MovieChat Forums > Reap the Wild Wind (1942) Discussion > I just read the book!

I just read the book!

posted 18 years ago by ajprice-1
4 replies | jump to latest

This movie was a great Late Show favorite of mine when I was a kid and thought Cecil B. DeMille was a real genius. I got a VHS copy of it a few years ago (along with another childhood delight, Unconquered with Gary Cooper & Paulette Goddard.) The first thing I noticed was that it is outrageously, wonderfully awful, but that hasn't dimmed my delight in watching the movie every few months, just for fun. Last week I stumbled on a copy of the Thelma Strabel book on eBay and bought it for a song. I knew that the story had been serialized in the Saturday Evening Post. I just finished reading it a couple of days ago and haven't stopped shaking my head. It's a good story, but you wouldn't believe the liberties DeMille took with the plot and characters. There's no giant squid, no Southern Cross, Dan is Loxi's brother, the two male leads have different last names from the movie, Jack doesn't die....and that's just the tip of the iceberg. The book also has a hurricane and an Indian war. Now, none of this makes any difference, but I figure if anyone is interested enough in the movie to read this board, they'd be interested in what I just said. "Trivia isn't trivial!"

[–] Foxlair45 13 years ago

I loved the book! The movie was fun; but as a friend of mine used to say: Totally Hollyweirdized.

[–] ajprice-1 13 years ago

Out of curiosity, where did you find the book? It's been out of print so long it seems like you have to actually go out there and look for it on the Internet if you want to read it. I more-or-less collect books associated with my favorite old movies and haunt abebooks.com and ebay to find them.

[–] tabari 12 years ago

I havea wonderful copy of the book. As an avid reader, I buy books that look interesting and in this case it the was tie in to an enjoyed movie.
Probably at an estate sale, who remembers! But it is an interesting copy. It has a foreword by Cecil B. DeMille :) He explains the difference between movies and books, I guess to excuse his liberties with the story.
As I love the book, I think it would be much better filmed as written. And I'm dismayed to see the fine author Alan LeMay was involved in the screenplay. His own books fared much better in the book to film transfer!
Having grown up in Florida, I love all the vivid descriptions in the book of the history, the plants, making of sea grape jelly, the Indian Wars, all of it. I can just see it! And having experienced a hurricane or two, though not one of the mega hurricanes, I know the feel of the air as a hurricane approaches. DeMille could have done much better!
Try Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, etc. in your search for a copy.

[–] ClassicMovieholic 10 years ago

I saw a dusty copy of the book crammed among the miscellaneous clutter of an antique store in Tennessee a few years ago. It sparked my interest because the movie was a childhood favorite of mine as well, but I passed on it because I was still a teenager at the time, and my pocket money had worn a little thin. I still kick myself for not having grabbed it.