Spencer Tracy is tied right up there with Cary Grant as being my favorite actor. And I like (not love) this film. It certainly has a lot going for it -- Tracy, Gene Tierney (whose co-starring role is pivotal, yet smaller than one might expect), Van Johnson, and Leo Genn. The scenes at sea are done well, particularly the storm sequences. Yet, somehow, this film seems to come up just a bit short.
While it's definitely fictionalized, there's a lot of history here, too. I tend to read up on historical films, and this one seems more realistic with the history than one is used to. Oddly enough, Van Johnson -- in my view an "okay" and "pleasant enough" actor -- probably comes off best of actor in this film. Spencer Tracy comes off waaaaay too dour for most of the film, although that does facilitate his redemption after landing at Plymouth; I would have to say that in regard to that characterization, perhaps the director overdid it. Gene Tierney plays who role well, but I think she might have been disappointed in the scope of it. There appears to be at least a possibility that her character did indeed commit suicide in real life, as portrayed in the film. Leo Genn does well as William Bradford (husband of the Tierney character). Lloyd Bridges isn't quite a swashbuckler here -- too earth for that, but plays his role nicely.
So what is it that's missing here. Well, perhaps its that this is a story that should have been inspiring, yet in this rendition seems depressing. A number of Clarence Brown's (director) films are quite notable and enjoyable, and he had worked with Tracy (as Edison) before. But this time the results are disappointing. Interestingly, although this was his last film (1952), he lived another 35 years. Perhaps he realized he no longer had the spark.
While it's definitely fictionalized, there's a lot of history here, too. I tend to read up on historical films, and this one seems more realistic with the history than one is used to. Oddly enough, Van Johnson -- in my view an "okay" and "pleasant enough" actor -- probably comes off best of actor in this film. Spencer Tracy comes off waaaaay too dour for most of the film, although that does facilitate his redemption after landing at Plymouth; I would have to say that in regard to that characterization, perhaps the director overdid it. Gene Tierney plays who role well, but I think she might have been disappointed in the scope of it. There appears to be at least a possibility that her character did indeed commit suicide in real life, as portrayed in the film. Leo Genn does well as William Bradford (husband of the Tierney character). Lloyd Bridges isn't quite a swashbuckler here -- too earth for that, but plays his role nicely.
So what is it that's missing here. Well, perhaps its that this is a story that should have been inspiring, yet in this rendition seems depressing. A number of Clarence Brown's (director) films are quite notable and enjoyable, and he had worked with Tracy (as Edison) before. But this time the results are disappointing. Interestingly, although this was his last film (1952), he lived another 35 years. Perhaps he realized he no longer had the spark.