That was an excellent one.

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Excellent but underrated film

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

This is a terrific movie with Lionel Barrymore, Spencer Tracy, and Freddy Bartholomew, among others. It is the story of a spoiled child who has never lacked for anything, falling off his father's ocean liner and being picked up by Manuel (Tracy) and brought to their fishing boat. He makes demands on the crew, feeling Iike the world should stop because he is on the ship. They, however, have to get to the Grand Banks and fish at the most opportune time for them. They will get him back in due time, but for now, he is meaningless to them. Not really meaningless, but certainly an annoyance. This is about a change of the soul. The boy goes through a transition as he gets to know the men he eventually works with. He gets to know that people work for a living and life is hard. He also gets to know a loneliness. Bartholomew is a sad figure because it's obvious that his own father, Melvyn Douglas, has had little time for him. This is a beautiful story which creates changes from the book but stands on its own.

While it is an occasionally spirited film dealing with fishermen and their vessels on the seas, I am struck by the film's emotional core, which are those scenes of remarkable intimacy between Spencer Tracy and Freddie Bartholomew. The two actors have a sublime rapport, assisted by the direction of Victor Fleming. Tracy won an Oscar, of course, for his touching, humane portrayal which mixes wisdom with humor and courage, as Manuel, a simple Portuguese fisherman who teaches a young boy about life and helps that formerly spoiled young man mature. Bartholomew, in the role of the rich man's son, gives what has to be the performance of his career.I'm always particularly touched by the scene towards the film's end in which Bartholomew tries, in his own way, to tell the fisherman of his love for him. And it really is a moment of love between these two. Tracy is talking to the boy about the fact that the boy's father will be anxiously looking for him and they will need to be reunited. Bartholmew acknowledges that statement, but starts to ramble. He keeps his head down, looking at the floor as he tries to tell Tracy how he feels. It's one of the most heart wrenching moments ever captured on film. A little boy, formerly self absorbed and proud, dropping all pretense of pride as he emotionally opens up to a man he loves and respects, and can't bear to leave. Tracy, stunned, deeply moved, can only say, "My leetle feesh," as he places his hand on the boy's face. His look and that gentle simple gesture beautifully expresses his feelings at the moment, too. It's a scene that never fails to move me.Later in the film, after the fisherman, the boy's friend and hero, has drowned, Bartholomew, in that scene in which he cries in Manuel's boat, as his father tries to comfort him, captures the anguish and despair that we all feel when we have lost someone very special in our lives, and know we will never see that person again. Victor Fleming touchingly directs a moment which, to me, captures the agony of a young boy dealing with the terrible permanence of death.

Great, emotional drama, based on a novel by Rudyard Kipling.The story of how a spoilt brat of a child matures through having to serve for a few months on a fishing boat. A great story on friendship and respect.Wasn't always shaping up to be that way, however. Starts off looking like a kids movie. Then one kid turns out to be so evil and obnoxious you hardly want to watch anymore. However, once he is on the fishing boat you can start to see the changes. Slowly but surely a better person emerges.Only negative after that is the ending. It was as if the director, Victor Fleming, didn't know when to end it. Lost a bit of focus and lessened the impact of some of the previous scenes. A minor issue though.Good performances by Freddie Batholomew and Spencer Tracy in the lead roles. Tracy won a Best Actor Oscar for his performance.Good support from Lionel Barrymore, Melvyn Douglas and a 16-year old Mickey Rooney. John Carradine has a minor role.

I watched this 1937 winner for the first time tonight and was positively blown away by a movie that hits it out of the park in every department. A moving story about character and human relationships that is beautifully acted, photographed and directed that also just happens to be a great adventure story as well, with some fantastic photography of early 20th century fishing off the New England coast. The movie touches deep human emotions, and the superb script has some wonderfully sharp comic touches, most of them given to the incomparable Spencer Tracy in his fantastic portrayal of Manuel. The great Lionel Barrymore is also memorable as Captain Disko Troop, and it's great to see John Carradine who, as young as he looks here, already had 38 movies to his credit. I guess it's true that it's possible to make great cinematic art that also has popular box office appeal; it's just sad that we see it so rarely nowadays. The movie definitely rates the overworked term, "classic."