I had never heard of this flick and tuned to it (thank you, Turner Classic Movies) primarily because of the presence of the great Spencer Tracy and one of my favorite character actors, Van Johnson, whose acting skills I find vastly underrated. I was not disappointed, and I was surprised to read the many disparaging comments here. I cannot speak for historical accuracy but I found the story gripping and the script very well written. Tracy reminds us again of the reason he is regarded as one the greatest actors of his generation. No doubt that the love interest between him and Bradford's wife is probably apocryphal, and was inserted to fulfill Hollywood's requirement for a romantic angle, but so what? Leaving that aside the movie is a pretty engrossing depiction of the trials and travails of the Pilgrims, although the conditions on their actual voyage were probably a lot grimmer than Hollywood could politely depict in those days. All in all a very worthwhile effort and well worth seeing.
28 Reviews
A well-made but somewhat non-exciting tale
pzanardo27 July 2000
Being Italian, I don't know much about the history of the Pilgrim Fathers. "Plymouth Adventure" appears to be a correct, somewhat non-exciting tale of their voyage to America, with all their sufferings and dismay. A patriotic aura pervades the movie, but exceeding rhetoric is carefully avoided: this is a merit of the film. The photography and the costumes are beautiful, the acting is high-standard. The great Spencer Tracy was fifty-two years old when "Plymouth Adventure" was made, and, unfortunately, he looked seventy. Despite his huge talent, he was definitely too old for the role of the captain of the Mayflower. A main theme in the plot is that the Pilgrims survive during the first terrible winter in America thanks to the decisive help of the rough captain. In fact, despite his strong dislike for the Pilgrims, he decides not to abandon them to sure death, because he loves Dorothy Bradford - Gene Tierney. Well, as a proud fan of Gene Tierney, the idea that her fantastic beauty and loveliness could be so crucial in the development of human history sounds perfectly reasonable to me...
A-picture studio effort is just OK
Panamint1 August 2015
"Plymouth Adventure" somehow manages to avoid being corny or sappy and also avoids being religiously preachy. By sticking to straightforward storytelling it gets the job done in a dignified way that retains your interest as the story unfolds.
Spencer Tracy is too old and craggy for the romantic scenes with a much younger actress, but utterly dominates the film in a constructive manner through extreme talent and skill. He manages to dominate the film without being noisy or over-acting. As usual an amazing demonstration of acting skill by Tracy.
Van Johnson, basically a humble, kindly sort of actor is appropriately cast as a poor man in the hard-working carpentry profession. Leo Genn of the golden voice and saintly countenance is well cast as a gentle, religious-minded leader. Actually Genn's voice is beyond golden- I would describe his voice as 24-carat gold or maybe even platinum. Gene Tierney, a complex and tragic beauty and fine actress, is cast as what else... you guessed it, her character is beautiful and tragic. And on and on I could comment about the triumphs of good casting that add immeasurably to the success of "Plymouth Adventure".
The script is not very dynamic, and while not intense in the movie-drama sense, manages to avoid all the maudlin or preachy traps that it could have fallen into. So, while being far from great, this movie is watchable and generally succeeds in my opinion.
Spencer Tracy is too old and craggy for the romantic scenes with a much younger actress, but utterly dominates the film in a constructive manner through extreme talent and skill. He manages to dominate the film without being noisy or over-acting. As usual an amazing demonstration of acting skill by Tracy.
Van Johnson, basically a humble, kindly sort of actor is appropriately cast as a poor man in the hard-working carpentry profession. Leo Genn of the golden voice and saintly countenance is well cast as a gentle, religious-minded leader. Actually Genn's voice is beyond golden- I would describe his voice as 24-carat gold or maybe even platinum. Gene Tierney, a complex and tragic beauty and fine actress, is cast as what else... you guessed it, her character is beautiful and tragic. And on and on I could comment about the triumphs of good casting that add immeasurably to the success of "Plymouth Adventure".
The script is not very dynamic, and while not intense in the movie-drama sense, manages to avoid all the maudlin or preachy traps that it could have fallen into. So, while being far from great, this movie is watchable and generally succeeds in my opinion.
Hollywood's Pilgrims
sky3walker23 November 2001
Where is the masterpiece American film on this dramatic voyage and settlement of the founders of our democracy? Plymouth Adventure, the best of its kind, has many of the virtues of great American studio work (convincing mise en scene, great ship, vivid action [the storm], fine acting [try to ignore the hobbled accents], and smooth story continuity) and can be enjoyed because of all that, but it never conveys a sense of the agonized desperation and profound spiritual quest of the dissenters. Perhaps Gene Tierney is just too beautfiul, perhaps the costumes are just too sparkling, and certainly the tragic affair with the Captain is better suited to a Douglas Sirk melodrama. For a different account, one can view Mayflower (Anthony Hopkins version), but that errs on the side of political correctness, and drab plotting, and tub-sails a low-budget toy Mayflower. We await the great film about the adventure of these heroic common folks to whom we owe so much.
Scandalous Doings On The Mayflower
bkoganbing18 November 2006
Warning: Spoilers
In doing a review of Plymouth Adventure we should start out by saying this is most definitely not a docudrama about the Pilgrims. This is a film adaption of a novel by Ernest Gebler in which the author threw some things in there that never happened or are the subject of much speculation.
Gene Tierney's character of Dorothy Bradford did in fact drown under unknown circumstances, but there is no reason to think it was suicide as opposed to an accident and her yearnings for Captain William Jones of the Mayflower is just part of the Gebler's fertile imagination. He was certainly imaginative enough giving a little scandalous romance into the Puritan community.
Plymouth Adventure is a nice tribute to those brave and hearty souls who set forth into an unknown land in which half of them died the first winter, but those who survived creating an American national tradition in the Thanksgiving Holiday. And a black day for turkeys everywhere.
Lately the religious right has latched on to the Pilgrims in their efforts to prove America is a Christian nation. Of course once they got here they ran what became the Massachusetts Bay Colony as a theocracy. Still they were an intrepid lot and their courage is beyond question.
Spencer Tracy gives a fine performance as the rugged and cynical sea captain of the Mayflower, the chartered ship which takes the Pilgrims from Southampton to an unknown world. I think Tracy drew a lot from some of the characters in Eugene O'Neill's plays in his portrayal of Jones. He has a moment in which he says that people have disappointed him, but the sea never let him down. Could have come from any of O'Neill's works.
An Oscar for Best Special Effects went to Plymouth Adventure showing some of the travails at sea the Mayflower went through. Back in its day MGM had a huge water tank that was used for all the sea sagas filmed there. Occasionally other studios rented it out, the facility was that good. Tracy has been there before when he was in Captains Courageous in spirit so to speak.
Players like Van Johnson, Lowell Gilmore, Dawn Addams, Noel Drayton, Barry Jones, Kathleen Lockhart play some of the Pilgrim names come down from historical legend. Leo Genn is William Bradford, author of the Mayflower Compact which is cited interminably now by fundamentalist TV reverends as proof of our Christian heritage. Genn who rivaled Ronald Colman as possessor of the most beautiful speaking voice in the English speaking world would be a pleasure to listen to reading the Erie County phone book.
My favorite in this is young Tommy Ivo who played William Button the only voyager on the Mayflower to die at sea. His death scene is a heart string tugging experience.
Not the real story of the Mayflower voyage, Plymouth Adventure is still good entertainment and a stirring tribute to those who formalized the giving of thanks and the reasons they had to be thankful.
Gene Tierney's character of Dorothy Bradford did in fact drown under unknown circumstances, but there is no reason to think it was suicide as opposed to an accident and her yearnings for Captain William Jones of the Mayflower is just part of the Gebler's fertile imagination. He was certainly imaginative enough giving a little scandalous romance into the Puritan community.
Plymouth Adventure is a nice tribute to those brave and hearty souls who set forth into an unknown land in which half of them died the first winter, but those who survived creating an American national tradition in the Thanksgiving Holiday. And a black day for turkeys everywhere.
Lately the religious right has latched on to the Pilgrims in their efforts to prove America is a Christian nation. Of course once they got here they ran what became the Massachusetts Bay Colony as a theocracy. Still they were an intrepid lot and their courage is beyond question.
Spencer Tracy gives a fine performance as the rugged and cynical sea captain of the Mayflower, the chartered ship which takes the Pilgrims from Southampton to an unknown world. I think Tracy drew a lot from some of the characters in Eugene O'Neill's plays in his portrayal of Jones. He has a moment in which he says that people have disappointed him, but the sea never let him down. Could have come from any of O'Neill's works.
An Oscar for Best Special Effects went to Plymouth Adventure showing some of the travails at sea the Mayflower went through. Back in its day MGM had a huge water tank that was used for all the sea sagas filmed there. Occasionally other studios rented it out, the facility was that good. Tracy has been there before when he was in Captains Courageous in spirit so to speak.
