Customer Reviews

Captains Courageous

5 star:		(61)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

"Captain's Courageous" is IT...the real thing....a truly great, heartfelt, classic film....arguably THE most emotionally compelling film of Hollywod's Golden Age.

Victor Fleming was known as a "MAN"S" director; so how did he produce one of the most perfectly paced, sensitive and outright BEAUTIFULLY loving "relationship" films of all time.....a story of a profound bond between a boy and a man who becomes his surrogate father? It's simply amazing.

OK...you have to overcome your initial reaction to Spencer Tracy's pseudo-"Portegoosie" (as John Carradine says) accent; after that...sit back and prepare to lose yourself in moviemaking at its finest.

Freddie Bartholomew....incredible performance! The growing bond between him and Spence....superbly wrought! The heaviness, the heartbreak of the film's final 15 minutes.....I experience it as if it were actually happening to me every time I watch it! This is one of those films that I am happy to know simply EXISTS...it's sitting there on the shelf, ready to be experienced any time, and that gives me great satisfaction.

The scene of conflict with Tracy and John Carradine....then the uncomfortable but caring bond that develops bewteen Carradine and Freddie Bartholomew near the end.....the reuniting of Freddie with Melvin Douglas....has there ever been a more revealing encounter? The final ceremony scene.....I've never been particularly moved by the hymn "Rock of Ages"; now the emotions well up when I even THINK about it.

Why Don't THEY make movies like this any longer????....BECAUSE THEY CAN'T! The world has changed..our values, our ways of viewing and expressing ourselves have become too "sophisticated" and cynical. Oh sure, Spielberg and others desperately TRY to go back to the sincerity and innocence of the age which produced "Captain's Courageous"....they do a decent job of conjuring, of IMITATING films of the Golden Age...but ...well, you simply CANNOT GO BACK.

If you want to experience the REAL THING----the sincere, honest, heartfelt emotional experience of a great story...GET THIS FILM.

AND FOR GOD"S SAKE (MGM, Turner...whoever..) GET IT OUT ON DVD! It's your RESPONSIBILITY to preserve these great films using the newest state-of-the-art technology. Believe me, when every last "BIG MOMMA's HOUSE" has been dead and buried as the CRAP that it is, "Captain's Courageous" will live on....and hopefully NOT only as a memory!

I don't profess to be an experienced movie critic, but this is one of the best movies I've ever seen. A wonderful story of a spoiled rich kid who gets taught some values by a lowly Portugese fisherman. I actually thought, after reading other reviews, that this might push the hammy side of things a bit, but I was wrong. The bond that develops between the two characters - slowly at first, and then stronger as the boy Harvey learns gets attached to Manuel and starts developing into a real person - is one of the greatest 'love' stories to ever hit the silver screen. Spencer Tracy won an Oscar for his performance, and Freddie Bartholomew's performance will move you to tears.

I still am impressed by the timeless screenplay (based on the Rudyard Kipling novel), the convincing special effects (remember this movie was released in 1937). The racing scenes and the storm scenes are still completely convincing.

Why this movie has not been restored and out on DVD one will never know. On one viewing it has become one of my all time favorites. It is a real gem.

This is a marvelous movie about a spoiled, insecure child who brags, manipulates, and uses his wealth & positon to feel strong & good about himself (sound like anyone you know?). After being suspended from school for his antics he is dragged to Europe to accompany his father on a business trip. En route, he accidentenly falls overboard from the oceanliner (that's how they travelled in those days - - airplane travel was new, rare and horribly expensive) and is rescued by a fisherman. He learns his lesson, matures and acquires integrity through his association with the crew of fisherman & in particular Spencer Tracy's character.

This fine cast consists of legends who give wonderful performances: John Carradine, Lionel Barrymore, Mickey Rooney, Melvyn Douglas and of course, Spencer Tracy.

The film also gives you a rare glimpse into a way of life past. Today we have huge fishing ships that net miles of fish and have the canneneries right on board. Without it being intentional, the movie shows one what life was like when people still cared about the work they did and had pride in the honest work they had accomplished. And how many of us still entertain ourselves and family by singing together and/or playing a musical instrument rather than turning to solitary pursuits with electronic machinery? I am not waxing nostalgic for the days before the advent of universal elecricity! However, the movie is a snapshot in time of a not so distant past that inspires much food for thought.

You may show this movie to your children without fear;not only is there nothing unseemly in it, it has a valuable lesson to teach us all. And it is of much better quality than any of the so-called "family films" that have been produced in the last two decades. Moreover, it opens up many interesting topics for discussion.

HOLLYWOOD TAKE NOTE: you don't need punchy soundtracks, death defying stunts and high tech wizardry to make a good movie - - just an honest story, a good script and a fine cast. This movie proves that. It was made 70 yrs ago and we're still buying it.

My only complaint with this film is that it's not available on DVD.

MARCH 2006: Thank goodness, this wonderful film has been released on DVD. There are no real 'special features' to speak of but after having not seen the movie for a long time (I gave up my VCR years ago) I was just so glad to have the movie and share it with my family.

I for one believe this is the best movie about men who go down to the sea in ships ever made.

Spencer Tracy is magnificent as the Portugese cod fisherman, Manuel, and deserved his Oscar for this powerful and heartwarming (and heartbreaking) role. He more or less repeated the performance, accent and all, many years later in The Old Man and the Sea, a less successful film.

The sailing and fishing scenes are true to life. You can almost smell the salt air and feel the swells on the old Grand Bank fishing ground. Excellent supporting performances by John Carradine, Lionel Barrymore and Mickey Rooney. Freddie Bartholomew is perfectly type cast as a spoiled rich kid, but Melvyn Douglas wasted in a minor part as his spoiled rich dad.

