Movie: Captain Courageous (1937), Not RatedDate Watched: May 30, 2009
Stars Your Parents May Know: Spencer Tracy, Lionel Barrymore
Recommendation: ★★★★★
Treats Served: None
Review: Captain Courageous, made in 1937, is a black and white film about a spoiled rich boy, Harvey Cheyne, who gets "rusticated" (expelled) from boarding (sleep away) school for lying and threatening his classmates and a teacher. Harvey's father thinks that Harvey's bad behavior is because he isn't a good father and he has no mother.
To teach Harvey how to be not so creepy and improve their relationship, his father takes Harvey on a cruise...on his own cruise ship. At the very beginning of the trip, Harvey falls of the boat and is rescued by fisherman, Manuel (Spencer Tracy.) Harvey is welcomed onto Manuel's big fishing boat and expects to be treated like a king. He is very mistaken.
Sever months later when the ship gets back to land, Harvey and his father find each other again. Harvey is a better kid now because of his relationship with Manuel. Manuel taught him to fish and he taught him what a good relationship is like. Life on a fishing boat is not like boarding school, so Harvey learned how different people live.
This movie teaches that relationships are important and that you should trat people nicely even if they're different. Freddie Bartholomew does a terrific job of playing the creepy Harvey.
For the next couple of days at my house, whenever I didn't listen, my mom said I was a creep just like Harvey.
I think you should watch this movie. But watch the trailer and you decide.