Players like Van Johnson, Lowell Gilmore, Dawn Addams, Noel Drayton, Barry Jones, Kathleen Lockhart play some of the Pilgrim names come down from historical legend. Leo Genn is William Bradford, author of the Mayflower Compact which is cited interminably now by fundamentalist TV reverends as proof of our Christian heritage. Genn who rivaled Ronald Colman as possessor of the most beautiful speaking voice in the English speaking world would be a pleasure to listen to reading the Erie County phone book.
My favorite in this is young Tommy Ivo who played William Button the only voyager on the Mayflower to die at sea. His death scene is a heart string tugging experience.
Not the real story of the Mayflower voyage, Plymouth Adventure is still good entertainment and a stirring tribute to those who formalized the giving of thanks and the reasons they had to be thankful.
A lot going for it, but...
vincentlynch-moonoi5 March 2011
Warning: Spoilers
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.
Hollywood style drama about the Mayflower journey to Virginia in 1620 including unexpectedly arriving in Plymouth, Massachusetts.
ma-cortes30 June 2016
It tells the Mayflower odyssey , it was the ship that transported the first English Separatists , known today as the Pilgrims , from Plymouth to the New World in 1620 , a very dangerous voyage carried out by a brave passenger list that made the 96-day storm-filled crossing . There were 102 passengers , the majority of them becoming the settlers of Plymouth Colony in what is now Massachusetts and the crew is estimated to have been about 30, but the exact number is unknown . The pilgrims are looking for a land where they can worship according to their beliefs . Captained by Captain Christopher Jones (Spencer Tracy) who piloted and helped the valiant pilgrims , he stayed at the Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts , waiting for favorable weather to return home to England on the "Mayflower" . This voyage has become an iconic story in some of the earliest annals of American history , with its story of death and of survival in the harsh New England winter environment . About half of these emigrants died in the first Winter . Many Americans can trace their ancestry back to one or more of these individuals who, 'Saints' and 'Strangers' together, would become known as the Pilgrims . Thirteen of the eighteen servants listed were attached to Leiden families, the other five were families who boarded in London . Four of those travelers listed were small children , to be classed as indentured servants . Other notorious pilgrims were John Alden (Van Johnson) , William Bradford (Leo Genn) , Gilbert Winslow (John Dehner) , Edward Winslow (Lowell Gilmore) , and William Brewster (Barry Jones) . Luckily , it took place the culmination of the voyage in the signing of the Mayflower Compact was an event which established a rudimentary form of democracy, with each member contributing to the welfare of the community . The Native Americans living in the area , the Patuxet, were totally wiped out by a series of epidemics between 1616-1619 caught from English fishermen who landed regularly in the area . Indian tribes ran away and fell ill , and then the colonialists built in the cleared area where the Indian village stood and utilized the cleared farm land that the tribe had abandoned . However , actually , after landing in Massachusetts , the colonists tried three times to sail southward to Virginia, but was driven back by storms .
Interesting historical film about the famous feat based on the novel by Ernest Gebler with screenplay by Helen Deutsch , describing trials and tribulations of the risked sea journey , a fundamental event in American history . It packs emotion , drama , love stories and historical happenings . Very good cast plenty of familiar Hollywood faces as Spencer Tracy who has an ill-starred romance with the wife of a religious fanatic well played by Gene Tierney , both of whom had an affair that lasted for the duration of filming . Support cast is frankly excellent , such as : Leo Genn , John Dehner , Barry Jones , Dawn Addams , Lloyd Bridges , Paul Cavanagh and Van Johnson , though filmmaker Clarence Brown later said casting him was a huge mistake . In addition , other uncredited players : John Dierkes , John Alderson , Murray Matheson and Rhys Williams . The film is well based on historical events , though including some fictitious incidents ; as Dorothy Bradford did indeed fall overboard and was drowned while husband William was exploring for a site for the establishment of Plymouth . For once , the colonists are correctly shown building framed houses, and not log cabins as is commonly supposed . Decent production design by prolific Cedric Gibbons , though most film is set on the vessel , being some claustrophobic . Colorful cinematography in Technicolor by William Daniels , Greta Garbo's regular cameraman . Evocative and thrilling musical score by Miklos Rozsa .
The motion picture nicely produced by Dore Schary was professionally directed - though with no enthusiasm- by Clarence Brown . Clarence studied and learned with French director Maurice Tourneur . He directed several actors in Oscar-nominated performances. During his career Brown directed or produced more than 50 widely-acclaimed full-length films , many during his long association with prestigious MGM and worked with many of the industry's most illustrious performers . Clarence got a lot of successes , such as : Anna Karenina , Maria Walewska , Intruder in the dust , The yearling , National velvet , Song of Love , among others .
Interesting historical film about the famous feat based on the novel by Ernest Gebler with screenplay by Helen Deutsch , describing trials and tribulations of the risked sea journey , a fundamental event in American history . It packs emotion , drama , love stories and historical happenings . Very good cast plenty of familiar Hollywood faces as Spencer Tracy who has an ill-starred romance with the wife of a religious fanatic well played by Gene Tierney , both of whom had an affair that lasted for the duration of filming . Support cast is frankly excellent , such as : Leo Genn , John Dehner , Barry Jones , Dawn Addams , Lloyd Bridges , Paul Cavanagh and Van Johnson , though filmmaker Clarence Brown later said casting him was a huge mistake . In addition , other uncredited players : John Dierkes , John Alderson , Murray Matheson and Rhys Williams . The film is well based on historical events , though including some fictitious incidents ; as Dorothy Bradford did indeed fall overboard and was drowned while husband William was exploring for a site for the establishment of Plymouth . For once , the colonists are correctly shown building framed houses, and not log cabins as is commonly supposed . Decent production design by prolific Cedric Gibbons , though most film is set on the vessel , being some claustrophobic . Colorful cinematography in Technicolor by William Daniels , Greta Garbo's regular cameraman . Evocative and thrilling musical score by Miklos Rozsa .
The motion picture nicely produced by Dore Schary was professionally directed - though with no enthusiasm- by Clarence Brown . Clarence studied and learned with French director Maurice Tourneur . He directed several actors in Oscar-nominated performances. During his career Brown directed or produced more than 50 widely-acclaimed full-length films , many during his long association with prestigious MGM and worked with many of the industry's most illustrious performers . Clarence got a lot of successes , such as : Anna Karenina , Maria Walewska , Intruder in the dust , The yearling , National velvet , Song of Love , among others .
Just a fair fictional account of the Mayflower voyage
SimonJack19 July 2021
"Plymouth Adventure" is a 1952 MGM historical drama filmed in color, about the 1620 voyage of the Mayflower and settlement at Plymouth Rock. It's based on a 1950 novel, "The Plymouth Adventure," by Ernest Gebler. This is a highly fictionalized account of the Mayflower voyage. While the main characters of the actual voyage and first colony are here, some of the stories about them are fictional. Van Johnson plays John Alden, Dawn Addams plays Priscilla Mullins, Barry Jones plays William Brewster, and Noel Drayton plays Miles Standish.
William Bradford, played by Leo Genn, was not a prominent member of the Mayflower pilgrims, as the movie shows, until after the Plymouth colony was established. The Bradfords had a 3-year-old son whom they left with her parents when they made the Mayflower voyage. Although Bradford's wife fell overboard and drowned while he was in the party exploring the land, it's preposterous to conclude that she and the ships' captain were in love or had anything like an affair. Hollywood just has to sensationalize, even if it means fabricating history and distorting the truth.
One very good aspect of this film is its portrayal of the hardships in the voyage. Another is the depiction of tall ships of that time battling the North Atlantic storms. The Mayflower indeed suffered serious damage as record by Bradford and others. But, the general attitude of Captain Jones, played by Spencer Tracy, must be suspect. He clearly harbors disgust, if not outright hatred toward the pilgrims. Although the printed reports of the harsh conditions of ocean crossings had circulated in England and other European centers for years before this, other common reports were about the opportunities and horizons the New World offered. So, explorers, pilgrims, adventurers and others setting out for or dreaming about the New World were common. Many, if not most mariners also had a sense of adventure and wouldn't have looked down on or despised the passengers they carried to the New World. But then, that depiction in this film also may have been for dramatic effect. Perhaps Spencer Tracy would not have been satisfied playing a mild-mannered or otherwise pleasant captain of such a famous ship from history.
The movie has several prominent actors of the day, but no noteworthy performances. It won the Oscar for special effects.
For an action picture at sea and with such a cast, this film failed to pack 'em in at the box office. It actually lost money for MGM because of it's high budget. It's not a particularly good film for its history - then, only for the general fact of the pilgrims, the ship and founding of Plymouth Colony. The best reason for seeing the film is the depiction of the tall ships sailing and weathering severe storms at sea.
William Bradford, played by Leo Genn, was not a prominent member of the Mayflower pilgrims, as the movie shows, until after the Plymouth colony was established. The Bradfords had a 3-year-old son whom they left with her parents when they made the Mayflower voyage. Although Bradford's wife fell overboard and drowned while he was in the party exploring the land, it's preposterous to conclude that she and the ships' captain were in love or had anything like an affair. Hollywood just has to sensationalize, even if it means fabricating history and distorting the truth.
