Teenage boys discover discipline and camaraderie on an ill-fated sailing voyage.Teenage boys discover discipline and camaraderie on an ill-fated sailing voyage.Teenage boys discover discipline and camaraderie on an ill-fated sailing voyage.
According to the timelines shown on screen, the story starts in 1960 and ends in 1961. However, in one of the scenes on the ship, in the background you can hear JFK's speech about the Cuban Missile Crisis from October 1962.
I saw this film on TV for the first time last week. Although the story line was a little weak, the film sequences at sea were excellent, particularly the final storm (white squall) in which the boy actors portrayed the reality of the tragedy.
Jeff Bridges gave a good performance as the captain whose task was to instil discipline and develop the characters of the boys in his charge. However, some members of the crew were miscast.