MOVIEmeter
SEE RANK
Up 9,497 this week

Captains Courageous (1937)

 -  Adventure | Drama | Family  -  25 June 1937 (USA)
7.8
Your rating:
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 -/10 X  
Ratings: 7.8/10 from 4,909 users  
Reviews: 65 user | 30 critic

Harvey Cheyne is a spoiled brat used to having his own way. When a prank goes wrong onboard an ocean liner Harvey ends up overboard and nearly drowns. Fortunately he's picked up by a ... See full summary »

Director:

Writers:

(novel), (screen play), 2 more credits »
Watch Trailer
0Check in
0Share...

User Lists

Related lists from IMDb users

a list of 1268 titles created 10 months ago
 
a list of 1006 titles created 7 months ago
 
a list of 82 titles created 1 week ago
 
a list of 2915 titles created 16 May 2011
 
a list of 10 titles created 19 Feb 2012
 

Connect with IMDb


Share this Rating

Title: Captains Courageous (1937)

Captains Courageous (1937) on IMDb 7.8/10

Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below.

Take The Quiz!

Test your knowledge of Captains Courageous.
Won 1 Oscar. Another 3 wins & 3 nominations. See more awards »

Videos

Photos

Learn more

People who liked this also liked... 

Old Yeller (1957)
Family | Drama | Adventure
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.2/10 X  

A boy brings a yellow dog home. The dog loves the family as much as they love him, but can the love last ?

Director: Robert Stevenson
Stars: Dorothy McGuire, Fess Parker, Jeff York
Adventure | Drama | Family
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7/10 X  

After her destitute family is forced to sell her, a collie named Lassie escapes from her new owner and begins the long trek from Scotland to her Yorkshire home.

Director: Fred M. Wilcox
Stars: Roddy McDowall, Donald Crisp, Dame May Whitty
Kim (1950)
Adventure | Drama | Family
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.5/10 X  

Kim, a young boy living on his own on the streets of India, is actually the son of a British officer. He meets a lama, a holy man, and devotes himself to his tending. But when British ... See full summary »

Director: Victor Saville
Stars: Errol Flynn, Dean Stockwell, Paul Lukas
Born Free (1966)
Adventure | Drama | Family
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.1/10 X  

Joy Adamson and her husband, Kenya game warden George Adamson, raise Elsa, a lion cub. When Elsa approaches maturity, Joy determines she must re-educate Elsa to living in the wild so that ... See full summary »

Director: James Hill
Stars: Virginia McKenna, Bill Travers, Geoffrey Keen
Duma (2005)
Adventure | Drama | Family
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.1/10 X  

An orphaned cheetah becomes the best friend and pet of a young boy living in South Africa.

Director: Carroll Ballard
Stars: Alex Michaeletos, Campbell Scott, Mary Makhatho
Fly Away Home (1996)
Adventure | Drama | Family
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.7/10 X  

A father and daughter decide to attempt to lead a flock of orphaned Canada Geese south by air.

Director: Carroll Ballard
Stars: Jeff Daniels, Anna Paquin, Dana Delany
Kidnapped (1960)
Action | Adventure | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.6/10 X  

Kidnapped and cheated out of his inheritance, young David Balfour falls in with a Jacobite adventurer, Alan Breck Stewart. Falsely accused of murder, they must flee across the Highlands, ... See full summary »

Director: Robert Stevenson
Stars: Peter Finch, James MacArthur, Bernard Lee
The Bear (1988)
Adventure | Family | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.6/10 X  

An orphan bear cub hooks up with an adult male as they try to dodge human hunters.

Director: Jean-Jacques Annaud
Stars: Bart the Bear, Youk the Bear, Tchéky Karyo
Babe (1995)
Adventure | Family | Fantasy
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.9/10 X  

Babe, a pig raised by sheepdogs, learns to herd sheep with a little help from Farmer Hoggett.

Director: Chris Noonan
Stars: Christine Cavanaugh, Miriam Margolyes, James Cromwell
Adventure | Drama | Fantasy
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.2/10 X  

A ship sent to investigate a wave of mysterious sinkings encounters the advanced submarine, the Nautilus, commanded by Captain Nemo.

Director: Richard Fleischer
Stars: Kirk Douglas, James Mason, Paul Lukas
Adventure | Drama | Family
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.2/10 X  

Two lookalike boys, one a poor street kid and the other a prince, exchange places to see what the other's life is like.

Director: William Keighley
Stars: Errol Flynn, Claude Rains, Henry Stephenson
Drama | Family
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.8/10 X  

At the turn of the century in a Welsh mining village, the Morgans (he stern, she gentle) raise coal-mining sons and hope their youngest will find a better life.