One very good aspect of this film is its portrayal of the hardships in the voyage. Another is the depiction of tall ships of that time battling the North Atlantic storms. The Mayflower indeed suffered serious damage as record by Bradford and others. But, the general attitude of Captain Jones, played by Spencer Tracy, must be suspect. He clearly harbors disgust, if not outright hatred toward the pilgrims. Although the printed reports of the harsh conditions of ocean crossings had circulated in England and other European centers for years before this, other common reports were about the opportunities and horizons the New World offered. So, explorers, pilgrims, adventurers and others setting out for or dreaming about the New World were common. Many, if not most mariners also had a sense of adventure and wouldn't have looked down on or despised the passengers they carried to the New World. But then, that depiction in this film also may have been for dramatic effect. Perhaps Spencer Tracy would not have been satisfied playing a mild-mannered or otherwise pleasant captain of such a famous ship from history.
The movie has several prominent actors of the day, but no noteworthy performances. It won the Oscar for special effects.
For an action picture at sea and with such a cast, this film failed to pack 'em in at the box office. It actually lost money for MGM because of it's high budget. It's not a particularly good film for its history - then, only for the general fact of the pilgrims, the ship and founding of Plymouth Colony. The best reason for seeing the film is the depiction of the tall ships sailing and weathering severe storms at sea.
Fictionalized Extra-Marital Affair Plagues Mr. Tracy In Turkey & Pumpkin Pie Fest.
redryan6428 November 2011
Warning: Spoilers
PERHAPS WITH AN eye looking back at the success of historical novels having been brought to the screen the form of highly $ucce$$ful films at the Box Office, MGM took this story of the Pilgrioms' flight to the New World and gave it a whirl. Their reasoning was sound; for, after all, hadn't there been both critical acclaim and popular acceptance of the story of the French & Indian Wars in NORTHWEST PASSAGE* (MGM, 1940)?
IN MUCH THE same manner, this PLYMOUTH ADVENTURE took some top stars from the MGM stable; adding some new ones and even borrowed Miss Gene Tierney from 20th Century-Fox, just for good measure. Spencer Tracy and Van Johnson headed up the fine cast; which also included Leo Genn, Dawn Adams, Lloyd Bridges and Welshman, Rhys Williams.
AS WITH MANY a "Sure thing-Can't miss" project, it sort of fell short of its expected mark. While providing an interesting (and obviously embellished) version of the trials and tribulations of this outlawed religious sect, it left us just a little bored at times.
RELYING ON STRONG characterizations, the story gave us a great contrast in personalities. The protagonists ranged from the cynical and world weary Captain Jones (Spence), skipper of the Mayflower, to the fine and virtuous-such as portrayed by Miss Tierney and Mr. Genn, to the totally unscrupulous merchant (Rhys Williams)and the insubordinate and mutinous first mate (Lloyd Bridges). True to the characterization by one William Henry Longfellow, the character of military man, Miles Standish, is relegated to that of comic relief.
IN SOME WAYS the movie has the look of a History Channel docudrama, what with the costuming and the sets often seeming to take on more importance than the story line. Indeed, much of the scene location imagery looks very much like it could be used as illustrations for junior high school level history books. Even the selection of the level of color being used seems to be a level or two below that of the previously mentioned NORTHWEST PASSAGE.
HAVING BEEN RELEASED for the Thanksgiving Holiday in 1952, PLYMOUTH ADVENTURE certainly must have been well received; even to the extent of being in the mode of those films that were endorsed by educators as being recommended for the whole family. Which makes us wonder if this was at least the partial motivation in making the movie. You know, it was sort of MGM's contribution to the National Image. the popular myth; knda like "Ma's Apple Pie". (Oh, excuse us, please. We meant "Pumpkin Pie!" We almost forgot about which Holiday we were celebrating!)
NOTE: * The full title included a subtitle. It was and remains in today's prints: "NORTHWEST PASSAGE: BOOK I, ROGERS' RANGERS."
IN MUCH THE same manner, this PLYMOUTH ADVENTURE took some top stars from the MGM stable; adding some new ones and even borrowed Miss Gene Tierney from 20th Century-Fox, just for good measure. Spencer Tracy and Van Johnson headed up the fine cast; which also included Leo Genn, Dawn Adams, Lloyd Bridges and Welshman, Rhys Williams.
AS WITH MANY a "Sure thing-Can't miss" project, it sort of fell short of its expected mark. While providing an interesting (and obviously embellished) version of the trials and tribulations of this outlawed religious sect, it left us just a little bored at times.
RELYING ON STRONG characterizations, the story gave us a great contrast in personalities. The protagonists ranged from the cynical and world weary Captain Jones (Spence), skipper of the Mayflower, to the fine and virtuous-such as portrayed by Miss Tierney and Mr. Genn, to the totally unscrupulous merchant (Rhys Williams)and the insubordinate and mutinous first mate (Lloyd Bridges). True to the characterization by one William Henry Longfellow, the character of military man, Miles Standish, is relegated to that of comic relief.
IN SOME WAYS the movie has the look of a History Channel docudrama, what with the costuming and the sets often seeming to take on more importance than the story line. Indeed, much of the scene location imagery looks very much like it could be used as illustrations for junior high school level history books. Even the selection of the level of color being used seems to be a level or two below that of the previously mentioned NORTHWEST PASSAGE.
HAVING BEEN RELEASED for the Thanksgiving Holiday in 1952, PLYMOUTH ADVENTURE certainly must have been well received; even to the extent of being in the mode of those films that were endorsed by educators as being recommended for the whole family. Which makes us wonder if this was at least the partial motivation in making the movie. You know, it was sort of MGM's contribution to the National Image. the popular myth; knda like "Ma's Apple Pie". (Oh, excuse us, please. We meant "Pumpkin Pie!" We almost forgot about which Holiday we were celebrating!)
NOTE: * The full title included a subtitle. It was and remains in today's prints: "NORTHWEST PASSAGE: BOOK I, ROGERS' RANGERS."
Despite underdeveloped characters and unbelievable romance, there is still some compelling historical verisimilitude here
Turfseer26 May 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Let's get real folks! Do you really believe that any screenwriter would be able to turn a limited historical event such as the voyage of the Mayflower, into a fully realized compelling drama? The main take is that it was an extremely arduous journey and I think that the film scenarists did a pretty good job conveying that.
As far as the human drama-yeah, the romance part was contrived, but the optimistic message was still a good one. We'll get to that in a moment.
I like how they cast Spencer Tracy against type as the cynical Captain Christopher Jones and no I don't think he was too old for the part (the real Captain Jones I believe was only two years younger than Tracy who was 52 at the time the film was released).
Much was made in the beginning of the film of the businessman Weston (an uncredited Rhys Williams) who supposedly tore up the original agreement to bring the church dissidents (Puritans) to Virginia, paying Captain Jones to ship them to Massachusetts instead. The plan was to buy up the land there where the dissidents would end up beholden to the unscrupulous Weston.
In my reading I found no evidence this is what happened. We do learn that not only were the Puritans living in Holland before coming to The New World but not everyone on the ship were pious churchgoers.
The challenge of the film was to flesh out all the historical characters we're familiar with from history. I think the best was John Dehner as Gilbert Winslow who serves as the narrator here as well as an impromptu poet (Shakespeare anyone?). His storied defense of the Puritans as brave men in opposition to Captain Jones disparagement of them as "losers," is one of the most memorable scenes in the film.
Some of the other passengers remain underdeveloped. There's a hint of romance between carpenter John Alden (Van Johnson) and Priscilla Mullins (Dawn Addams), a comic scene with Noel Drayton as Miles Standish coaching the potential settlers how to use a musket and Lloyd Bridges as First Mate Coppin acting as the captain's enforcer (mainly getting into various scrapes with the hot-headed Alden).
Leo Genn as William Bradford (who kept a diary which formed the basis for much of what we know about the Mayflower and later became the first governor of Massachusetts) is paired off with wife Dorothy (Gene Tierney). Bradford's big moment is being saved by Captain Jones after being swept overboard during the storm.
Speaking of the storm-it's a truly harrowing scene with everyone being tossed about below deck. Kudos to the special effects department.
Which brings us to the central weakness of the plot: Dorothy's attraction to the horribly gruff, curmudgeonly captain. Throughout she despises him until her husband's rescue. But is that enough for her to suddenly kiss a man who she regards as terribly crude?
And when would a pious Christian woman give into temptation like that?
History has it that Dorothy Bradford died after falling overboard under mysterious circumstances. But suicide? A most unlikely proposition.
Nonetheless Dorothy's death is the catalyst for Captain Jones's redemption. He keeps his ship in the harbor at Cape Cod to assist the settlers as they acclimate to the harsh New England winter. Historically however, he remained at Cape Cod to give his crew members to recuperate after many fell sick.
Still Captain Jones's transformation into a good guy inspired by the pious and courageous passengers symbolizes that strength and courage can even leave its mark on those who initially appear forsaken by God.
