propel the vessel. There is a variety of sail plans that propel sailing ships, employing square-rigged or fore-and-aft sails. Some ships ...

line for which Jack works. Steve falls for Loxi and returns with her to Key West to investigate the truth about Jack's shipwreck. Drusilla goes home to

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

when Loxi and Steve return to Key West. Steve has come to rid the Keys of

pirate Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

s like Cutler (and to be near Loxi). Cutler, in turn, arranges to have Steve shanghaied by the crew of a

whaler A whaler or whaling ship is a specialized vessel, designed or adapted for whaling: the catching or processing of whales. Terminology The term ''whaler'' is mostly historic. A handful of nations continue with industrial whaling, and one, Jap ...

. Loxi hears of the plot and gets Jack to help her save Steve. Later, they discover that Steve has concealed Jack's appointment to the steamship ''Southern Cross'' on orders from his superior. Angry over a seemingly underhanded act, Jack meets with Cutler. He learns that Steve's boss has just died and that Steve will be taking over the

shipping line A shipping line or shipping company is a company whose line of business is ownership and operation of ships. Shipping companies provide a method of distinguishing ships by different kinds of cargo: # Bulk cargo is a type of special cargo that ...

. Jack realizes that he is unlikely to keep his command with Steve in charge and agrees to work with Cutler to sabotage his new ship; he sails to Havana to take command. Paulette Goddard and Ray Milland in Reap the Wild Wind trailer

Paulette Goddard and Ray Milland in Reap the Wild Wind trailer

Rumors circulate and prices of the cargo of the ''Southern Cross'' fluctuate wildly, leaving Steve to suspect a wreck is planned. He commandeers the ''Claiborne'' with Loxi on board and heads to Havana to stop Jack. Loxi, believing Jack is innocent, disables her ship, and they sit becalmed in a fog bank as the ''Southern Cross'' piles into a

reef A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral or similar relatively stable material, lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic component, abiotic processes—deposition (geology), deposition of ...

and sinks. Unknown to Jack, Drusilla had stowed away to be with her lover, King Cutler's brother Dan, and she drowns. Jack is put on trial for wrecking his ship. The testimony reveals a woman may have been on board, though none was rescued. To determine if a woman is in the wreck, Steve agrees to dive to the wreck with Jack. While down in the wreck, Jack and Steve discover proof that Drusilla was on board and has been drowned. They are attacked by a

giant squid The giant squid (''Architeuthis dux'') is a species of deep-ocean dwelling squid in the family (biology), family Architeuthidae. It can grow to a tremendous size, offering an example of deep-sea gigantism, abyssal gigantism: recent estimates ...

. Jack saves Steve's life, but is lost when the ''Southern Cross'' slips off the continental shelf into deep water. Dan Cutler accuses his brother of murder and is shot dead by him, whereupon, Steve shoots King Cutler, killing him. Loxi and Steve return to Charleston together.

Cast

as Steven Tolliver * John Wayne as Jack Stuart *

as Loxi Claiborne * Raymond Massey as King Cutler * Robert Preston as Dan Cutler * Lynne Overman as Captain Philpott * Susan Hayward as Drusilla Alston * Milburn Stone as Lieutenant Farragut *

as Bully Brown * Walter Hampden as Commodore Devereaux *

Louise Beavers Louise Beavers (March 8, 1902 – October 26, 1962) was an American film and television actress. From the 1920s until 1960, she appeared in dozens of films and two hit television shows. She was most often cast in the roles of a maid, servan ...

as Maum Maria, the Claiborne Maid * Martha O'Driscoll as Ivy Devereaux * Elisabeth Risdon as Mrs. Claiborne * Hedda Hopper as Aunt Henrietta Beresford * Victor Kilian as Mathias Widgeon * Oscar Polk as Salt Meat *

Raymond Hatton Raymond William Hatton (July 7, 1887 – October 21, 1971) was an American film actor who appeared in almost 500 motion pictures. Biography Hatton was born in Red Oak, Iowa. His physician father steered him toward a career in medicine. Howev ...

as Master Shipwright *

Lane Chandler Lane Chandler (born Robert Clinton Oakes, June 4, 1899 – September 14, 1972) was an American actor specializing mainly in Westerns. Biography Early life Chandler was raised on a ranch near Culbertson, Montana, the son of a horse ranc ...

as Sam * William 'Wee Willie' Davis as The Lamb * Ben Carter as Chinkapin *