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6.7/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 6.7/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. The Devil Sea remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
Honestly? Probably not. If you are a completionist for 1930s maritime dramas or just want to see Ethel Merman in a role that isn't her usual brassy stage persona, maybe give it a go. Otherwise, you’ll probably find yourself scrolling through your phone by the second act.
Avoid this if you need a coherent plot. Seriously. It drifts more than the ship does.
The whole thing feels like it was filmed on a budget of three nickels and a ham sandwich. There’s a scene early on where the ship hits a patch of 'choppy water' and you can clearly see the stagehand rocking the camera back and forth. It’s charming, I guess, but it’s also distracting as hell.
Ethel Merman is doing her best, but she looks like she’s trying to remember where she parked her car the entire time. She’s trying to hold the screen together while the script just… evaporates.
There’s this one sequence where the fog rolls in, and it stays for like, twenty minutes. It’s just people talking to shadows. I started wondering if the lead actors had actually walked off the set and they were just filming the props by mistake.
It lacks the punch of A Ship Comes In, which actually knew what it wanted to say about the ocean. The Devil Sea just kind of shrugs and ends.
It’s a weird, lopsided little movie. It’s not quite a disaster, but it’s certainly not a classic. It’s more of a curiosity. Like finding a soggy postcard in a thrift store bin. 🌊
If you want something with a bit more grit, you’re better off watching The Blue Streak. At least that one has a pulse.