''Plymouth Adventure'' is a 1952

Technicolor Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

with an ensemble cast starring

Spencer Tracy Spencer Bonaventure Tracy (April 5, 1900 – June 10, 1967) was an American actor. He was known for his natural performing style and versatility. One of the major stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, Tracy was the first actor to win two cons ...

Gene Tierney Gene Eliza Tierney (November 19, 1920 – November 6, 1991) was an American film and stage actress. Acclaimed for her great beauty, she became established as a leading lady. Tierney was best known for her portrayal of the title character in the ...

Van Johnson Charles Van Dell Johnson (August 25, 1916 – December 12, 2008) was an American film, television, theatre and radio actor. He was a major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer during and after World War II. Johnson was described as the embodiment o ...

and

Leo Genn Leopold John Genn (9 August 190526 January 1978) was an English actor and barrister. Distinguished by his relaxed charm and smooth, "black velvet" voice, he had a lengthy career in theatre, film, television, and radio; often playing aristocr ...

, made by

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 ...

, directed by

Clarence Brown Clarence Leon Brown (May 10, 1890 – August 17, 1987) was an American film director. Early life Born in Clinton, Massachusetts, to Larkin Harry Brown, a cotton manufacturer, and Katherine Ann Brown (née Gaw), Brown moved to Tennessee when he ...

, and produced by

Dore Schary Isadore "Dore" Schary (August 31, 1905 – July 7, 1980) was an American playwright, director, and producer for the stage and a prolific screenwriter and producer of motion pictures. He directed just one feature film, '' Act One'', the film bio ...

. The screenplay was adapted by

Helen Deutsch Helen Deutsch (21 March 1906 – 15 March 1992) was an American screenwriter, journalist, and songwriter. Biography Deutsch was born in New York City and graduated from Barnard College. She began her career by managing the Provincetown Player ...

from the 1950 novel ''The Voyage of the Mayflower'' by

Ernest Gébler Ernest Gébler (31 December 1914Gebler 2013 p.21 – 26 January 1998), sometimes credited as Ernie Gebler, was an Irish writer of Czech origin. He was a member of Aosdána. Early life Gébler was born in Dublin, one of the five children of Adolf ...

. The supporting cast includes Barry Jones, Dawn Addams,

Lloyd Bridges Lloyd Vernet Bridges Jr. (January 15, 1913 – March 10, 1998) was an American film, stage and television actor who starred in a number of television series and appeared in more than 150 feature films. He was the father of four children, includi ...

and

John Dehner John Dehner (DAY-ner) (born John Dehner Forkum, also credited Dehner Forkum; November 23, 1915February 4, 1992) was an American stage, radio, film, and television actor. From the late 1930s to the late 1980s, he amassed a long list of performan ...

. This was veteran director Brown's final film.

Plot

The film tells a fictionalized version of the Pilgrims' voyage across the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

to North America aboard the ''

Mayflower ''Mayflower'' was an English ship that transported a group of English families, known today as the Pilgrims, from England to the New World in 1620. After a grueling 10 weeks at sea, ''Mayflower'', with 102 passengers and a crew of about 30, r ...

''. During the long sea voyage, Capt. Christopher Jones (

) falls in love with Dorothy Bradford (

), the wife of William Bradford (

). The love triangle is resolved in a tragic way at the film's conclusion. Ship's carpenter

John Alden John Alden (c. 1598 - September 12, 1687) was a crew member on the historic 1620 voyage of the ''Mayflower'' which brought the English settlers commonly known as Pilgrims to Plymouth Colony in present-day Massachusetts, US. He was hired in Sou ...

(

)—said to be the first person to set foot on Plymouth Rock in 1620—catches the eye of Priscilla Mullins ( Dawn Addams), one of the young Pilgrims following William Bradford. Alden ultimately wins Priscilla in another, if subtler, triangle with

Miles Standish Myles Standish (c. 1584 – October 3, 1656) was an English military officer and colonizer. He was hired as military adviser for Plymouth Colony in present-day Massachusetts, United States by the Pilgrims. Standish accompanied the Pilgrims on ...

(Noel Drayton).

provides comic relief as the first-mate Coppin, and child star

Tommy Ivo Tommy may refer to: People * Tommy (given name) * Tommy Atkins, or just Tommy, a slang term for a common soldier in the British Army Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Tommy'' (1931 film), a Soviet drama film * ''Tommy'' (1975 fi ...

gives a touching performance as young William Button, the only passenger to die on the actual voyage across the storm-swept Atlantic, who, according to this film, wanted to be the first to sight land and to become a king in the New World. “I’m going to be the first to see land. Keep me eye peeled, I will. Then I’ll be the first. It’ll be like the Garden of Eden and I’m going to be the first to see it”.

