Plymouth Adventure
Encyclopedia
Plymouth Adventure is a 1952 drama film
with an ensemble cast
starring Spencer Tracy
, Gene Tierney
, Van Johnson
and Leo Genn
, made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
, directed by Clarence Brown
, and produced by Dore Schary
. The screenplay
was adapted by Helen Deutsch
from the novel The Plymouth Adventure by Ernest Gébler
.
The supporting cast includes Barry Jones
, Dawn Addams
, Lloyd Bridges
and John Dehner
.
The film is notable as being the last film directed by veteran director Clarence Brown.
to North America
aboard the Mayflower
. During the long sea voyage, Capt. Christopher Jones
(Spencer Tracy
) falls in love with Dorothy Bradford (Gene Tierney
), the wife of William Bradford (Leo Genn
). The love triangle is resolved in a tragic way at the film's conclusion. Lloyd Bridges
provides comic relief as the first-mate Coppin and child star Tommy Ivo
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.
for Best Effects
.
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
with an ensemble cast
Ensemble cast
An ensemble cast is made up of cast members in which the principal actors and performers are assigned roughly equal amounts of importance and screen time in a dramatic production. This kind of casting became more popular in television series because it allows flexibility for writers to focus on...
starring Spencer Tracy
Spencer Tracy
Spencer Bonaventure Tracy was an American theatrical and film actor, who appeared in 75 films from 1930 to 1967. Tracy was one of the major stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, ranking among the top ten box office draws for almost every year from 1938 to 1951...
, Gene Tierney
Gene Tierney
Gene Eliza Tierney was an American film and stage actress. Acclaimed as one of the great beauties of her day, she is best remembered for her performance in the title role of Laura and her Academy Award-nominated performance for Best Actress in Leave Her to Heaven .Other notable roles include...
, Van Johnson
Van Johnson
Van Johnson was an American film and television actor and dancer who was a major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios during and after World War II....
and Leo Genn
Leo Genn
- Early life :He was born at 144 Kyverdale Road, Stamford Hill, Hackney, London, England to a Jewish family. His father, Woolfe Genn, was a jewellery salesman and the maiden name of his mother, Rachel, was Asserson....
, made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
, directed by Clarence Brown
Clarence Brown
Clarence Brown was an American film director.-Early life:Born in Clinton, Massachusetts, to a cotton manufacturer, Brown moved to the South when he was 11. He attended Knoxville High School and the University of Tennessee, both in Knoxville, Tennessee, graduating from the university at the age of...
, and produced by Dore Schary
Dore Schary
Isadore "Dore" Schary was an American motion picture director, writer, and producer, and playwright who became head of production at MGM and eventually president of the studio...
. The screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
was adapted by Helen Deutsch
Helen Deutsch
Helen Deutsch was an American screenwriter, journalist and songwriter.Deutsch was born in New York City and graduated from Barnard College. She began her career by managing the Provincetown Players...
from the novel The Plymouth Adventure by Ernest Gébler
Ernest Gébler
Ernest Gébler was an Irish born writer. Gébler was a member of Aosdána. He was married to writer Edna O'Brien, from whom he was later divorced....
.
The supporting cast includes Barry Jones
Barry Jones (actor)
Barry Jones was an actor seen in British and American films, on American television and on the stage.-Biography:...
, Dawn Addams
Dawn Addams
Dawn Addams was an English actress in motion pictures of the 1950s.-Life and career:She was born Victoria Dawn Addams in Felixstowe, Suffolk, England, the daughter of Ethel Mary and Captain James Ramage Addams. Her mother died when she was young, and she spent her early life in Calcutta, India...
, Lloyd Bridges
Lloyd Bridges
Lloyd Vernet Bridges, Jr. was an American actor who starred in a number of television series and appeared in more than 150 feature films. Bridges is best known for his role of Mike Nelson in Sea Hunt, the most-popular syndicated American TV series in 1958...
and John Dehner
John Dehner
John Dehner was an American actor in radio, television, and films, playing countless roles, often as a droll villain. Between 1941 and 1988, he appeared in over 260 films and television programs. Prior to acting, Dehner had worked as an animator at Walt Disney Studios, and later became a radio...
.
The film is notable as being the last film directed by veteran director Clarence Brown.
Plot
The film tells a fictionalized version of the Pilgrims' voyage across the Atlantic OceanAtlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
to North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
aboard the Mayflower
Mayflower
The Mayflower was the ship that transported the English Separatists, better known as the Pilgrims, from a site near the Mayflower Steps in Plymouth, England, to Plymouth, Massachusetts, , in 1620...