While many characters receive short shrift and the romance angle is not at all credible, Plymouth Adventure still manages to score points in terms of historical verisimilitude.
As far as the human drama-yeah, the romance part was contrived, but the optimistic message was still a good one. We'll get to that in a moment.
I like how they cast Spencer Tracy against type as the cynical Captain Christopher Jones and no I don't think he was too old for the part (the real Captain Jones I believe was only two years younger than Tracy who was 52 at the time the film was released).
Much was made in the beginning of the film of the businessman Weston (an uncredited Rhys Williams) who supposedly tore up the original agreement to bring the church dissidents (Puritans) to Virginia, paying Captain Jones to ship them to Massachusetts instead. The plan was to buy up the land there where the dissidents would end up beholden to the unscrupulous Weston.
In my reading I found no evidence this is what happened. We do learn that not only were the Puritans living in Holland before coming to The New World but not everyone on the ship were pious churchgoers.
The challenge of the film was to flesh out all the historical characters we're familiar with from history. I think the best was John Dehner as Gilbert Winslow who serves as the narrator here as well as an impromptu poet (Shakespeare anyone?). His storied defense of the Puritans as brave men in opposition to Captain Jones disparagement of them as "losers," is one of the most memorable scenes in the film.
Some of the other passengers remain underdeveloped. There's a hint of romance between carpenter John Alden (Van Johnson) and Priscilla Mullins (Dawn Addams), a comic scene with Noel Drayton as Miles Standish coaching the potential settlers how to use a musket and Lloyd Bridges as First Mate Coppin acting as the captain's enforcer (mainly getting into various scrapes with the hot-headed Alden).
Leo Genn as William Bradford (who kept a diary which formed the basis for much of what we know about the Mayflower and later became the first governor of Massachusetts) is paired off with wife Dorothy (Gene Tierney). Bradford's big moment is being saved by Captain Jones after being swept overboard during the storm.
Speaking of the storm-it's a truly harrowing scene with everyone being tossed about below deck. Kudos to the special effects department.
Which brings us to the central weakness of the plot: Dorothy's attraction to the horribly gruff, curmudgeonly captain. Throughout she despises him until her husband's rescue. But is that enough for her to suddenly kiss a man who she regards as terribly crude?
And when would a pious Christian woman give into temptation like that?
History has it that Dorothy Bradford died after falling overboard under mysterious circumstances. But suicide? A most unlikely proposition.
Nonetheless Dorothy's death is the catalyst for Captain Jones's redemption. He keeps his ship in the harbor at Cape Cod to assist the settlers as they acclimate to the harsh New England winter. Historically however, he remained at Cape Cod to give his crew members to recuperate after many fell sick.
Still Captain Jones's transformation into a good guy inspired by the pious and courageous passengers symbolizes that strength and courage can even leave its mark on those who initially appear forsaken by God.
While many characters receive short shrift and the romance angle is not at all credible, Plymouth Adventure still manages to score points in terms of historical verisimilitude.
A Thanksgiving Turkey from MGM
wes-connors21 November 2010
This is the story of how the English pilgrims journeyed over the treacherous Atlantic waters, to form their colony at Plymouth, Massachusetts. These were the "seeds" that grew into The United States of America. Helming the famous "Mayflower" ship of colonists is grouchy Spencer Tracy (as Christopher Jones). Mr. Tracy doesn't let his passengers know they are headed for New England, instead of Virginia. But, in the end, the local "savages" are more friendly up North, we are told...
How these adventurers survived the hellish conditions is revealed to be due to Tracy's forbidden love for the wife of passenger pilgrim Leo Genn, a Godly-clean and good-looking Gene Tierney (as Dorothy Bradford). Tracy gets drunk and tries to have "his way" with her, but she apparently isn't prone to rape fantasies. They continue to make "goo-goo eyes" at each other, though. Meanwhile, carpenter Van Johnson (as John Alden) ogles pretty Dawn Addams (as Priscilla Mullins)...
Here is a prime example of a film that would seem to have everything going for it - but the story floats like a stone. Tracy and Mr. Johnson saw their 1951 "Quigley Box Office Star" positions plummet from #10 (Tracy) and #24 (Johnson), after setting sail. Director Clarence Brown retired. If you do hang around until they reach land, you'll see Mr. Brown and photographer William Daniels create a gorgeous location. Lloyd Bridges (as Coppin) is one who doesn't look like a fish out of water.
**** Plymouth Adventure (11/14/52) Clarence Brown ~ Spencer Tracy, Gene Tierney, Van Johnson, Lloyd Bridges
How these adventurers survived the hellish conditions is revealed to be due to Tracy's forbidden love for the wife of passenger pilgrim Leo Genn, a Godly-clean and good-looking Gene Tierney (as Dorothy Bradford). Tracy gets drunk and tries to have "his way" with her, but she apparently isn't prone to rape fantasies. They continue to make "goo-goo eyes" at each other, though. Meanwhile, carpenter Van Johnson (as John Alden) ogles pretty Dawn Addams (as Priscilla Mullins)...
Here is a prime example of a film that would seem to have everything going for it - but the story floats like a stone. Tracy and Mr. Johnson saw their 1951 "Quigley Box Office Star" positions plummet from #10 (Tracy) and #24 (Johnson), after setting sail. Director Clarence Brown retired. If you do hang around until they reach land, you'll see Mr. Brown and photographer William Daniels create a gorgeous location. Lloyd Bridges (as Coppin) is one who doesn't look like a fish out of water.
**** Plymouth Adventure (11/14/52) Clarence Brown ~ Spencer Tracy, Gene Tierney, Van Johnson, Lloyd Bridges
Beautiful and romantic with wonderful dialogue
Catharina_Sweden30 August 2015
This is a very fine movie! As I am not American these pilgrims have not meant so much to me - although I recognized a name or two - but now I feel I know them and understand them a little. Not only because of what I learned in the movie itself, but from the reading I have done after wards because it awakened my interest and curiosity. Good historical movies shall work just like that - and for a good cause a little poetical license is acceptable! Because without the unconsummated and tragic love story, also if it did not happen in reality, this movie would not have been half as thrilling.
Some reviewers here have complained that Spencer Tracy looks too old to play Captain Jones, but I find this strange as the real Captain Jones was the same age as Tracy... and as Jones also partook of the hardships on board, not only on this famous voyage but in a whole life at sea, and in fact died only a year after he returned to England, HE probably did not look like a spring chicken either... I also must admit that I at least find Tracy attractive in this part!
The best thing about this movie is the dialogue; there are many lines that are as beautiful as poetry. Captain Jones' words when he talks of his broken ship, his lonely nights and his feverish longing for Mrs Bradford, is some of the best dialogue I have ever heard in a love scene written for a movie. Very pungent and erotic with a feeling of impending doom...
The feeling of being transported to the time period is very good. The sailing part is as far as I can see accurate - you get to see a little of the sailors really working the sails, pulling up the anchor etc. (I would have wanted more of this). The photo is beautiful and there are impressive storm scenes etc..
There is one thing lacking though: I would have expected more religious ardor from the passengers. More spirit. After all: these are the founding fathers!!! I think they come out as too ordinary, too preoccupied with practical matters like any migrating peasants.
Some reviewers here have complained that Spencer Tracy looks too old to play Captain Jones, but I find this strange as the real Captain Jones was the same age as Tracy... and as Jones also partook of the hardships on board, not only on this famous voyage but in a whole life at sea, and in fact died only a year after he returned to England, HE probably did not look like a spring chicken either... I also must admit that I at least find Tracy attractive in this part!
The best thing about this movie is the dialogue; there are many lines that are as beautiful as poetry. Captain Jones' words when he talks of his broken ship, his lonely nights and his feverish longing for Mrs Bradford, is some of the best dialogue I have ever heard in a love scene written for a movie. Very pungent and erotic with a feeling of impending doom...
The feeling of being transported to the time period is very good. The sailing part is as far as I can see accurate - you get to see a little of the sailors really working the sails, pulling up the anchor etc. (I would have wanted more of this). The photo is beautiful and there are impressive storm scenes etc..
There is one thing lacking though: I would have expected more religious ardor from the passengers. More spirit. After all: these are the founding fathers!!! I think they come out as too ordinary, too preoccupied with practical matters like any migrating peasants.
historical drama
SnoopyStyle18 December 2023
It's 1620 Southampton, England. Pilgrim families are waiting to board the Mayflower. Christopher Jones (Spencer Tracy) is the Captain. The authority is looking to hang the group's leader William Brewster. Among the crew is first-mate Coppin (Lloyd Bridges) and new ship's carpenter John Alden (Van Johnson). The captain conflicts with Dorothy Bradford (Gene Tierney) who is married to William Bradford. Company agent Weston bribes Jones to drop the Pilgrim in Cape Cod, hundreds of miles away from their intended destination in Virginia.