Cast

as Christopher Jones *

as Dorothy Bradford *

as William Bradford * Barry Jones as William Brewster * Dawn Addams as

Priscilla Mullins Priscilla Alden (, ) was a noted member of Massachusetts's Plymouth Colony of Pilgrims and the wife of fellow colonist John Alden (1687). They married in 1621 in Plymouth. Biography Priscilla was most likely born in Dorking in Surrey, the dau ...

as First Mate Coppin *

Noel Drayton Noel Drayton (October 7, 1913 – December 7, 1981) was an actor who remains perhaps best known for playing supporting roles in Hollywood films like ''Elephant Walk'', ''The Court Jester'', '' Plymouth Adventure'' and ''Botany Bay'' during the ...

as Gilbert Winslow *

as William Butten *

Lowell Gilmore Lowell Gilmore (20 December 1906 – 31 January 1960) was an American stage, film and television actor. Life and career Lowell Gilmore first worked as a stage manager on the 1929 Broadway play ''The First Mrs. Fraser'', but got his chance as a ...

Edward Winslow Edward Winslow (18 October 15958 May 1655) was a Separatist and New England political leader who traveled on the ''Mayflower'' in 1620. He was one of several senior leaders on the ship and also later at Plymouth Colony. Both Edward Winslow and ...

Paul Cavanagh William Grigs Atkinson (8 December 1888 – 15 March 1964), known professionally as Paul Cavanagh, was an English film and stage actor. He appeared in more than 100 films between 1928 and 1959. Life and career Cavanagh was born in Felling, ...

as Governor John Carver ''(uncredited)'' *

Don Dillaway Donald Provost Dillaway (March 17, 1903 – November 18, 1982) was an American stage and film actor. Early years Dillaway's mother, billed as Nettie Gordon, sang in vaudeville. Because she and his father insisted on a professional career for h ...

as Stephen Hopkins ''(uncredited)'' * Elizabeth Flournoy as Rose Standish ''(uncredited)'' * Ivis Goulding as Alice Mullins ''(uncredited)'' * Harvey M. Guzik as Oceanus Hopkins ''(uncredited)'' * Elizabeth Harrower as Elizabeth Hopkins ''(uncredited)'' *

Kathleen Lockhart Kathleen Lockhart (née Arthur; 9 August 1894 – 18 February 1978) was a prolific English-American actress during the early-mid 20th century. Early life Kathleen Arthur was born on August 9, 1894 in Southsea, Hampshire, England. Caree ...

Mary Brewster Mary Brewster (April 17, 1627) was a Pilgrim and one of the women on the ''Mayflower''. She was the wife of Elder William Brewster. She was one of only five adult women from the Mayflower to survive the first winter in the New World, and one of onl ...

''(uncredited)'' * Murray Matheson as Christopher Martin ''(uncredited)'' * Matt Moore as William Mullins ''(uncredited)'' * Hugh Pryne as Samuel Fuller ''(uncredited)'' * John Sherman as

John Billington John Billington (also spelled as Billinton) (c. 1580September 30, 1630) was an Englishman who travelled to the New World on the '' Mayflower'' and was one of the signers of the Mayflower Compact. In England Nothing is known about John Billin ...

''(uncredited)'' * Rhys Williams as Mr. Weston (uncredited)

Production

Schary said at the time "I don't think that historical era has been done properly on screen before because the people were too soft. The pilgrims had to be tough and lusty to accomplish what they did. So that's the kind we cast in the film."

Reception

According to MGM records, the film earned $1,909,000 in the U.S. and Canada and $1,116,000 elsewhere; but, because of its high cost, ended up incurring a loss of $1,856,000. Major film reviewers in newspapers and magazines tended to praise the film's production values, while noting to different degrees performances and lapses in historical accuracy.A bibliography of contemporary reviews, some of them annotated, can be found a
Reel American History
/ref>

Awards and honors

The picture won the

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology) ...

for Best Effects. The actual model of the Mayflower ship from the movie is on display at the Original Benjamin's Calabash Seafood restaurant in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The model was purchased in an auction in the mid-1980s.

References

Notes

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Plymouth Adventure 1952 films 1950s historical drama films American historical drama films American films based on actual events Films based on Irish novels Films directed by Clarence Brown Films set in the 1620s Films set in Massachusetts Films set in the Thirteen Colonies Films set in England Films that won the Best Visual Effects Academy Award Mayflower Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Sea adventure films Films scored by Miklós Rózsa 1950s English-language films 1950s American films