Capitães do Mar

I know it's not the most winning title in the world, but wow: what a picture! I think it's safe to say it's a pretty obscure film - I know I'd never heard of it, and I think that it might have even slipped into the public domain. It has not much more than a stub on Wikipedia in spite of the high pedigree: released by 20th Century Fox, starring Lionel Barrymore, Dean Stockwell and Richard Widmark and directed by Henry Hathaway.

I figured I'd hang around for the first few minutes and then turn it off, but I found myself utterly hooked and on the edge of my seat by the really exciting and tense finale. It is just an excellent, compelling, really well-made (in spite of the obvious studio confines which tend to show up in all sea pictures of the era- rear projections and such) picture with unexpected acting honors going to Lionel Barrymore, an actor I've always been somewhat iffy on- I think some of his early work (esp. A Free Soul ) can be really hammy, but as he aged into a genuine old man (he played old way before his time) an endearing quality works its way into his performances- and I think the one he gave in this film was the best I've seen from him thus far.

I don't know if the film was a box office disappointment, but seriously: Barrymore deserved an Oscar nomination for Best Actor, especially since there were some really weak entries in the race that year, and frankly, I preferred Ships to most of the films nominated for Best Picture that year. It could not have been an easy picture to make, write, or act- but everyone pulls it off. I found it very touching and, quite frankly, I liked it better than Captain's Courageous (a film to which it does bear undeniable similarities.)