Captains Courageous [G]

10 year-old Harvey Cheyne comes from breeding and wealth, but his manners and methods of getting what he wants fail to reflect the ‘respectable’ status that comes from his father. When he is suspended from school it is a time for he and his father to rejuvenate their relationship, but Harvey somehow manages to fall overboard the sleek ocean liner they are travelling on. A Portuguese fisherman named Manuel saves him and brings him aboard the fishing schooner ‘We’re Here’. Not at all popular amongst the hardworking sailors, Harvey is left to his own devices until Manuel takes him under his wing and, during the three months on sea before heading to shore, makes an honest and respectable man out of him. 

Based on the novel by Runyard Kipling, Victor Fleming’s Captains Courageous proves to stand the test of time as one of the most beautiful family stories, blending the comedy of a riches-to-rags tale and the emotional drama of a boy-becomes-man story. The performances are superb and the movie holds something for audiences of all ages. It’s absolutely beautiful! 

10 year-old Harvey Cheyne comes from breeding and wealth, but his manners and methods of getting what he wants fail to reflect the ‘respectable’ status that comes from his father. When he is suspended from school it is a time for he and his father to rejuvenate their relationship, but Harvey somehow manages to fall overboard the sleek ocean liner they are travelling on. A Portuguese fisherman named Manuel saves him and brings him aboard the fishing schooner ‘We’re Here’. Not at all popular amongst the hardworking sailors, Harvey is left to his own devices until Manuel takes him under his wing and, during the three months on sea before heading to shore, makes an honest and respectable man out of him. 

Kipling died before he got to see what beautiful and touching films his books were made into, but one can only guess that he would have smiled as warmly as the film’s audiences. Captains Courageous is the perfect tale of growing up, honesty, and the appreciation and recognition of real accomplishment. The relationship that forms between Harvey and Manuel is absolutely beautiful and it can be said that it’s the driving force behind the entire movie. Their tale of friendship provides the film with its heart, drama, morals, and comedy: the banter between the two will have you laughing one moment and weeping the next. 

Freddie Bartholomew stars as young Harvey Cheyne and he was really something. He balanced the character incredibly well because it would have been very easy to make Harvey a very unlikable child: Freddie was obnoxious, but at the same time he was irresistible and charming and you couldn’t hate him as the other characters did, you’re rooting for him at a level from the first reel. 

Mind you, the star of the show is a brown-faced, curly-haired Spencer Tracey who played the part of Manuel just magnificently, so much so he got the Oscar for Best Actor. From the first introduction to his character, you’re in love with him, and his constant references to Harvey as ‘Little Fish’ just touch the heart. He was warm, tender, funny, and he was very convincing as a Portuguese sailor. 

Starring Lionel Barrymore, Melvyn Douglas, Charley Grapewin, Mickey Rooney, John Carradine, Oscar O’Shea, Jack Lu Rue, Walter Kingsford, Donald Briggs, Sam McDaniel, and Bill Burrud, Captains Courageous is a beautiful and very touching movie filled with drama, friendship, lessons, pathos, and comedy. It’s a delightful family movie that can warm even the coldest of fish.