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By
NICK ZEGARAC
Captains Courageous (1937)
is the life affirming glossy sea epic based of
Rudyard Kipling's fabled travels of a young boy
aboard a fishing vessel. After proving that he's
not to be trusted, spoiled rich kid, Harvey Cheyne
(Freddie Bartholomew) is taken on a world cruise
by his father (Melvyn Douglas) as a way of
procuring some father/son bonding time.
Unfortunately, half way to their destination,
young Harvey is thrown from his father's ship and,
into the icy ocean waters; reprieved from drowning
at the last moment by Portuguese fisherman, Manuel
Fidello (Spencer Tracy). Manuel takes Harvey back
to his ship, captained by Disko (Lionel Barrymore)
and populated by a crew that includes the dotty
Uncle Salters (Charles Grapewin), forthright Long
Jack (John Carradine) and mature for his age, Dan
(Mickey Rooney, in a throwaway bit).
At first Harvey is belligerent as ever --
demanding to be taken back to shore at once and
even reporting to tell the crew what needs to be
done around ship. But after a good smack from the
Captain and a little friendly patience, kindness
and understanding supplied by Manuel, Harvey
changes his tune. He becomes an integral part of
the crew, and, as time wears on, he begins to
entertain ideas about joining them on a permanent
basis. Harvey views Manuel as the father figure he
never had -- his being too busy in matters of
business to invest time in his upbringing. But
then tragedy strikes. The clipper is wrecked in a
storm and Manuel is dragged to the bottom of the
ocean never to return. Heartbroken, but ever more
the wiser and humble man now, Harvey returns to
his father and after a bit of consternation on
both their parts, accepts that his young life
belongs back at home.
Victor Fleming -- who would direct two of the most
prestigious films in the history of motion
pictures (Gone with The Wind, and, The Wizard of
Oz) employs a masterful sense of adventure on this
occasion -- infusing his tale with great heart,
warmth and action -- not necessarily in that
order. At the start of the project, Spencer Tracy
had entered the role of Manuel with misgivings --
primarily because he thought the curl locks
created from his hair for the part made him appear
somewhat effeminate. Resident bad girl on the lot
-- Joan Crawford did not help matters much when
she passed Tracy in the MGM commissary and loudly
declare, "My God, it's Harpo Marx." Undaunted and
committed to the part forever afterward, Tracy
turned in a brilliant performance -- subtly
nuanced with tenderness and sternness; both
qualities easily earning him the first of two
consecutive Oscars as Best Actor.
Warner Home Video's transfer on Captains
Courageous is an unexpected delight. Considering
that the film elements are over 70 years old the
picture quality on this DVD is remarkable and in
several sequences -- absolutely astounding. The
grayscale has been impeccably rendered with deep
solid blacks and fine tonality throughout. Whites
are generally clean. Age-related artifacts are
kept to a bare minimum. Certain scenes appear
slightly more softly focused -- and there are
several instances (mostly during the use of rear
projection and/or stock shots) in which film grain
appears heavier than perhaps it should.
Nevertheless, this is a visually satisfying
transfer and one that will surely not disappoint.
The audio has been cleaned up as well and is
presented in its original mono at an adequate
listening level. Extras are feeble at best --
including two short subjects that are literally
throw aways. |
