Rudyard Kipling's 1897 novel Captains Courageous sends snobbish, practical-joking 15-year old Harvey Cheyne Jr. over the side of a steamship.
He is rescued by Captain Disko Troop, a Newfoundland fisherman, who refuses to take him to a port until the season is over -- and forces him to work alongside the rest of the crew. At first Harvey complains, but then he learns the joy of work and the camaraderie of working men, and especially bonds with the Captain's teenage son, Dan.
When Harvey finally returns to his parents, he brings Dan along. Both go to work for his father's shipping line. There are no women in the novel except for Harvey's mother.
The 1937 version decreases Harvey's age (played by 13-year old Freddie Bartholomew), and minimized the role of Dan (Mickey Rooney, left and top photo), instead having him saved by an adult fisherman, Manuel (Spencer Tracey). Their friendship becomes intense and intimate, but it is doomed: during a race with another ship, Manuel is entangled in the rigging and pulled under the water, where he drowns. The movie ends with Harvey back in civilization, throwing a wreath into the sea to honor Manuel's memory.
I can't even begin to speculate on why the writers or directors decided to transfer the gay subtext from peer to older-younger, but I know why they decided to have Harvey's partner die: to emphasize the heterosexist conceit that same-sex bonds are temporary, mere adolescent fancies. Just as the Captain has a wife back home, when Harvey returns to port, he will abandon childhood romances and marry.
Robert Ulrich? The guy from 'Spensler For Hire'?
ReplyDeleteI guess so. It's been awhile since I researched this post.
DeleteAlso the guy from Vega$. He was also married to Heather Menzies who played one of the Von Trapp kids in the Sound of Music.... And yes I know if I cleared my Brain of all this useless trivia I could be a productive part of society!
DeleteYou have to see "Cattle Drive" (1951) a version of the story set in the American West. Dean Stockwell plays the rich kid who is forced to join a cattle drive by Joel McCrea.
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't seem to be available on Netflix.
DeleteI caught on one of the Starz channels on cable- it's out on DVD
ReplyDeleteI assume it goes back to the way romantic subtext is seen:
ReplyDeleteadult male, young female: predatory
adult female, young male: initiation, or just a joke
adult male, young male: either predatory or really father and son
By the way, this is the other half of our perennial disagreement over Robin: Not only can he never be Batman's equal due to their age and familial relationship, but Batgirl, the Batgirl everyone knows, was his boss. In Washington.
You are right about the way modern society looks at relationships between people of different ages. I had an argument with someone over "Call Me By Your Name" which he thought was about child rape- even though the young male in the story is old enough to know that he wants the older man. I think this had more to do with casting in which the actor looked like a twink and the older guy who is suppose to be in his twenties looked older.
ReplyDelete