SummaryA spoiled brat who falls overboard from a steamship in the 1920s gets picked up by a New England fishing boat, where he's made to earn his keep by joining the crew in their work.
Directed By:Victor Fleming
Written By:Rudyard Kipling, John Lee Mahin, Marc Connelly, Dale Van Every, Tom Kilpatrick
Captains Courageous
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
81
User score
Mixed or Average
5.9
My Score
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Top Cast
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
100% Positive
7 Reviews
7 Reviews
0% Mixed
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
100
For once, a script perfectly suited to its director and star and one of the most lyrical children's classics ever made.
90
The production values are incredible; in both drama and visuals, I'd put this sea tale up against the unsinkable "Titanic" any day. It's emotionally engaging too, though it's a different kind of love story. Director Victor Fleming (before "The Wizard of Oz" and "Gone With the Wind") makes chopping fish heads seem romantic. [04 Mar 1999, p.F18]
80
The Kipling yarn, built around a wealthy, motherless brat who accidentaly lands with a cod-fishing fleet, and undergoes regeneration during an enforced three months’ piscatorial quest, has been given splendid production, performance, photography and dramatic composition.
80
The 1937 movie excels with outstanding performances by child star Freddie Bartholomew and Spencer Tracy. [20 Jun 1999, p.56]
80
With its rich production, magnificent marine photography, admirable direction and performances, the film brings vividly to life every page of Kipling's novel and even adds an exciting chapter or two of its own.
75
On either end of Harvey’s adventure, Captains Courageous goes on a bit too long; the circumstances of his boarding-school transgressions are needlessly overcomplicated, and the emotional denouement is less than concise. But the seafaring section that makes up the majority of the film is well-crafted and gives way to surprising emotion.
70
One of M-G-M's powerhouse moralizing "family" entertainments, it's beefy and rousing, with almost guaranteed tears and laughter for children.
User score
Mixed or Average
44% Positive
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
33% Mixed
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
22% Negative
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
Sep 19, 2025
8
So, I have recently really gotten into film and film history, and this is the first older black & white movies I watched in a long, long time. I was blown away by the story and pacing of this movie, and I actually couldn't keep my eyes off of it. Freddie Bartholomew did a fantastic job as Harvey, and the coming of age story here is really wholesome.
Production Company:
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
Release Date:Jun 25, 1937
Duration:1 h 57 m
Rating:G
Tagline:From Rudyard Kipling's best-loved story, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer has fashioned picture. Two years to make! Fortunes to produce! It will live in your memory forever...
Awards
Academy Awards, USA
• 1 Win & 4 Nominations
Photoplay Awards
• 5 Wins & 5 Nominations
New York Film Critics Circle Awards
• 3 Nominations
