CAPTAINS COURAGEOUS, 1937, Warner Bros., 115 min. Director Victor Fleming adapts Rudyard Kipling’s novel to stirring effect, with Freddie Bartholomew as a spoiled rich brat who falls off a cruise ship and is rescued by simple Portuguese fisherman Spencer Tracy (who won Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal). With his imperious ways not tolerated by the salty crew, Bartholomew grows up while on board crusty captain Lionel Barrymore’s vessel and comes to see Tracy’s character, with his gentle, quietly philosophical ways, as a father figure.
THE FARMER TAKES A WIFE, 1935, 20th Century Fox, 91 min. In his screen debut, Henry Fonda is a mid-19th century farmer working on the Erie Canal to save money to buy land. He becomes smitten when he meets vivacious canal boat worker Janet Gaynor. But the prospect of farm living is no match for the excitement of her wanderer’s life. Director Victor Fleming took a brief vacation from MGM to helm this charming love story.