Captains Courageous (1937)

A spoiled brat who falls overboard from a steamship gets picked up by a fishing boat, where he's made to earn his keep by joining the crew in their work.

Director:

Victor Fleming

Writers:

Rudyard Kipling (novel), John Lee Mahin (screen play)

Stars:

Spencer Tracy, Freddie Bartholomew, Lionel Barrymore

Won 1 Oscar. Another 2 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Freddie Bartholomew	...	Harvey
Spencer Tracy	...	Manuel
Lionel Barrymore	...	Disko
Melvyn Douglas	...	Mr. Cheyne
Charley Grapewin	...	Uncle Salters
Mickey Rooney	...	Dan
John Carradine	...	'Long Jack'
Oscar O'Shea	...	Cushman
Jack La Rue	...	Priest (as Jack LaRue)
Walter Kingsford	...	Dr. Finley
Donald Briggs	...	Tyler
Sam McDaniel	...	'Doc' (as Sam McDaniels)
Bill Burrud	...	Charles (as Billy Burrud)

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.

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Plot Keywords:

boy | fishing boat | fishing | fisherman | spoiled brat | 

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Taglines:

The Most Exciting Picture Since "Mutiny On The Bounty"

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Family

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Portuguese

Release Date:

25 June 1937 (USA)

Also Known As:

Rudyard Kipling's Captains Courageous

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,645,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

117 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Keith Carradine's favorite film.

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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.

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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?

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Crazy Credits

The opening credits are letters on planks, like the lettering on the side of ships, and between screen-fulls, a foaming wave of water splashes over it and then runs off. In the initial sets of credits, these appear to be actually letter-forms attached to the wood, as the water gets deflected by some of the letters; in later sets of credits, this effect is harder to see and the sets may be credits superimposed upon wood.

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Connections

Referenced in White Squall (1996)

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Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

Son meets father - in his heart

A wonderful film I only discovered about ten years ago. A low key beginning, hardly anything to attract the viewer to sympathize with the predicament that befalls young Harvey. With a wonderful cast, fairly average story but told and beautifully understated brings a wonderful balance and heart-tugging restoration for young Harvey, plucked from the sea by Spencer Tracy, a Portuguese fisherman. Having to become a fisherman for two months, young Harvey finds out what he has not known in life. He begins the story as a spoilt young irritating brat but ends it restored to life and his father. A message for us all, begun and ending in eternity. Poignant, sad and enriching. Great cinema.