Capitanes intrépidos

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.

Harvey Cheyne (Freddie Bartholomew) is a spoiled brat used to having his own way. When a prank goes wrong on board 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.

Frank S. Nugent of The New York Times called the film "another of those grand jobs of movie-making we have come to expect of Hollywood's most prodigal studio. With its rich production, magnificent marine photography, admirable direction and performances, the film brings vividly to life every page of Kipling's novel and even adds an exciting chapter or two of its own." This really is a great film. I went in knowing nothing about it, and came out really impressed. For the first quarter or so of the film, I was increasingly annoyed with the spoiled boy, and did not now where things were going to go. But once it shifted gears, that build-up of annoyance paid off. In fact, it would not have been nearly as effective if they didn't convince me of how awful this boy was. Perfect execution.

When a movie can appeal to children and grown-ups ,it 's really worthwhile.Such is the case with Victor Fleming's very moving "captain courageous" .Spencer Tracy gives an outstanding performance as Manuel and his songs and his hurdy-gurdy are a wonderful plus.The films has a very well-constructed screenplay:a long prologue which shows the brat living in a world of luxury;then the part on the boat where the boy discovers that money does not count anymore in the tough world of the fishermen;and then a rather long epilogue including a ceremony for the dear departed that will move you to tears.

Ridley Scott's "White squall" (1996) was an updated veiled remake of "captain courageous "but innocence and emotion had disappeared,and hints at the Vietnam War at the end of the movie were obnoxious.

A movie like this could only have been made in the early days of cinema. Before the days when fancy camera angles, careful editing, and computer-effects combine to make any pretty-boy a big star, movies had to rely on genuine talent on the part of child actors.

Nowhere is this more evident than with Freddie Bartholomew. The character he plays is a spoiled rich-kid, used to getting his own way and obnoxious with everyone he meets. Yet he plays the role in such a way that we can sympathize with him, rather than detest him. We understand the character, but we do not hate him.

Watch any similar movie made today, and the child actors will whine and sneer and have smart-mouthed replies to everything. In this movie, however, the character is not taken to that extreme, and when he makes his transition in the film we are able to love him, and are able to forget how horrid he was before.

The boy can truly act. When he cries for his loved ones, we cry with him. When he is happy, we are able to smile. And when he does something foolish, we do not get the urge to punch him in the face. The character is attractive by the end of the film, and that is a quality which few (if any) child actors possess today.

If you want to see a touching movie with superb acting and genuine emotion, this is the one.

I truly enjoy the old classic films and although the first 30 minutes of this film starts off a bit slower than I would have preferred director Victor Fleming certainly makes up for it with a classic tale of a young man's spiritual and mature growth during the remaining 87 minutes.

The story features a young boy named Harvey Cheyne (Freddie Bartholomew) whose wealthy industrialist father Mr. Cheyne (Melvyn Douglas) spoils his young son with money and supplies his son with his own personal staff to allow Mr. Cheyne to focus on his business empire all the while his neglected son decides to take advantage of every situation. In many situations the young Harvey is bribing his way through life at such an early age in a way that most of us just could not fathom. The director has done a good job in showing us what can happen to a young man who is not receiving the proper guidance and little attention from his single parent.

So young Harvey who is sailing on the high waters and again neglected by his father is not playing fairly with some other youngsters when he accidentally falls off of his father's ship and into the ocean without any life raft or rescue ring buoy. As he realizes he might drown a Portuguese sailor named Manuel (Spencer Tracy) scoops him out of the hands of death and brings him back on to a 20 man crew fishing vessel. Over the next few months at seas we see a very slow but gradual change in the way that the spoiled and bratty Harvey looks at life.

You see, Harvey first gets a hard backhander slap directly across the side of his face from the ship's Captain Disko (Lionel Barrymore who is the great Uncle of current actress Drew Barrymore) for talking back to the captain inappropriately. Gradually as Harvey spends every waking moment on this smelly, slimy, wet fishing vessel with his savior Manuel as his only guide and conscious how he must behave amongst men of fishermen, Harvey has a transformation for the betterment of mankind. Harvey learns what team work, sacrifice, and hard work can do for a young man as he interacts with Manuel, Captain Disko and his son Dan (a 17 year old Mickey Rooney), and fellow seaman Long Jack (John Carradine) as they fish in the ocean and face the high seas and mother nature.

This film is not all about a happy ending but more about life's hard lessons and reality that we can learn more about ourselves and who we really are by allowing others to show us the way, as our fathers and grandfathers, and mothers and grandmothers showed us. This is a memorable film not only for its time some 80 years ago, but the message this film still holds true today. "Life is not about who wins the race...but more about how memorable your journey was and who remembers you when you are gone.