blackbird's two minute movie reviews

There's almost nothing better than sitting in front of a fire watching an old movie.
Well, maybe if there was some cheese involved...though there was clam dip, and I suppose clam dip was appropriate this time as we watched Captains Courageous!

Shall I tell you a little bit about Captains Courageous?




Little Chauncey McTavishment, here, is a spoiled, wealthy, little shit. Not quite Bad Seed but close. He cheats and is cruel and uses his wealth to try to bring down a teacher at his schmancy boarding school. Luckily (for humanity) Chauncey's dad, Lionel American Wealthy Businessman McTavishment, is no idiot and, when Chauncey is sent down from school after pissing off everyone within a ten mile radius, Lionel realizes that the boy needs some time with him to bond and get to know each other and decides to bring him along on a business trip by ship. Chauncey manages to make trouble on the ship too and THEN manages to fall overboard. He's saved by Spencer Tracy who does his best Chico Marx impersonation for the next two hours and brings young Chauncey back to his fishing boat for a real-man's Deadliest Catch adventure on the high seas.

 

It's an all-star cast, with that creepy Mr. Potter from It's a Wonderful Life (a film I will NEVER watch again*) and several other old-timey stars and there is action and tender moments and, if you can live through Spencer Tracy's terrible accent, a great story.


 

Little Chauncey McTavishment learns the way of real honest men and is eventually reunited with his dad in a sentimentally sweet ending.

 


Grab some popcorn and snuggle up. It's a good one.


*Several years ago I made one of the boys watch It's a Wonderful Life with me as I thought we could enjoy a cinematic moment together and the boy (can't remember which one) pointed out that it is a HORRIBLE movie and deeply depressing and I realized he was perfectly correct and vowed never to make myself suffer thought it again.