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IMDbPro

Down to the Sea in Ships

  • 19491949
  • ApprovedApproved
  • 2h
IMDb RATING
7.3/10
1K
YOUR RATING
Lionel Barrymore, Dean Stockwell, and Richard Widmark in Down to the Sea in Ships (1949)
ActionAdventureDrama
Whaling ship captain Bering Joy takes his grandson Jed on a whaling trip to teach him core life values while First Mate Dan Lunceford is tasked with tutoring Jed.Whaling ship captain Bering Joy takes his grandson Jed on a whaling trip to teach him core life values while First Mate Dan Lunceford is tasked with tutoring Jed.Whaling ship captain Bering Joy takes his grandson Jed on a whaling trip to teach him core life values while First Mate Dan Lunceford is tasked with tutoring Jed.
IMDb RATING
7.3/10
1K
YOUR RATING
    • Henry Hathaway
    • John Lee Mahin(screenplay)
    • Sy Bartlett(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Richard Widmark
    • Lionel Barrymore
    • Dean Stockwell
    • Henry Hathaway
    • John Lee Mahin(screenplay)
    • Sy Bartlett(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Richard Widmark
    • Lionel Barrymore
    • Dean Stockwell
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 28User reviews
    • 12Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Photos26

    Dorothy Adams and Gene Lockhart in Down to the Sea in Ships (1949)
    Lionel Barrymore and Dean Stockwell in Down to the Sea in Ships (1949)
    Lionel Barrymore and Dean Stockwell in Down to the Sea in Ships (1949)
    Lionel Barrymore and Richard Widmark in Down to the Sea in Ships (1949)
    John Northpole in Down to the Sea in Ships (1949)
    Lionel Barrymore, Dean Stockwell, and Richard Widmark in Down to the Sea in Ships (1949)
    Jimmy Dime in Down to the Sea in Ships (1949)
    Richard Widmark in Down to the Sea in Ships (1949)
    Lionel Barrymore and Richard Widmark in Down to the Sea in Ships (1949)
    Dean Stockwell, Richard Widmark, Bobby Dillon, Jimmy Dime, Jay C. Flippen, and Cecil Kellaway in Down to the Sea in Ships (1949)
    Lionel Barrymore, Richard Widmark, and Jay C. Flippen in Down to the Sea in Ships (1949)
    Richard Widmark and Cecil Kellaway in Down to the Sea in Ships (1949)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Richard Widmark
    Richard Widmark
    • First Mate Dan Lunceford
    Lionel Barrymore
    Lionel Barrymore
    • Capt. Bering Joy
    Dean Stockwell
    Dean Stockwell
    • Jed Joy
    Cecil Kellaway
    Cecil Kellaway
    • Slush Tubbs
    Gene Lockhart
    Gene Lockhart
    • Andrew L. Bush
    Berry Kroeger
    Berry Kroeger
    • Manchester
    John McIntire
    John McIntire
    • Thatch
    Harry Morgan
    Harry Morgan
    • Britton
    • (as Henry Morgan)
    Harry Davenport
    Harry Davenport
    • Benjamin Harris
    Paul Harvey
    Paul Harvey
    • Capt. John Briggs
    Jay C. Flippen
    Jay C. Flippen
    • Luke Sewell
    Ruth Donnelly
    Ruth Donnelly
    • New Bedford Neighbor
    • (scenes deleted)
    Hubert E. Flanagan
    • Capt. Rumley
    • (scenes deleted)
    Connie Marshall
    Connie Marshall
    • New Bedford Neighbor
    • (scenes deleted)
    Dorothy Adams
    Dorothy Adams
    • Miss Hopkins
    • (uncredited)
    Robert Adler
    Robert Adler
    • Crew Member
    • (uncredited)
    Harry Carter
    Harry Carter
    • Crew Member
    • (uncredited)
    Eddie Das
    • Crew Member
    • (uncredited)
      • Henry Hathaway
      • John Lee Mahin(screenplay)
      • Sy Bartlett(screenplay) (story)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Ships' cooks were often nicknamed "Slush" or Slushy". The term comes from the fact that they had to feed the crew with salt pork or salt beef. The meat would be put into a pot and boiled and the grease that came to the surface was called "slush" and was skimmed off and saved. The sailors often smeared it on ships' biscuit in place of butter. Any excess at the end of the voyage was sold to soap makers or candle makers and the proceeds were used to buy things for the ship, hence the term "Slush Fund".
    • Goofs
      When asked what is the longest river in the world, Jed answers the Narragansett (not the Mississippi as noted elsewhere). This was a 19th century name for a complex of small rivers (now called the Blackstone, Seekonk, and Providence rivers) that empty into Narragansett Bay. The river system is located in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Since Jed is from New Bedford, he would have been familiar with this river system and bay.
    • Crazy credits
      Opening credits prologue: NEW BEDFORD 1887
    • Connections
      Featured in Los pájaros de Baden-Baden (1975)
    • Soundtracks
      Song of the Fishes
      (uncredited)

      Traditional

      Arranged by Alfred Newman and Edward B. Powell

    User reviews28

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    9/10
    Poignant Sea Adventure with Great Cast of Characters
    Down to the Sea in Ships is a grand sea adventure in the tradition of Captains Courageous, Moby Dick, and Treasure Island, full of great actors playing interesting characters, with decent special effects for it's time, and an intelligent, sometimes profound, script. Lionel Barrymore plays Captain Joy, the Master of a whaling ship about to be retired. He wants his young grandson (Dean Stockwell) to carry on the family tradition and eventually become master of the ship. But the boy lacks the appropriate education and seems unable to learn. On his last voyage, Joy appoints the new first mate, Lunceford (Richard Widmark) - also his tentative replacement - to the job of educating his grandson. It takes Lunceford a while to win the boy's confidence, and when he finally does, the old Captain seems to become jealous. Then when a boat is lost in the fog with the boy aboard, Lunceford launches a second rescue boat against regulations, and the Captain must discipline him. This dilemma between duty and personal devotion develops a tense situation between the three of them, with dramatic impact that makes Down to the Sea In Ships one of the most poignant films of it's kind, fully in league with those mentioned above. I don't want to giving away any more of the plot, but rest assured that the tension carries through suspense-fully to a perilous climax. The great supporting cast includes Gene Lockhart, Cecil Kelloway, Harry Morgan, Harry Davenport, and Jay C. Flippen.
    helpful•41
    0
    • jatodog
    • May 23, 2005

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • April 11, 1949 (Sweden)
      • United States
      • English
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • Seal Beach, California, USA
    • Production company
      • Twentieth Century Fox
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • 2 hours
      • Black and White

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    Lionel Barrymore, Dean Stockwell, and Richard Widmark in Down to the Sea in Ships (1949)
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