The production spent a lot of money and it shows on the screen. It did win the Oscar for Best Special Effects. Like always with historical dramas, accuracy is suspect. Everything else is a bit middling. This has great actors, but they can't do more than on the page. It feels a bit scattered as the story follows many characters. It's a bit old school with veteran director Clarence Brown and it turns out to be his last. There may not be enough drama to do a movie about the voyage and the movie does not disprove that fear. The romantic drama feels manufactured. In the end, this has the one Oscar and not much else.
The production spent a lot of money and it shows on the screen. It did win the Oscar for Best Special Effects. Like always with historical dramas, accuracy is suspect. Everything else is a bit middling. This has great actors, but they can't do more than on the page. It feels a bit scattered as the story follows many characters. It's a bit old school with veteran director Clarence Brown and it turns out to be his last. There may not be enough drama to do a movie about the voyage and the movie does not disprove that fear. The romantic drama feels manufactured. In the end, this has the one Oscar and not much else.
Pilgrims Survive, But the Movie Is DOA
evanston_dad21 November 2016
Short on adventure and long on talkiness, this 1952 big-budget release from MGM sinks faster than you can say "Mayflower."
Yes, one of the most famous of famous ships is the main character, and it's only slightly more wooden than the cast that climbs aboard and ventures to the new world. That cast is led by perennial grump Spencer Tracy, who commands the ship and hates all the passengers, until their goody-goodness and preaching about God and opportunity makes him see the error of his ways. Leo Genn gives the film's best performance as the passenger with the best oratorical skills. He also happens to be married to Gene Tierney, who's given absolutely nothing to do until she gets to commit suicide, probably to escape from the boredom of the film, in a plot twist that makes absolutely no sense since nothing was done by the screenplay up to that point to establish it.
Speaking of the screenplay, the writers must have been paid by the word, because this particular group of passengers talk a LOT about all the things that aren't interesting, while few of the things that would be interesting about a story like this never happen. The film got the lavish Technicolor treatment from MGM and a sea storm garnered it an Oscar for Best Special Effects, but even if the pilgrims themselves were not dead on arrival, the movie certainly is.
Grade: C-
Yes, one of the most famous of famous ships is the main character, and it's only slightly more wooden than the cast that climbs aboard and ventures to the new world. That cast is led by perennial grump Spencer Tracy, who commands the ship and hates all the passengers, until their goody-goodness and preaching about God and opportunity makes him see the error of his ways. Leo Genn gives the film's best performance as the passenger with the best oratorical skills. He also happens to be married to Gene Tierney, who's given absolutely nothing to do until she gets to commit suicide, probably to escape from the boredom of the film, in a plot twist that makes absolutely no sense since nothing was done by the screenplay up to that point to establish it.
Speaking of the screenplay, the writers must have been paid by the word, because this particular group of passengers talk a LOT about all the things that aren't interesting, while few of the things that would be interesting about a story like this never happen. The film got the lavish Technicolor treatment from MGM and a sea storm garnered it an Oscar for Best Special Effects, but even if the pilgrims themselves were not dead on arrival, the movie certainly is.
Grade: C-
Spencer Tracy seems miscast as a dour and cynical sea captain...
Doylenf20 November 2011
An already aged-looking SPENCER TRACY is Captain Jones of the Mayflower in this MGM visualization of what the crossing to the New World may have been like on an overcrowded ship full of hopeful, determined passengers and crew. But neither he nor GENE TIERNEY (as Mrs. Bradford) seem at home in roles that are never really fleshed out by the script. Nevertheless, Tierney gets plenty of wistful close-ups as she gazes toward the horizon (or Tracy), but little of substance to do.
Neither does VAN JOHNSON get more than a brief supporting role as John Alden. LEO GENN gets more material as Tierney's stuffed shirt husband but little can be said of the other passengers except for LLOYD BRIDGES who struts around as a bronzed, blue-eyed pirate with taking ways. He at least livens up the scene whenever he's around.
The main trouble is the lack of strong drama in the script. Most of the passengers are a dull lot. Added to that, the lack of real chemistry between Tracy and Tierney makes it difficult to believe their love could be deep enough for her to care about this rude and cynical man completely lacking any sort of refinement in his nature.
The big storm scene is well realized and staged for maximum effect, but only serves to remind us how dull the other sections of the film are.
Summing up: A very uneven drama about an historical event that celebrated the birth of the New World. Should have been so much better.
Neither does VAN JOHNSON get more than a brief supporting role as John Alden. LEO GENN gets more material as Tierney's stuffed shirt husband but little can be said of the other passengers except for LLOYD BRIDGES who struts around as a bronzed, blue-eyed pirate with taking ways. He at least livens up the scene whenever he's around.
The main trouble is the lack of strong drama in the script. Most of the passengers are a dull lot. Added to that, the lack of real chemistry between Tracy and Tierney makes it difficult to believe their love could be deep enough for her to care about this rude and cynical man completely lacking any sort of refinement in his nature.
The big storm scene is well realized and staged for maximum effect, but only serves to remind us how dull the other sections of the film are.
Summing up: A very uneven drama about an historical event that celebrated the birth of the New World. Should have been so much better.
Down To The Sea In Ships.
rmax30482320 November 2010
Warning: Spoilers
Kids, I was compelled to check the "spoilers" box because you -- lacking in curiosity as you are -- might not know that the "Mayflower" was the ship on which the Pilgrims sailed to Boston in 1620. (That is, 1620 AD.) Henry Cabot Lodge was one of the passengers. (Well, he might as well have been.) The reason the Pilgrims were moving from Plymouth to Plymouth Rock was that they'd been subject to religious persecution in England. They didn't feel that the Church of England had moved far enough away from the sybaritic splendor of the highly ritualized Roman Catholic Church. It's a little complicated, but that's the general idea.
Well, it was a perilous trip across the North Atlantic in 1620. They used sailing ships in those days, and they were almighty slow, so people ran out of food and water and stuff like that. Not like the today's QE2, where I left the hair salon with a pompadour that made me look like Donald Trump -- proud and unashamed. I'm not sure the British cuisine on the QE2 was that much of an improvement over the Mayflower's, but so be it.
Boy, the Mayflower passengers were lucky to make it at all. But they did, and they gave us the American Revolution, the Constitution, baked beans, four presidents, and ultimately this movie.
This is an MGM product so you get solid-as-a-rock family entertainment with magnificent production values. The special effects are fine. There is an exciting storm at sea that threatens to destroy the Mayflower. (Every story of a ship at sea must include a scene of a storm.) All the studio's talent is deployed, including a stellar cast. Spencer Tracy is Captain Jones, skipper of the Mayflower. Gene Tierney is the pouty-lipped married passenger whom he loves but whom he treats as an ordinary doxy. In supporting roles are rough sailor Lloyd Bridges, solemn preacher Leo Genn, civilian carpenter Van Johnson, sturdy diarist and narrator John Dehner, and reliable stalwarts like John Dierkes.
There are two problems with the movie, and they're both pretty big.
The casting decisions are inexplicable. Spencer Tracy as a consistently contemptuous, cynical, money-grubbing, underhanded Captain Queeg with glands? Hardly. Spencer Tracy is a man who carries moral authority along with his common sense Americanism. He's the firm, authoritative, slyly wisecracking, but empathic boss you wish you had.
And Van Johnson as an unemployed carpenter saying lines like, "I had hoped to find me a berth for the night, sir"? Not a bit of it. Van Johnson is the optimistic, rosy-cheeked guy next door. He's polite, cheerful, and in love with Phyllis Thaxter. In any case, he's a lead, not a supporting player.
That's the casting problem. Then there's the problem of the plot. How do you fill up an hour or more of a ship at sea full of relatively dull people? I mean, they're not pirates or mutineers. So you invent an intrigue between the gruff Tracy and the winsome Tierney that struck me as completely lacking in credibility. Tracy is not a romantic lead. He's short and rather dumpy and, though handsome in a manly way, looks nothing like Cary Grant. Tierney suffers because she is torn between her love for the adamantine Tracy and the pious Genn. She finally offs herself. Actually, she didn't. Two people died during the voyage, both of illness.
I will bet, though, that there was genuine drama aboard the Mayflower. Here's why. There were about 130 people aboard, including both passengers and crew, and the ship itself was about 100 feet long. There was also every bit of cargo that a new community would need in a demanding new environment. One hundred feet is peanuts. The "tween decks", where many slept, was a space probably about four feet high. The people must have been piled on top of one another but you'd never know it. Space and violations of space are not very dramatic. We watch scenes of Van Johnson showing Dawn Addams where he goes when he wants to get away from things and be alone. It's the ship's rope locker, and it's about the size of the Garden Court Restaurant in San Francisco's Sheraton Palace Hotel. Kids, Googling will lead to goggling. You should have LUNCH there if possible. Try the cottage cheese. Tell them I sent you.
Anyhow there's no gainsaying that MGM was the biggest most powerful studio in Hollywood at the time this was released, but that doesn't mean that somebody didn't make a couple of big mistakes.
Well, it was a perilous trip across the North Atlantic in 1620. They used sailing ships in those days, and they were almighty slow, so people ran out of food and water and stuff like that. Not like the today's QE2, where I left the hair salon with a pompadour that made me look like Donald Trump -- proud and unashamed. I'm not sure the British cuisine on the QE2 was that much of an improvement over the Mayflower's, but so be it.
