There's no one who plays the salty old sea captain quite like Lionel Barrymore. And few child stars had the love of the camera and the audience like Dean Stockwell (who's still acting even now, well into his 70's). I've never been a huge Richard Whidmark fan, but I've never made a point to become one. Now I see what all the fuss was about as he embarked on his early leading man career as the (top-billed) first mate and book-learned master seaman of a whale boat out of New Bedford, MA in the late 1800's.
The three main characters are on a consistent wave of hooking each other where it hurts when ultimately it's their pride and inability to get along as the order of a ship must prevail over the lives of the men. These are hard lessons for a boy who is in the school of whaling, book-learning, and life while on board. Ultimately, he learns all of his lessons and then some in this bittersweet story that will make you watch and root for the whole crew. We see a bit about whaling, but this is really about a boy becoming a man and the men who help him. The supporting cast couldn't be better as many of the greatest character actors help pull this ship successfully out to sea.
Is this as good as Captain's Courgeous? Well, it's not really fair to compare. If you don't expect Captain's Courageous, you'll hopefully not be disappointed. If you expect a fine character driven story while set on the sea in ships, then you'll hopefully enjoy two full hours of exciting sailing.
The three main characters are on a consistent wave of hooking each other where it hurts when ultimately it's their pride and inability to get along as the order of a ship must prevail over the lives of the men. These are hard lessons for a boy who is in the school of whaling, book-learning, and life while on board. Ultimately, he learns all of his lessons and then some in this bittersweet story that will make you watch and root for the whole crew. We see a bit about whaling, but this is really about a boy becoming a man and the men who help him. The supporting cast couldn't be better as many of the greatest character actors help pull this ship successfully out to sea.
Is this as good as Captain's Courgeous? Well, it's not really fair to compare. If you don't expect Captain's Courageous, you'll hopefully not be disappointed. If you expect a fine character driven story while set on the sea in ships, then you'll hopefully enjoy two full hours of exciting sailing.