The Swedish historical drama The Great John Ericsson was better known to English-speaking filmgoers as Victor of Hampton Roads. The great Scandinavian director Victor Sjostrom plays the title character, a celebrated 19th-century Swedish inventor. Ericsson's fame rests largely on his development of a steel-armored, manned submarine, which took shape during the American Civil War as the ironclad vessel Monitor. The film's highlight is the battle between the Monitor and Merrimac, though the producers seem more interested in the romantic subplot involving a Confederate lieutenant and a Southern belle. Filmed to commemorate the Swedish-American Tercentenary, The Great John Ericsson could very well have served as one of the sources for the 1990 TV movie The Rose and the Jackal, which also spotlighted the Monitor-Merrimac confrontation.
by Hal Erickson
synopsis
