The Sea Chase ~ Searching For Jack In A John Wayne Movie

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: 2020 Week 39 (SHOULD BE A MOVIE)

Family tales begin with a nugget of information, and then the search is on.

Hey Family
- cousin Doug shared that grandpa Jack Graham was in a movie.....
He says:

"It was only a small part near the end of the film, but John Wayne was a Captain of a British/Canadian? destroyer, and it sank a German Cargo boat, and as the survivors climbed on board the destroyer, Jackie was one of the guards." 

"Doug says - near the end of the film, Jackie is standing with a gun as the survivors climb on board.... he says it was black and white."

I wasn't surprised to hear that Grandpa Jack has been in a movie. I had heard the stories about Jack through the years, and saw the photos. Jack was a confident attractive guy. On that set he would have made a gorgeous sailor any director would have wanted in his movie. 

With the details from cousin Doug I began searching for a John Wayne movie that fit the description. I found THE SEA CHASE. As usually happens with family lore there were a few details amiss, but not terribly different. It was surprisingly easy to find the movie. What wasn't easy was trying to find a venue to watch the movie. In the end Amazon provided. 

The replies I received to the message I sent at the top helped fill in a few details. 

"I know that he was in a movie. Gram was an usher at the theater in Victoria. Every time his scene  would be coming up they would run and get gram to come in and see him on screen."

"I'm pretty sure Dad was in his uniform with other soldiers on the deck of the ship while something was happening with John Wayne and the other stars."

"Dad was in a John Wayne movie. Mom took us to see it when we were very little. She said we were watching and then all of us were yelling Daddy when his face appeared"

Jack's three little girls about the time the movie was released 

Jack with his wife, three little girls and mother
(about the time THE SEA CHASE was released)

"mom dressed us all up and marched us down to the theatre so we could see him."

An example of how they were dressed up alike - a few years later 

Going back to cousin Doug's description I watched the movie waiting until a scene fit.
I was delighted when the described scene appeared:

As the scene came to an end I wondered how those little girls even recognized him since neither guard turned around. Thankfully I was watching with my husband who said "I don't think that's the right scene. It sounded like his face was on the screen." We continued to watch the movie. 

At the end I had no idea if I had just seen my grandfather in THE SEA CHASE. All I knew was that grandpa Jack was tall, dark haired, and thin. 

It reminded me of the year I lived in Vancouver when I stared at every bus driver to try to figure out if it was my grandfather. 

I never knew if my grandfather was the driver of the bus I rode on or if I had seen him in the movie I just watched. 

The legacy of a fractured family tree with broken branches. 

A few days after watching THE SEA CHASE my father came over for dinner. He had known Jack, and offered to help me figure out where Jack was in the movie. 

Dad wondered if that was Jack in the background of the photo below. 

Could that be Grandpa Jack behind?

Thinking back to the reply I had about Jack being in uniform I wondered if Dad was right. I compared the sailor in the scene above  with the photos I have of Jack from about the same time.

Definitely a maybe. 

When I sent the screenshot to my mom's sisters it remained a maybe. 

After looking at the stills of the scenes with actors in the background in the photos below we still aren't sure where Jack can be found in THE SEA CHASE.

Do I know which was Grandpa Jack in this film? No. 

Do I know I have the right film? Yes.

Remembering my Grandpa

John Robert (Jack) (Jacky) Graham

BIRTH 7 MAR 1930 • Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

DEATH 5 AUG 2011 • Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Chasing the family stories!

This is why I search - 



Cause ... 





You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family you know!
















***Any errors are my own. Please send me any updates or corrections via the comments at the bottom of this blog post***



Sources:

Farrow, J. (Producer) & (Director). (1955). The Sea Chase [Motion Picture]. United States: Warner Brothers.

Links:

Amy Johnson Crow, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge
https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/

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