Boy, the Mayflower passengers were lucky to make it at all. But they did, and they gave us the American Revolution, the Constitution, baked beans, four presidents, and ultimately this movie.
This is an MGM product so you get solid-as-a-rock family entertainment with magnificent production values. The special effects are fine. There is an exciting storm at sea that threatens to destroy the Mayflower. (Every story of a ship at sea must include a scene of a storm.) All the studio's talent is deployed, including a stellar cast. Spencer Tracy is Captain Jones, skipper of the Mayflower. Gene Tierney is the pouty-lipped married passenger whom he loves but whom he treats as an ordinary doxy. In supporting roles are rough sailor Lloyd Bridges, solemn preacher Leo Genn, civilian carpenter Van Johnson, sturdy diarist and narrator John Dehner, and reliable stalwarts like John Dierkes.
There are two problems with the movie, and they're both pretty big.
The casting decisions are inexplicable. Spencer Tracy as a consistently contemptuous, cynical, money-grubbing, underhanded Captain Queeg with glands? Hardly. Spencer Tracy is a man who carries moral authority along with his common sense Americanism. He's the firm, authoritative, slyly wisecracking, but empathic boss you wish you had.
And Van Johnson as an unemployed carpenter saying lines like, "I had hoped to find me a berth for the night, sir"? Not a bit of it. Van Johnson is the optimistic, rosy-cheeked guy next door. He's polite, cheerful, and in love with Phyllis Thaxter. In any case, he's a lead, not a supporting player.
That's the casting problem. Then there's the problem of the plot. How do you fill up an hour or more of a ship at sea full of relatively dull people? I mean, they're not pirates or mutineers. So you invent an intrigue between the gruff Tracy and the winsome Tierney that struck me as completely lacking in credibility. Tracy is not a romantic lead. He's short and rather dumpy and, though handsome in a manly way, looks nothing like Cary Grant. Tierney suffers because she is torn between her love for the adamantine Tracy and the pious Genn. She finally offs herself. Actually, she didn't. Two people died during the voyage, both of illness.
I will bet, though, that there was genuine drama aboard the Mayflower. Here's why. There were about 130 people aboard, including both passengers and crew, and the ship itself was about 100 feet long. There was also every bit of cargo that a new community would need in a demanding new environment. One hundred feet is peanuts. The "tween decks", where many slept, was a space probably about four feet high. The people must have been piled on top of one another but you'd never know it. Space and violations of space are not very dramatic. We watch scenes of Van Johnson showing Dawn Addams where he goes when he wants to get away from things and be alone. It's the ship's rope locker, and it's about the size of the Garden Court Restaurant in San Francisco's Sheraton Palace Hotel. Kids, Googling will lead to goggling. You should have LUNCH there if possible. Try the cottage cheese. Tell them I sent you.
Anyhow there's no gainsaying that MGM was the biggest most powerful studio in Hollywood at the time this was released, but that doesn't mean that somebody didn't make a couple of big mistakes.
Excellent, if in some ways fictionalized, take on the Mayflower voyage
weezeralfalfa21 November 2012
Warning: Spoilers
A fascinating historical drama, but in typical Hollywood fashion, incorporating a frustrating(for the historical purist) blend of meticulous historical fact and pure fabrication. Actually, Hollywood was not primarily responsible for the plot fabrications,as the film was based upon the then recent novel of the same title by Ernest Gebler. In contradiction to some reviewers, I consider this Spencer Tracy's greatest characterization, albeit a superficially negative one. All the major characters were well cast, even if Gene Tierney made an unlikely beautiful Dorothy Bradford, whom Tracy, as Captain Christopher Jones, lusted after. Some object that Dorothy could not have found Jones romantically attractive, being old, very grumpy, and contemptuous of the colonists. I sensed that it was more a case of pity on her part, and may have included some dissatisfaction with her husband and hope that she could charm Jones into not leaving for England until spring. Without the ship as a sanctuary until the colonists built adequate housing, they surely would all perish from exposure and starvation. Dorothy presumably felt that this divided loyalty between two men was an unforgivable sin or an unsolvable problem, necessitating her death. Would Jones have stayed with the colonists overwinter, had she not presumably killed herself? I doubt it. It was her sacrificial death that shortly preceded his changed attitude toward the colonists.
John Aldren's flirtation with the comely teen Dawn Addams has possible historical accuracy, as they would eventually marry....Lloyd Bridges is great as Jone's piratical-looking swarthy first mate and enforcer, ready to lead a mutiny when Jones inexplicably decided to stay the winter with the colonists.
The long episode of the severe storm is quite riveting. The bit about a large passenger screw being used to help support a cracked beam is historically true....Actually, it was another passenger, not William Brewster, who was washed overboard during a storm. Making it Brewster added to the drama with Jones over Dorothy.
The screen writer presumably followed Gebler in exploiting several common myths to add important fictional plot components. Thus, the implication that the initial landing near Cape Cod instead of the targeted Chesapeake region was a planned conspiracy by financial backers, with the cooperation of Jones, is an unnecessary clear fabrication, if adding to the frictional drama between the colonists and Jones. In contrast to common myth, the agreed upon target was the present NYC area, which was included in the Virginia Charter of the times, not the present state of Virginia! Most of the Separatist colonists had recently been living in Holland, and had heard good reports of this area from the Dutch. After making landfall in the Cape Cod area due to repeated storms, the Mayflower made an attempt to sail south to this area, but weather and current difficulties, along with the storm-battered condition of the Mayflower, caused them to return to their original landing area. Of course, the Dutch would soon begin settlements in the NYC-Hudson area.
The central love/hate triangle between Jones, William and Dorothy Bradford has no historical support, if much adding to the drama. Dorothy did die of drowning after disappearing from the Mayflower soon after it docked along Cape Cod. However, there is no clear reason to believe it was a suicide rather than accidental.This accusation originates from a mid-19th century fictional magazine story, presumably repeated in Gebler's novel(which I haven't read).
The characterization of Captain Jones as a disagreeable extreme world-weary cynic has no historical support. There are, however, several historical facts or misconceptions that might lend some credence to this characterization. He had fathered 10 children, most of whom had died as infants or small children. Secondly, during the 19th century, it was thought that the captain was one Thomas Jones: a sometimes pirate and slave trader, thus presumably a rather rough cynical character. This might also lend credence to the rather piratical charisma of the first mate, Mr.Coppin, a genuine historical name. Thirdly, there was a seaman who repeatedly belittled the colonists as having no chance of surviving this voyage or their desired destination. Interestingly, this seaman was one of only two to die during the voyage! Surprisingly, this seaman is not included in the film story, hence probably was incorporated into the Captain's character.
Some reviewers think Tracy was too old for the part of Captain Jones. Well, the real Jones was only 2 years younger and died only a year after returning to England..Incidentally, his return trip took only 1 month compared to the more than 2 months getting to Cape Cod. This shows the influence of favorable winds, the Gulf Stream, and generally fewer storms in spring.
John Aldren's flirtation with the comely teen Dawn Addams has possible historical accuracy, as they would eventually marry....Lloyd Bridges is great as Jone's piratical-looking swarthy first mate and enforcer, ready to lead a mutiny when Jones inexplicably decided to stay the winter with the colonists.
The long episode of the severe storm is quite riveting. The bit about a large passenger screw being used to help support a cracked beam is historically true....Actually, it was another passenger, not William Brewster, who was washed overboard during a storm. Making it Brewster added to the drama with Jones over Dorothy.
The screen writer presumably followed Gebler in exploiting several common myths to add important fictional plot components. Thus, the implication that the initial landing near Cape Cod instead of the targeted Chesapeake region was a planned conspiracy by financial backers, with the cooperation of Jones, is an unnecessary clear fabrication, if adding to the frictional drama between the colonists and Jones. In contrast to common myth, the agreed upon target was the present NYC area, which was included in the Virginia Charter of the times, not the present state of Virginia! Most of the Separatist colonists had recently been living in Holland, and had heard good reports of this area from the Dutch. After making landfall in the Cape Cod area due to repeated storms, the Mayflower made an attempt to sail south to this area, but weather and current difficulties, along with the storm-battered condition of the Mayflower, caused them to return to their original landing area. Of course, the Dutch would soon begin settlements in the NYC-Hudson area.
The central love/hate triangle between Jones, William and Dorothy Bradford has no historical support, if much adding to the drama. Dorothy did die of drowning after disappearing from the Mayflower soon after it docked along Cape Cod. However, there is no clear reason to believe it was a suicide rather than accidental.This accusation originates from a mid-19th century fictional magazine story, presumably repeated in Gebler's novel(which I haven't read).