. During the long sea voyage, Capt. Christopher Jones
Christopher Jones (sailor)
Christopher Jones was an English sailor, and master of the Mayflower between at least 1609 and 1622, who captained it on the transatlantic voyage that established the Plymouth Colony settlement. He was not a Plymouth Leader....
(Spencer Tracy
Spencer Tracy
Spencer Bonaventure Tracy was an American theatrical and film actor, who appeared in 75 films from 1930 to 1967. Tracy was one of the major stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, ranking among the top ten box office draws for almost every year from 1938 to 1951...
) falls in love with Dorothy Bradford (Gene Tierney
Gene Tierney
Gene Eliza Tierney was an American film and stage actress. Acclaimed as one of the great beauties of her day, she is best remembered for her performance in the title role of Laura and her Academy Award-nominated performance for Best Actress in Leave Her to Heaven .Other notable roles include...
), the wife of William Bradford (Leo Genn
Leo Genn
- Early life :He was born at 144 Kyverdale Road, Stamford Hill, Hackney, London, England to a Jewish family. His father, Woolfe Genn, was a jewellery salesman and the maiden name of his mother, Rachel, was Asserson....
). The love triangle is resolved in a tragic way at the film's conclusion. Lloyd Bridges
Lloyd Bridges
Lloyd Vernet Bridges, Jr. was an American actor who starred in a number of television series and appeared in more than 150 feature films. Bridges is best known for his role of Mike Nelson in Sea Hunt, the most-popular syndicated American TV series in 1958...
provides comic relief as the first-mate Coppin and child star Tommy Ivo
Tommy Ivo
Tommy Ivo , also known as "TV Tommy", is an actor and drag racer, who was active in the 1960s racing community. In the late 1950s, Ivo raced a twin Nailhead Buick engined dragster which was the first Gasoline Powered dragster to break the nine-second barrier. The car held the Drag News Standard...
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.
Cast
- Spencer TracySpencer TracySpencer Bonaventure Tracy was an American theatrical and film actor, who appeared in 75 films from 1930 to 1967. Tracy was one of the major stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, ranking among the top ten box office draws for almost every year from 1938 to 1951...
... Christopher JonesChristopher Jones (sailor)Christopher Jones was an English sailor, and master of the Mayflower between at least 1609 and 1622, who captained it on the transatlantic voyage that established the Plymouth Colony settlement. He was not a Plymouth Leader.... - Gene TierneyGene TierneyGene Eliza Tierney was an American film and stage actress. Acclaimed as one of the great beauties of her day, she is best remembered for her performance in the title role of Laura and her Academy Award-nominated performance for Best Actress in Leave Her to Heaven .Other notable roles include...
... Dorothy Bradford - Van JohnsonVan JohnsonVan Johnson was an American film and television actor and dancer who was a major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios during and after World War II....
... John AldenJohn AldenJohn Alden is said to be the first person from the Mayflower to set foot on Plymouth Rock in 1620. He was a ship-carpenter by trade and a cooper for Mayflower, which was usually docked at Southampton. He was also one of the founders of Plymouth Colony and the seventh signer of the Mayflower Compact... - Leo GennLeo Genn- Early life :He was born at 144 Kyverdale Road, Stamford Hill, Hackney, London, England to a Jewish family. His father, Woolfe Genn, was a jewellery salesman and the maiden name of his mother, Rachel, was Asserson....
... William BradfordWilliam Bradford (1590-1657)William Bradford was an English leader of the settlers of the Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts, and served as governor for over 30 years after John Carver died. His journal was published as Of Plymouth Plantation... - Barry JonesBarry Jones (actor)Barry Jones was an actor seen in British and American films, on American television and on the stage.-Biography:...
... William BrewsterWilliam Brewster (Pilgrim)Elder William Brewster was a Mayflower passenger and a Pilgrim colonist leader and preacher.-Origins:Brewster was probably born at Doncaster, Yorkshire, England, circa 1566/1567, although no birth records have been found, and died at Plymouth, Massachusetts on April 10, 1644 around 9- or 10pm... - Dawn AddamsDawn AddamsDawn Addams was an English actress in motion pictures of the 1950s.-Life and career:She was born Victoria Dawn Addams in Felixstowe, Suffolk, England, the daughter of Ethel Mary and Captain James Ramage Addams. Her mother died when she was young, and she spent her early life in Calcutta, India...
