AllMovie

This first film version of Jack London's The Sea Wolf starred Hobart Bosworth (who also produced and directed the picture) as the tyrannical Wolf Larsen. Subscribing to the philosophy set forth by Satan in John Milton's Paradise Lost -- "Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven" -- Larsen sadistically lords it over crewmen and passengers alike on his tiny merchant vessel. During his fateful final cruise, Larsen tries his best to seduce reluctant passenger Miss Brewster (Viola Barry), only to be thwarted at every turn by philosophical derelict Van Weyden (Herbert Rawlinson). In the rip-roaring consequence, a blinded Larsen desperately tries to hide his affliction so he can put down a bloody mutiny. (The Sea Wolf) would be remade several times, with actors as diverse as Milton Sills, Edward G. Robinson and Charles Bronson essaying the juicy role of Wolf Larsen.