The characterization of Captain Jones as a disagreeable extreme world-weary cynic has no historical support. There are, however, several historical facts or misconceptions that might lend some credence to this characterization. He had fathered 10 children, most of whom had died as infants or small children. Secondly, during the 19th century, it was thought that the captain was one Thomas Jones: a sometimes pirate and slave trader, thus presumably a rather rough cynical character. This might also lend credence to the rather piratical charisma of the first mate, Mr.Coppin, a genuine historical name. Thirdly, there was a seaman who repeatedly belittled the colonists as having no chance of surviving this voyage or their desired destination. Interestingly, this seaman was one of only two to die during the voyage! Surprisingly, this seaman is not included in the film story, hence probably was incorporated into the Captain's character.
Some reviewers think Tracy was too old for the part of Captain Jones. Well, the real Jones was only 2 years younger and died only a year after returning to England..Incidentally, his return trip took only 1 month compared to the more than 2 months getting to Cape Cod. This shows the influence of favorable winds, the Gulf Stream, and generally fewer storms in spring.
1950s B-picture
HotToastyRag19 October 2019
If you were the beautiful Gene Tierney, would you get your head turned by the disheveled, grumpy, rude, immoral, disrespectful Spencer Tracy, or would you stand by your handsome, intelligent, upstanding, sensitive, responsible husband, Leo Genn? As Gene and Leo are passengers aboard the Mayflower, she somehow gets roped into a love triangle with the ship's captain, but it makes no sense. If you remember Leo from The Snake Pit, you probably like him already, so you really won't be rooting for Spencer Tracy.
It seems every man wants his chance to play Captain Bligh, which explains why there are so many ship movies with a stern captain no one likes. If you love Spencer Tracy and want to see his chance, you might want to rent this movie. I really didn't like it. Not only does the main love triangle leave me puzzled and annoyed, but Gene is relegated to the "older couple romance", while one of my least favorite actors, Van Johnson, is given the "young lovers" romance. He's a passenger aboard the Mayflower who falls for a peasant, Dawn Addams, but neither character is interesting. To me Plymouth Adventure is one of those movies that people who don't like old movies give as a reference to their opinion. Trust me, there are better movies out there, and they're not hard to find. You've probably never heard of Down to the Sea in Ships, have you? Find it and watch it, then raise your standard for seaside flicks.
It seems every man wants his chance to play Captain Bligh, which explains why there are so many ship movies with a stern captain no one likes. If you love Spencer Tracy and want to see his chance, you might want to rent this movie. I really didn't like it. Not only does the main love triangle leave me puzzled and annoyed, but Gene is relegated to the "older couple romance", while one of my least favorite actors, Van Johnson, is given the "young lovers" romance. He's a passenger aboard the Mayflower who falls for a peasant, Dawn Addams, but neither character is interesting. To me Plymouth Adventure is one of those movies that people who don't like old movies give as a reference to their opinion. Trust me, there are better movies out there, and they're not hard to find. You've probably never heard of Down to the Sea in Ships, have you? Find it and watch it, then raise your standard for seaside flicks.
Birth of a nation.
dbdumonteil20 January 2002
Warning: Spoilers
Fairly entertaining adventure yarn,with too much resorting to voice-over. There are two very good moments:the storm -Van Johnson will have known two in the space of 2 years;he'll be on the Caine during the typhoon(the Caine mutiny 1954)- and the little boy who dies with the bird (Noah's dove)in his hand.He ,too,had flown too far from home.
Spencer Tracy has a tailor-made part:the grumpy captain with a heart of gold.Gene Tierney's grace and beauty supply the love interest.Her death is quite romantic.The film is somewhat too short and the building of the village and the first winter are botched.
An interesting scene shows the birth of a democracy and ideas that 1789 French revolution will rekindle.
Spencer Tracy has a tailor-made part:the grumpy captain with a heart of gold.Gene Tierney's grace and beauty supply the love interest.Her death is quite romantic.The film is somewhat too short and the building of the village and the first winter are botched.
An interesting scene shows the birth of a democracy and ideas that 1789 French revolution will rekindle.
Great special effects and beautiful color...but that's it
preppy-319 November 2018
A HUGE MGM blockbuster about the Pilgrims voyage from Europe to America. Along the way they have to deal with illness, infidelity, scarce food and water and each other. It's all overseen by Spencer Tracy as a tough old sea captain.
MGM spared no expense with this one. The film is shot in breath-taking color with great costumes and an exact replica of the Mayflower. Also there's an exciting sequence where they battle through a fierce storm at sea (this film won a well-deserved Oscar for Special Effects). But, aside from that, nothing much happens. There's a love triangle story that was so obvious it was annoying. Also we have some great actors here giving there worst performances. Tracy looks depressed and old; Gene Tierney looks great but the poor woman has nothing to work with; Van Johnson just walks through his role.
This was understandably a public and critical failure and lost over a million dollars. A real snoozer.
MGM spared no expense with this one. The film is shot in breath-taking color with great costumes and an exact replica of the Mayflower. Also there's an exciting sequence where they battle through a fierce storm at sea (this film won a well-deserved Oscar for Special Effects). But, aside from that, nothing much happens. There's a love triangle story that was so obvious it was annoying. Also we have some great actors here giving there worst performances. Tracy looks depressed and old; Gene Tierney looks great but the poor woman has nothing to work with; Van Johnson just walks through his role.
This was understandably a public and critical failure and lost over a million dollars. A real snoozer.
It's a lot better than I expected
planktonrules27 September 2010
Warning: Spoilers
I assumed that because Hollywood made this film long ago and because there often has been a desire to over-idealize our history that "The Plymouth Adventure" would totally suck--especially since I am a history teacher and HATE historical inaccuracies. However, apart from a little artistic license here and there, the essence of this story is quite true and the film is very watchable--even if a few plots here and there are hooey. The worst is the supposed suicide--which is not confirmed in the contemporary accounts of her death. In fact, this entire story line is a problem as it almost certainly never occurred. But apart from that and a few bits of artistic license, the tale is pretty good-- historically speaking. And also, the film fails to really discuss the true cost to the settlers, as they lost half their people in the first year in Plymouth Colony--something the film never mentions, as it ends just after their arrival.
The story chronicles the journey from England to the New World and shows the hardships that the passengers and crew endured. Fortunately, the film pointed out that not all the settlers were religious pilgrims but a mixed bag seeking a new life in America. Their hunger, thirst and sickness were all featured in the film--though a bit sanitized, as few in the audience really wanted to see all the vomiting and fever that really occurred! So is this a perfect film? No. But considering the average film of the era about Americana tended to play very fast and loose with the facts, this one stands up very well. And because of this, it is still very watchable today. Good acting, a pretty good script and good direction--it's much better than I expected.
The story chronicles the journey from England to the New World and shows the hardships that the passengers and crew endured. Fortunately, the film pointed out that not all the settlers were religious pilgrims but a mixed bag seeking a new life in America. Their hunger, thirst and sickness were all featured in the film--though a bit sanitized, as few in the audience really wanted to see all the vomiting and fever that really occurred! So is this a perfect film? No. But considering the average film of the era about Americana tended to play very fast and loose with the facts, this one stands up very well. And because of this, it is still very watchable today. Good acting, a pretty good script and good direction--it's much better than I expected.
obviously none of it really happened like this
lee_eisenberg17 November 2023
It was a coincidence that I watched Clarence Brown's Oscar-winning "Plymouth Adventure" right before Thanksgiving. Either way, the whole thing is basically a cringefest due to its inaccuracy.
While it's true that the English Separatists - now known as the Pilgrims - fled persecution in England, what's not widely known is that they initially went to the Netherlands, a common refuge for victims of persecution. However, the English Separatists didn't like how tolerant the Dutch were! So they sailed across the ocean, and upon setting up their colony, established a theocracy (they even banned celebrating Christmas!).
But most importantly, they weren't the first English people to settle in what's now the US. England had established Jamestown in present-day Virginia in 1607, and already had slaves there before the English Separatists sailed over! The English separatists were headed for Virginia before storms blew them north.
Anyway, the movie has a fine cast - Spencer Tracy, Gene Tierney, Van Johnson, etc - but it's worth seeing more for the visuals than the historical accuracy.
While it's true that the English Separatists - now known as the Pilgrims - fled persecution in England, what's not widely known is that they initially went to the Netherlands, a common refuge for victims of persecution. However, the English Separatists didn't like how tolerant the Dutch were! So they sailed across the ocean, and upon setting up their colony, established a theocracy (they even banned celebrating Christmas!).
But most importantly, they weren't the first English people to settle in what's now the US. England had established Jamestown in present-day Virginia in 1607, and already had slaves there before the English Separatists sailed over! The English separatists were headed for Virginia before storms blew them north.
Anyway, the movie has a fine cast - Spencer Tracy, Gene Tierney, Van Johnson, etc - but it's worth seeing more for the visuals than the historical accuracy.
Get below you blither head!
sol121827 November 2009
Warning: Spoilers
(There are Spoilers) Recreation of the Pilgrims dangerous voyage to the new world, America, on the good ship Mayflower in the summer and fall of 1620 AD.
