Some people say Henry Hathaway is not an auteur!Just compare the situation in "lives of a Bengal lancer" and " down to the sea in ships " !In the former the general does not want Cooper and Tone to go to the rescue of his son, abducted by the nasty rebels;in "down..." ,the elderly captain does not want to send a boat to save his grandson lost at sea,much to Widmark's dismay.

Richard Widmark ,still at the dawn of his career ,is ,more than Lionel Barrymore ,the reason why this movie is so endearing.The first thirty minutes are Widmarkless and ,except for the scene at school where the teacher is asked to raise the percentages ,not to break the old sea dog 's heart,the movie does not really take off.

When Widmark is on hand ,he ,as usual ,steals every scene he is in ,and there are plenty of them.He 's delightful as the teacher who realizes how uneducated his young pupil is.

And in the end,Hathaway proves that the general of "lancers" and the old sailor of "boats" were right .This old school takes practice and experience over all any theoretical teaching and learning.This old man won the battle,he made a man of his grandson.

There are two,maybe three Hathaway movies I don't like.I love almost all the rest,including this one.

Like this ? try these ....

"Captains courageous" Victor Fleming,1937 "White squall" Ridley Scott ,1996 (with reservation)