The playboy son of a wealthy shipping magnate discovers at first hand the desperate privations suffered by the crew of one of his father's ships after he is unwillingly press-ganged aboard.The playboy son of a wealthy shipping magnate discovers at first hand the desperate privations suffered by the crew of one of his father's ships after he is unwillingly press-ganged aboard.The playboy son of a wealthy shipping magnate discovers at first hand the desperate privations suffered by the crew of one of his father's ships after he is unwillingly press-ganged aboard.
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Did you know
- TriviaAccording to Howard Da Silva in Alan Ladd's biography, Ladd and William Bendix did not talk to each other although they were friends. Between the scenes everyone went their separate ways.
- Quotes
Captain Francis A. Thompson: Mr. Foster, remove his shirt.
2nd Mate Foster: Aye, aye, sir.
Charles Stewart: Never mind. I'll take it off.
- ConnectionsReferenced in King Leonardo and His Short Subjects: Anchors Awry or Nautical Nut (1961)
- SoundtracksTake Back the Heart
Written by Claribel (Charlotte Arlington Barnard) and Mrs. G.R. Gifford
Featured review
A fair movie about the mistreatment of seamen but NOT 'Two Years Before the Mast"
This is a pretty fair movie about the mistreatment of seamen during the early 19th Century. However, it bears almost no resemblance to "Two Years Before the Mast". For a start, the credits say that the film is "based upon the novel by Richard Henry Dana". That, alone, is a pretty clear indication that nobody involved in the production of the movie had ever read the book because it was definitely NOT a novel. Dana was a college student at Harvard who took a sabbatical to ship out on a vessel belonging to the father of a friend of his in order to regain his health. The book was an account of his experiences, and it was NOT a work of fiction. There was no mutiny nor was anybody on board murdered. As a matter of fact, Dana did not even return on the ship started out on but on another ship that was homeward-bound, because the ship he sailed over on remained in California. Dana returned to Harvard, where he completed his studies and became a lawyer. During the course of his career he not only became an outspoken advocate not only for the rights of seamen, but for freedmen and fugitive slaves as well.
For the benefit of those who may wonder about the peculiar title, the term "before the mast" is an old term used on merchant ships to denotes sailing as a member of the crew, rather than as an officer or a passenger. The officers and passengers lived aft, in cabins. The crew lived up forward , not in cabins but in a single compartment that was originally called the "fore castle", but which was generally shortened to "focs'l". The "focs'l" was located at the forward end of the ship, forward of the masts, so that to sail "before the mast" was to be a seaman. Incidentally, although modern seamen live in individual staterooms, to this day many still refer to their stateroom as their "focs'l". Of course, none of the above applied to Navy ships, in which the officers lived in a "wardroom" and where there was no such thing as a "focs'l".
As a swashbuckling adventure movie "Two Years Before the Mast" compares favorably with others of that genre. However, those interested in the contents of Dana's book would be recommended not to take anything from this movie as representative of it.
For the benefit of those who may wonder about the peculiar title, the term "before the mast" is an old term used on merchant ships to denotes sailing as a member of the crew, rather than as an officer or a passenger. The officers and passengers lived aft, in cabins. The crew lived up forward , not in cabins but in a single compartment that was originally called the "fore castle", but which was generally shortened to "focs'l". The "focs'l" was located at the forward end of the ship, forward of the masts, so that to sail "before the mast" was to be a seaman. Incidentally, although modern seamen live in individual staterooms, to this day many still refer to their stateroom as their "focs'l". Of course, none of the above applied to Navy ships, in which the officers lived in a "wardroom" and where there was no such thing as a "focs'l".
As a swashbuckling adventure movie "Two Years Before the Mast" compares favorably with others of that genre. However, those interested in the contents of Dana's book would be recommended not to take anything from this movie as representative of it.
helpful•31
- robertguttman
- May 20, 2017
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
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- Also known as
- Esclavos del mar
- Filming locations
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- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $2,000,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 38 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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By what name was Two Years Before the Mast (1946) officially released in India in English?
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