Remorques (1941) review

Captain André Laurent (Jean Gabin) and his crew on the Cyclone help salvage ships in distress and one night they have to save the Mirva, which is helmed by nefarious Marc (Jean Marchat), but things don't go as planned: Marc's wife Catherine (Michèle Morgan) goes overboard and has to be rescued and then the towline gets cut so Laurent doesn't get paid for his work ... and later on he has an affair with Catherine.  The footage of the men scrambling and screaming while the camera rocks around is feverish and intriguing - albeit diminished somewhat by the dated "effects" (toy boats in a water tank) - but back on land the love triangle aspect is, quite frankly, peculiar: Laurent's spouse Yvonne (Madeleine Renaud) is a suffocating nag who claims she's ill (and has a heart flutter) but that's not a valid excuse to cheat on her, and it doesn't end the way one might anticipate, with its lead descending into despair (which most likely fit the mood of France at the time).  The sea, she's a harsh mistress, etc.