“Captains Courageous” is the classic story of a spoiled rich kid who falls overboard from a ship and is rescued by a group of fishermen, where he is pressed into service to earn his keep. Director Victor Fleming (“The Wizard of Oz” & “Gone With the Wind” 1939) did an excellent job at the helm of this action-adventure film. The marvelous screenplay was penned by John Lee Mahin, Marc Connelly, Dale Van Every, adapted from the 1897 novel of the same name by Rudyard Kipling.
The cast is headed by Spencer Tracy as the Portuguese fisherman Manuel Fidello. He won the Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal of the kindly man who befriends young Harvey Cheyne, brilliantly played by Freddie Bartholomew. Very good chemistry between the two. Co-stars include Lionel Barrymore, Melvyn Douglas, Mickey Rooney, John Carradine, Charley Grapewin, Oscar O’Shea, Jack LaRue, Walter Kingsford, Donald Briggs, and Bob Hope in an uncredited cameo as a taxi driver.
Seventeen-year-old Mickey Rooney had already been making movies for ten years when he made this picture. Rooney and Tracy appeared in three other films together: “Hollywood Party” (1934), “Boys Town” (1938), and “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World” (1963). Tracy’s Academy Award was the only win for this film, with three other nominations for Film Editing, Screenplay, and Best Picture. The very watchable “Captains Courageous” was popular with audiences and made money for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
Captains Courageous (1937)
cinema
My Review
“Captains Courageous” is the classic story of a spoiled rich kid who falls overboard from a ship and is rescued by a group of fishermen, where he is pressed into service to earn his keep. Director Victor Fleming (“The Wizard of Oz” & “Gone With the Wind” 1939) did an excellent job at the helm of this action-adventure film. The marvelous screenplay was penned by John Lee Mahin, Marc Connelly, Dale Van Every, adapted from the 1897 novel of the same name by Rudyard Kipling.
The cast is headed by Spencer Tracy as the Portuguese fisherman Manuel Fidello. He won the Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal of the kindly man who befriends young Harvey Cheyne, brilliantly played by Freddie Bartholomew. Very good chemistry between the two. Co-stars include Lionel Barrymore, Melvyn Douglas, Mickey Rooney, John Carradine, Charley Grapewin, Oscar O’Shea, Jack LaRue, Walter Kingsford, Donald Briggs, and Bob Hope in an uncredited cameo as a taxi driver.
Seventeen-year-old Mickey Rooney had already been making movies for ten years when he made this picture. Rooney and Tracy appeared in three other films together: “Hollywood Party” (1934), “Boys Town” (1938), and “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World” (1963). Tracy’s Academy Award was the only win for this film, with three other nominations for Film Editing, Screenplay, and Best Picture. The very watchable “Captains Courageous” was popular with audiences and made money for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.