Captains Courageous

Captains Courageous centres on Harvey Cheyne, the privileged and badly behaved son of a wealthy American businessman. After being suspended from school, Harvey joins his father on a voyage to Europe, but he goes overboard from the liner and is picked up by the crew of a fishing schooner working the Grand Banks. Accustomed to getting his way through his family's money, he finds that his wealth means nothing aboard, and the captain puts him to work for low wages until the vessel returns to port. Under the guidance of the Portuguese fisherman Manuel Fidello, Harvey adjusts to the hard routine of the crew and begins to change.

Victor Fleming directed the film for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, working from a screenplay by Dale Van Every, John Lee Mahin and Marc Connelly, with Louis D. Lighton producing. It followed Fleming's Treasure Island and preceded Test Pilot, Gone with the Wind and The Wizard of Oz. Freddie Bartholomew plays Harvey, Spencer Tracy plays Manuel, and Lionel Barrymore, Melvyn Douglas, Charley Grapewin and Mickey Rooney appear among a credited cast of 58. Made for about 2 million dollars, the film earned a 7.9 rating from 18 critics' reviews as well as 7.9 on IMDb from around 12,000 votes and 7.4 on TMDB from far fewer, indicating strong approval from both reviewers and audiences, with the smaller TMDB sample reflecting its lower visibility there.