Put in charge of the Mayflower by England's Virginia Company's Mrs. Weston, Rhys Williams, is that old salt and pragmatic Capt. Chris Jones, Spencer Tracy, who's only in it for the money and nothing else. It's when Weston gives Jones, under the table, an added bonus of 200 English pounds to steer the Mayflower to the north and uninhabited-by the white man- Cape Cod region of New England that he decides to trick his passengers and crew, all 102 of them, into thinking that he was taking them some 500 miles south to Jamestown Virginia that already had an established English colony.
The greedy and criminal minded Mr. Weston was trying to pull a fast one on his employer by buying up all the worthless stock of the almost defunct England's New England Company and cash it in when a colony is established on it's territory with him being the only stock holder. As things turned out, as history shows up, the trip north made it possible for the future establishment, in 1776, of the United States of America!
The dangerous voyage across the almost uncharted Atlantic Ocean had the Mayflower and its passengers and crew face dangers and horrors far worse then they ever dreamed of in their wildest nightmares. Capt. Jones while keeping the ship together and his man, who were on the verge of mutiny, in line soon gets the hots, in her being one of the few women on board, for the very religious pretty and saintly Dorothy Bradford, Jene Tierney, who's husband William, Leo Genn, was also one of the ship's passengers. This sinful and forbidden romance, with Capt. Jones doing most of the romancing, between Capt. Jones and Mrs. Bradford is the most interesting part of the movie even though in real life it never really happened. Dorothy later feeling that she cheated on her husband, by just allowing the slobbering Capt. Jones to kiss her, and broke her marriage vowels ended up drowning herself. The depressed and guilt-ridden Dorothy offed herself just as the Mayflower finally reached land after it's more then three month sail across the wind and storm swept Atlantic Ocean.
It's Dorothy Bradford's tragic death that woke the narrow minded and people hating, on the Mayflower, Capt. Jones up to the humanity that he always either denied or kept from himself. No longer the cynical and Godless person that he once was the "Captain" decided to stay with the Pilgrim settlers, whom half of them were to died because of illness and starvation, throughout the harsh and bitter winter of 1620-1621 until spring, and the spring harvest, arrived. Now a new man with love and understanding in his heart for his fellow human beings Capt. Jones in an act of honesty and forgiveness,for himself, finally confessed to Dorothy's husband William that in fact he did try to break up, by him being the other man, their marriage! But in the end it was Dorothy in her eternal love for William, feeling that she was giving in to Capt. Jones' advances would rather kill herself, that too a mortal sin, then betray her husband!
Beautiful ocean scenery with a very convincing Mid-Atlantic Ocean storm as well as amazing spacial effect-for 1952-adds to the movie's great acting and historical content. Still it was the fictitious relationship between Capt. Jones and Dorothy Bradford that overshadowed all the true events that were depicted in the film "Plymouth Advanture".
Put in charge of the Mayflower by England's Virginia Company's Mrs. Weston, Rhys Williams, is that old salt and pragmatic Capt. Chris Jones, Spencer Tracy, who's only in it for the money and nothing else. It's when Weston gives Jones, under the table, an added bonus of 200 English pounds to steer the Mayflower to the north and uninhabited-by the white man- Cape Cod region of New England that he decides to trick his passengers and crew, all 102 of them, into thinking that he was taking them some 500 miles south to Jamestown Virginia that already had an established English colony.
The greedy and criminal minded Mr. Weston was trying to pull a fast one on his employer by buying up all the worthless stock of the almost defunct England's New England Company and cash it in when a colony is established on it's territory with him being the only stock holder. As things turned out, as history shows up, the trip north made it possible for the future establishment, in 1776, of the United States of America!
The dangerous voyage across the almost uncharted Atlantic Ocean had the Mayflower and its passengers and crew face dangers and horrors far worse then they ever dreamed of in their wildest nightmares. Capt. Jones while keeping the ship together and his man, who were on the verge of mutiny, in line soon gets the hots, in her being one of the few women on board, for the very religious pretty and saintly Dorothy Bradford, Jene Tierney, who's husband William, Leo Genn, was also one of the ship's passengers. This sinful and forbidden romance, with Capt. Jones doing most of the romancing, between Capt. Jones and Mrs. Bradford is the most interesting part of the movie even though in real life it never really happened. Dorothy later feeling that she cheated on her husband, by just allowing the slobbering Capt. Jones to kiss her, and broke her marriage vowels ended up drowning herself. The depressed and guilt-ridden Dorothy offed herself just as the Mayflower finally reached land after it's more then three month sail across the wind and storm swept Atlantic Ocean.
It's Dorothy Bradford's tragic death that woke the narrow minded and people hating, on the Mayflower, Capt. Jones up to the humanity that he always either denied or kept from himself. No longer the cynical and Godless person that he once was the "Captain" decided to stay with the Pilgrim settlers, whom half of them were to died because of illness and starvation, throughout the harsh and bitter winter of 1620-1621 until spring, and the spring harvest, arrived. Now a new man with love and understanding in his heart for his fellow human beings Capt. Jones in an act of honesty and forgiveness,for himself, finally confessed to Dorothy's husband William that in fact he did try to break up, by him being the other man, their marriage! But in the end it was Dorothy in her eternal love for William, feeling that she was giving in to Capt. Jones' advances would rather kill herself, that too a mortal sin, then betray her husband!
Beautiful ocean scenery with a very convincing Mid-Atlantic Ocean storm as well as amazing spacial effect-for 1952-adds to the movie's great acting and historical content. Still it was the fictitious relationship between Capt. Jones and Dorothy Bradford that overshadowed all the true events that were depicted in the film "Plymouth Advanture".
Good Historical Film
ldeangelis-7570825 November 2022
A great movie to watch for the Thanksgiving holiday! It was a perfect blend of history and entertainment, not to mention excellent acting from Spencer Tracy as Captain Christopher Jones, and Van Johnson as John Alden. (I would have liked more scenes with him and Priscilla Mullins, played by Dawn Addams.)
The movie shows the many hardships the Pilgrims went through, not to mention the difficulties getting started in the first place, like William Brewster (Barry Jones) having to hide from the authorities wanting to arrest him. At the same time, it adds a bit of romantic tragedy, as the tough talking, hard drinking captain falls for the married Dorothy Bradford (Gene Tierney) and she returns the feeling, though still caring for her husband William (Leo Genn), a good man who too often puts duty before his wife. This story was added to give one possible answer to the question of what really happened to Dorothy Bradford.
A movie worth watching.
The movie shows the many hardships the Pilgrims went through, not to mention the difficulties getting started in the first place, like William Brewster (Barry Jones) having to hide from the authorities wanting to arrest him. At the same time, it adds a bit of romantic tragedy, as the tough talking, hard drinking captain falls for the married Dorothy Bradford (Gene Tierney) and she returns the feeling, though still caring for her husband William (Leo Genn), a good man who too often puts duty before his wife. This story was added to give one possible answer to the question of what really happened to Dorothy Bradford.
A movie worth watching.
Great Hollywood Mythmaking
jacksflicks27 November 2004
Other reviewers talk like Plymouth Adventure is fiction. They think Clarence Brown is like James Cameron, who cares more about the story conforming to a movie than the other way around. In other words, they have no idea what integrity is.
Though much was documented - and is adhered to by the plot points - much is conjecture, and this can be subject to dramatic license. Of course, the dialog is up to the screenwriter and director. We can discuss this, but for me, the language and dialog weren't at all problematic, nor was the lush cinematography, in itself (see below).
I have only two quibbles:
I should have preferred to see Plymouth Adventure in black and white. The Pilgirms were a black and white lot who established a black and white society.
I don't mind myth-making, because I think myths can be metaphors for the truths behind them. Of course, myths can be used in malign ways, as we know from the Nazis. Though not malign, the myth of the Pilgrims is of questionable value, since we know that the Pilgrims were seeking, in the New World, freedom, but freedom to establish their own tyranny. This is different from the myth, say, of George Washington and the cherry tree, since Washington was a true archetype of integrity. Nevertheless, rather than making a debunking movie showing the Pilgrims as a kind of proto-Taliban, perhaps it would be better to let their qualities of courage and resourcefulness stand, and leave the myth to benign neglect.
Though much was documented - and is adhered to by the plot points - much is conjecture, and this can be subject to dramatic license. Of course, the dialog is up to the screenwriter and director. We can discuss this, but for me, the language and dialog weren't at all problematic, nor was the lush cinematography, in itself (see below).
I have only two quibbles:
I should have preferred to see Plymouth Adventure in black and white. The Pilgirms were a black and white lot who established a black and white society.
I don't mind myth-making, because I think myths can be metaphors for the truths behind them. Of course, myths can be used in malign ways, as we know from the Nazis. Though not malign, the myth of the Pilgrims is of questionable value, since we know that the Pilgrims were seeking, in the New World, freedom, but freedom to establish their own tyranny. This is different from the myth, say, of George Washington and the cherry tree, since Washington was a true archetype of integrity. Nevertheless, rather than making a debunking movie showing the Pilgrims as a kind of proto-Taliban, perhaps it would be better to let their qualities of courage and resourcefulness stand, and leave the myth to benign neglect.
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