Jack London's novel The Sea Wolf became an instant bestseller on its release in 1904. Ambrose Bierce wrote "The great thing - and it is among the greatest of things - is that tremendous creation, Wolf Larsen...the hewing out and setting up of such a figure is black for a man to do in one lifetime." The Sea Wolf tells the story of intellectual Humphrey van Weyden's toughening and growth in the face of brutality and hardship. Set adrift after his ferry collides in fog and sinks, van Weyden is pulled out of the sea by Wolf Larsen.
Adaptations (8)
The Sea-Wolf has been adapted 8 times, across film and television film, from 1913 to 2009. The most recent is Sea Wolf (2009).
The Sea Wolf1913 · film · 70 min · dir. Hobart Bosworth · IMDb ↗IMDb6.0The cruel captain of a schooner dominates the shipwreck victims he picks up.
The Sea Wolf1920 · film · 70 min · dir. George Melford · IMDb ↗Humphrey Van Weyden and Maud Brewster are rescued by a nearby ship when the ferry they're on is rammed and sinks. However, instead of dropping them off ashore, the ship's fearsome captain, the brutal Wolf Larsen, forces Humphrey to work as a cabin boy--and has other ideas for the pretty young Maud. (Written by frankfob2@yahoo.com)
The Sea Wolf1926 · film · 70 min · dir. Ralph Ince · IMDb ↗IMDb2.1Captain "Wolf" Larsen, the absolute master of a seal schooner, is a mystic and philosopher, though he rules his men with an iron hand. On a ferry going from San Francisco to Oakland, Van Weyden, a critic, and Maud Brewster, a novelist, meet in masquerade costumes and are forced overboard when their boat collides with a steamer. Humphrey, then Maud, are picked up by Larsen's crew. Because of her costume, Maud is taken for a boy and placed in the custody of Mugridge, the cook, who attempts to attack her upon discovering her identity. Larsen takes her under his protection and decides to marry her; but as the ceremony begins, the crew mutinies, and Larsen is stricken with blindness as he faces the rebels. The ship is set afire, and though Humphrey and Maud are rescued by another steamer, Larsen, deserted by his crew, refuses to quit his ship and is enveloped in flames.
The Sea Wolf1941 · film · 100 min · dir. Michael Curtiz · IMDb ↗Shipwrecked fugitives try to escape a brutal sea captain who's losing his mind.
The Sea Wolf1990 · film · 280 min · IMDb ↗IMDb8.3Humphrey Van-Weyden, a young literary man, decides to visit a friend. On the ferry "Martinez" he sails from San Francisco to the other side of the bay. In the fog, the ferry collides with a large vessel and sinks in minutes. Finding himself in the water, Humphrey quickly became exhausted. Salvation came unexpectedly. A passing schooner happened to spot a man in the water. So Humphrey found himself on board the fishing schooner "Ghost", commanded by the captain "Wolf" Larsen...
The Sea Wolf1993 · television film · 90 min · dir. Michael Anderson · IMDb ↗IMDb6.0Jack London's brutal Wolf Larson brings a shipwrecked aristocrat and a con woman aboard his doomed ship, the Ghost.