Director: John Ford
Stars: Walter Pidgeon, Maureen O'Hara, Anna Lee
Edit

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Freddie Bartholomew ...
Harvey
...
...
Disko
...
Mr. Cheyne
...
...
Dan
...
Oscar O'Shea ...
Cushman
Jack La Rue ...
Priest (as Jack LaRue)
Walter Kingsford ...
Donald Briggs ...
Tyler
Sam McDaniel ...
'Doc' (as Sam McDaniels)
Bill Burrud ...
Charles (as Billy Burrud)
Edit

Storyline

Harvey Cheyne is a spoiled brat used to having his own way. When a prank goes wrong onboard an ocean liner Harvey ends up overboard and nearly drowns. Fortunately he's picked up by a fishing boat just heading out for the season. He tries to bribe the crew into returning early to collect a reward but none of them believe him. Stranded on the boat he must adapt to the ways of the fishermen and learn more about the real world. Written by Col Needham <col@imdb.com>

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Taglines:

Again-as in the stirring "Mutiny"- you live the roaring drama of men against the sea. You share the struggles, the heartaches, the laughter of courageous souls who leave the women they love to dare the wrath of the angry waves... See more »


Certificate:

TV-G | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
Edit

Details

Country:

Language:

|

Release Date:

25 June 1937 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

Rudyard Kipling's Captains Courageous  »

Box Office

Budget:

$1,645,000 (estimated)
 »

Company Credits

Production Co:

 »
Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

(Western Electric Sound System)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1
See  »
Edit

Did You Know?

Trivia

Spencer Tracy was impressed early on by Freddie Bartholomew's dedication to the role, jumping over the side of the boat in order to get what he considered sufficiently wet after having been shot with a hose and doused with a bucket of water. "The kid can take it," Tracy said. "I hand it to him." See more »

Goofs

It does not make sense that Harvey's teachers could expect him to be independent if he is only ten. In the novel he was fifteen. See more »

Quotes

Manuel Fidello: 15 years I've been fisherman, first time I catch fish like you.
[blows conch shell, and heads towards boat ringing bell]
Manuel Fidello: HEY, Aboard the vessel!
Captain Disko Troop: Hey!
Manuel Fidello: I bring you new kind of fish.
Captain Disko Troop: What'chu get?
Manuel Fidello: I got new kind of fish. He got no tail. He got pants on his dorsal fin. I think maybe he about 10 year old.
[pulls up next to schooner and start hauling up boy]
Dan Troop: Aw, its a kid ain't it?
See more »

Connections

Featured in The 75th Annual Academy Awards (2003) See more »

Soundtracks

"Rock of Ages"
(uncredited)
Music by Thomas Hastings (1830)
Lyrics by Augustus Montague Toplady (1776)
Sung by all at the Fishermen's Memorial
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.

User Reviews

 
Kipling Classic Comes To Life
12 January 2002 | by (Forest Ranch, CA) – See all my reviews

A spoiled rich boy falls overboard & emerges from the sea into the world of the CAPTAINS COURAGEOUS, the rough & honest fishermen who ply the waters of the North Atlantic for months on end.

Rudyard Kipling's classic novel of maturation & responsibility has been expanded & updated and turned into a wonderful film by MGM. The production values, especially those dealing with the fishing boat sequences, are exceptional.

After the first half hour, where we are introduced to the boy's bad behavior at home, school, father's office & aboard the luxury liner, the film arrives at the heart of the matter with the introduction of the fisherman and their rough, dangerous way of life.

Freddie Bartholomew, luminous face & shining eyes aglow, is the very picture of boyish innocence. The fact that MGM gave him top billing over the powerhouse cast shows the kind of confidence they had in their child star. Although his proper English accent is a bit out of place and his sweetness makes his initial bratty behavior a bit of a stretch, once he's firmly ensconced on the trawler and his life lessons are being learned, it is difficult to think of any other young actor of his era in the role.

His lessons come mainly from Spencer Tracy, who is beyond praise as Manuel, the stalwart Portuguese fisherman. Noble, earthy, lighthearted, honest, these were attributes Tracy could sink his teeth into & he delivers a performance of heroic proportions. Good-natured & loyal, singing joyously to his hurdy-gurdy, his Manuel is still fiercely protective of his `liddle fish,' seeing at once the qualities the boy has to offer, once he shapes up. Audiences surrender to Tracy completely (fake accent and all) and his scenes with young Bartholomew are especially tender. The subsequent Best Actor Oscar for his performance here was very well deserved.

Lionel Barrymore, as the crusty, wise old captain of the fishing boat, is a delight. In one of the last roles in which he had the use of his legs, he is completely believable as a Massachusetts seaman. Like Tracy, he inhabits his part, giving an over-the-top performance that is completely appropriate. He embodies the kind of man anyone would feel confident to have at the helm during a sea storm.

The excellence of the cast is evidenced by having Charley Grapewin, John Carradine & Mickey Rooney all on board as crew members; each is given a chance to display their talents, as is Melvyn Douglas as Bartholomew's preoccupied father.

Movie mavens will recognize Billy Gilbert as a soda fountain jerk, as well as Christian Rub & Jimmy Conlin as fisherman, all uncredited.


22 of 25 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you?

Message Boards

Recent Posts
Portugueus johnaquino
re: Should be in the Top 250 carl170
Bob Hope?? adregan
What year was this set in? Doug-169
on DVD RebHarkness
How to get a movie's UPC code? john-1852
Discuss Captains Courageous (1937) on the IMDb message boards »

Contribute to This Page

Create a character page for:
?