A great film for the family!

Thank God this is in TCM's library; it was just aired this past Father's Day weekend, and I watched it for the first time in twenty years. It still resonates as a father/son film, a buddy film, a coming-of-age film, and an adventure story. Even the film's moment of transition (roughly 24 minutes in) seems to be paying homage to 'other world' adventures like THE WIZARD OF OZ and ALICE IN WONDERLAND- except that Alice is a bratty little boy this time- easily the brattiest kid you'll ever meet in Freddie Bartholomew. Once Bartholomew begins his adventure with fisherman Spencer Tracy so does an amazing battle of wits, dialogue, great script, most of all, awesome performances. (Who would've thought the macho Victor Fleming would direct a story with such sensitivity and warmth amidst not only the leads but supporting castmembers Melvyn Douglas, Lionel Barrymore, and the up-and-coming Mickey Rooney?) Even though Tracy capped (and deserved) the Oscar, 12-year-old Bartholomew is a revelation as he learns about humility, honor, friendship, and growing up throughout the entire film. (A bewitching sequence shows Bartholomew play a prank which backfires on him and nearly costs him his friendship with Tracy.) The film could be accused of datedness, but it is a testimony to the basic Kipling story that it has been filmed three times, twice for television. (Can a Broadway musical be far off?) Full of wonderful black-and-white cinematography and ocean-fog special effects, it needs to come to DVD immediately. And I guarantee you'll cry like a baby with a smile on your face.

Who could ever forget the image of happy-go-lucky Manuel Fidello (Spencer Tracy) turning the handle on his little accordion box singing in that gentle, infectious Portuguese accent, "Yo ho little fish don't cry don't cry". If you're a fan of classic films you know this is a scene from Spencer Tracy's signature movie, `Captains Courageous' released in '37.

Plot: Harvey (Freddie Bartholomew), an Ill-mannered rich kid falls overboard off a luxury vessel and finds himself adrift until a passing merchant fishing ship pulls him out of the sea. He is taken under the tutorage of his rescuer, a friendly Portuguese fisherman named Manuel. Harvey is initially hostile to the thought of having to obey orders and work for his room and board until the ship returns to dock, but eventually comes to understand the important lessons in life being imparted by Manuel. Before his adventure at sea is over he'll learn what it means to be a man.

This is without a doubt my favorite Spencer Tracy film and a story the entire family will enjoy. It's beautifully filmed with a tremendous cast which includes along with Spencer Tracy and Freddie Bartholomew the legendary Lionel Barrymore as Disko and John Carradine as Long Jack.

This movie is a favorite of mine. I hope that someday it will indeed be released in DVD format. I'll be waiting. Obviously dated, it is still an excellent movie and it really gets to me. I guess it's just one of those movies for me. I can't rate it high enough.

i had never seen this movie, and i dont know why! freddie bartholomew (top-billed as a teen!) is an obnoxious rich kid who falls overboard and is rescued by portuguese fisherman spencer tracy. over the next few months a bond forms between the two that is both honest and touching. a terrific olio of pathos, comedy, melodrama, and good common sense make victor flemings adaptation of the rudyard kipling novel (which im embarrassed to admit i never read) one of the best movies ive seen. great supporting work by lionel barrymore, john carradine, mickey rooney, melvyn douglas, more. and freddie is quite the beauty here. a winner!

I first became aware of the movie "Captain's Courageous" forty years ago but I never had the opportunity to see it until the other night. I had taped it earlier and was going to watch the start of it but my 12 year old son come in and started watching with me. He was so engrossed in it that we both staid up til 11:45 PM to see it to the end. The day after he kept mentioning what a good movie it was and I had to agree with him. I mention his reaction because it's not that often anymore that we can see a movie together that we both enjoy.

The success of "Captains Courageous" lies in the quality of the writing, acting and directing coupled with a young lad's great adventure. The movie starts out slow but necessarily so in order to introduce the main character; a boy about my son's age who is being raised by his widower father. Dad has plenty of money but hardly any time to spend with his son. Consequently the son has to overdo it to get attention. It was in the midst of trying too hard that misfortune befell him and he ends up on a fishing ship in the North Atlantic.

The spoiled boy, named Harvey, is out of his element with these hard-working men of the sea. They soon teach him the hard but important facts of life including how to get along with one another. I'm guessing that you get the story. The movie has its' emotional swings like most good movies of this genre do.

There was a lot of good acting in "Captains Courageous" with the top nod going to Spencer Tracy in his Oscar-winning role as Manuel. Although I couldn't help thinking how much he sounded like Chico Marx, Tracy gave the role just the right amount of humour, insight, and irreverance that it called for. Freddie Bartholomew did well as Harvey. John Carradine and Melvin Douglas were good as well and I was quite impressed with Lionel Barrymore. The interaction of the adults with one another and their sense of shared responsibilities helped to make this movie enjoyable for all ages. There was plenty of action for the younger crowd as well as a leading role that they could relate to.

After waiting 40 years to see "Captains Courageous" I was aware that I could be in for a big disappointment. I wasn't. I enjoyed it as much as my son who previously never knew it existed. Don't settle for a remake; the original is still a classic.

In todays violent world this movie is a respite into an age of basic values now deemed redundant. Spencer Tracy, a Portuguese, mandolin playing fisherman plucks an arrogant rich kid (Freddy Bartholomew)out of the sea who had just fallen off his dad's cruise ship. Not having their full catch of fish the ship remains at sea for several months. The crusty but wise Captain (John Barrymore)assigns the boy to Tracy. The theme centers on these two developing a bonding relationship that later provides the strength and maturity the boy needs in catastrophe. A superb cast, superbly presented. Recommended for all ages, and I believe especially for parents.