Two Years Before the Mast (John Farrow, 1946)
I was excited about getting a chance to watch this one seeing as how it seems to be largely unavailable (except in a mostly unwatchable print) and yet seems to be on several "great adventure films" lists. Based on a true story and a bestselling book written by one of the men on the ship, Richard Henry Dana. The story itself is pretty predictable. The sailors get tired of the captain's ruthlessness and cruelty and decide to mutiny. They are spurred on by the rich playboy son of a shipowner who gets kidnapped and ends up as one of the crew. The film chronicles the atrocities committed by the captain and the inhuman conditions that the sailors were subject to at the time. The book is supposed to have led to the passing of a Congressional bill protecting the rights of merchant seamen.
The film moves at a reasonable pace for the most part and is interesting enough as an adventure tale but the real reason to watch the film is the performances. I am not really familiar with these actors but they bring so much depth to what is an otherwise fairly flat tale. William Bendix is so great as Amazeen and Barry Fitzgerald is great too as Terence O'Feenaghty. But the real standout is Howard Da Silva as the evil Captain Thompson. He always keeps the character from being a mere caricature and yet manages to make him truly menacing.
Unfortunately the film sort of falls apart in the third act. Everything feels rushed and the resolution is less than satisfying. Now I really want to watch Mutiny on the Bounty to see how it compares.
Grade: C+