The Sea Lion (1921)
Comments
Aside from a nautical theme? No, this movie has nothing to do with pirates of any kind. It’s about a whaler.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0012657/
I think the review at IMDB is a little harsh, but I wouldn’t give it much more than 3 out of 5 myself. Some good camera work, but there is a fair amount of wooden acting from the supporting cast. Also, I think I could have used a line or two more spelled out for me. Unlike The Black Pirate from last month there were a couple of moments where the dialogue, while clear, wasn’t as clear as I would have liked it. This one also suffered from a completely inappropriate score in a couple of places. But, one can forgive most of these minor foibles. The only thing that I felt really detracted from this one was the complete abandonment of one of the subplots that much was made of in the beginning. There’s a character introduced early that we never learn the fate of, and I found that kind of annoying.
Oh! And, the costuming of the film is all over the map. When was this story supposed to be taking place?
Gaming Hooks
Funny that I should be watching this one for review when I did, as Unclebear just bumped an old post about whaling and Pirates of the Spanish Main to the front page of his site. Check out his “Brimstone & Gall” tag for more pirate goodness.
The captain would make a fine NPC (Pirate Captain stats do just fine, page 238) and I could easily see his need for new crew at the beginning of the film sparking a campaign. Players might choose to be loyal to him in spite of his flaws or join in a mutiny. Either way, the ship presented would make a pretty ideal first ship for a PotSM game that lacked any one with the appropriate starting edges.
The new crew man recruited at the beginning – a child of privilege disowned and cut of from the family fortune to fend for himself – has a lot of potential as well. As a n NPC I would use the stats for the Courtier on page 235 and add the Major Hindrance Seasick. As a PC he gets over that one pretty quick, but for an NPC it could be used for great comedic effect.
Next Month: Mutiny of the Elsinor (1939)
I <3 whaler movies. Just saying.