... Priscilla MullinsPriscilla AldenPriscilla Alden , , noted member of Massachusetts's Plymouth Colony of Pilgrims, was the wife of fellow colonist John Alden . They married in 1623 in Plymouth.-Biography:... - Lloyd BridgesLloyd BridgesLloyd Vernet Bridges, Jr. was an American actor who starred in a number of television series and appeared in more than 150 feature films. Bridges is best known for his role of Mike Nelson in Sea Hunt, the most-popular syndicated American TV series in 1958...
... Coppin - Noel Drayton ... Miles Standish
- John DehnerJohn DehnerJohn Dehner was an American actor in radio, television, and films, playing countless roles, often as a droll villain. Between 1941 and 1988, he appeared in over 260 films and television programs. Prior to acting, Dehner had worked as an animator at Walt Disney Studios, and later became a radio...
... Gilbert Winslow - Tommy IvoTommy IvoTommy Ivo , also known as "TV Tommy", is an actor and drag racer, who was active in the 1960s racing community. In the late 1950s, Ivo raced a twin Nailhead Buick engined dragster which was the first Gasoline Powered dragster to break the nine-second barrier. The car held the Drag News Standard...
... William Button - Lowell Gilmore ... Edward WinslowEdward WinslowEdward Winslow was an English Pilgrim leader on the Mayflower. He served as the governor of Plymouth Colony in 1633, 1636, and finally in 1644...
- Paul CavanaghPaul CavanaghPaul Cavanagh was an English film actor. He appeared in over 100 films between 1928 and 1959. He was born in Chislehurst and died in London from a heart attack....
... Governor John CarverJohn CarverJohn Carver was a Pilgrim leader. He was the first governor of Plymouth Colony and his is the first signature on the Mayflower Compact.-Mayflower:...
(uncredited) - Don DillawayDon DillawayDonald Dillaway , was an American film and TV actor. In films from 1930, New York-born Dillaway had quite prominent supporting roles in several films of the 1930s, perhaps most notably opposite Laurel and Hardy in their second feature film Pack Up Your Troubles in 1932. His roles became gradually...
... Stephen HopkinsStephen Hopkins (settler)Stephen Hopkins , was a tanner and merchant who was one of the passengers on the Mayflower in 1620, settling in Plymouth Colony. Hopkins was recruited by the Merchant Adventurers to provide governance for the colony as well as assist with the colony's ventures...
(uncredited) - Elizabeth Flournoy ... Rose Standish (uncredited)
- Ivis Goulding ... Alice Mullins (uncredited)
- Harvey M. Guzik ... Oceanus Hopkins (uncredited)
- Elizabeth HarrowerElizabeth Harrower (actress)Elizabeth Harrower Seabold was an American actress and screenwriter.Betty Louise Foss was born into the world during World War I in Alameda, California and the great flu epidemic. Within six weeks her mother died, her father had a nervous breakdown, and relatives passed her care around...
... Elizabeth Hopkins (uncredited) - Kathleen LockhartKathleen LockhartKathleen Lockhart was an English-born stage actress.She was born Kathleen Arthur in Southsea, Hampshire in England. An actress and musician, Kathleen got her start on the stage in England and then immigrated to the United States in 1924, upon her marriage to Canadian-born actor Gene Lockhart...
... Mary BrewsterMary BrewsterMary Brewster was a Pilgrim and one of the women on the Mayflower. She was the wife of Elder William Brewster and the mother of six of his children . She is an ancestor of possibly millions of people living in America today.There is a lot of speculation over Mary Brewster's maiden name...
(uncredited) - Murray MathesonMurray MathesonMurray Matheson , born Sidney Murray Matheson was an actor who had appeared on stage and in films and television programs until 1983....
... Christopher Martin (uncredited) - Matt Moore ... William Mullins (uncredited)
- Hugh Pryne ... Samuel FullerSamuel Fuller (Mayflower physician)Samuel Fuller was an English doctor and church deacon. He is remembered as one of the Separatist Pilgrims who together formed the colony in North America at Plymouth, Massachusetts.-Early life:...
(uncredited) - John Sherman ... John BillingtonJohn BillingtonJohn Billington was an Englishman who was convicted of murder in what would become the United States, and the first to be hanged for any crime in New England. Billington was also a signer of the Mayflower Compact....
(uncredited)
Award
The picture won the OscarAcademy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
for Best Effects
Academy Award for Visual Effects
The Academy Award for Visual Effects is an Academy Award given for the best achievement in visual effects.-History of the award:The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences first recognized the technical contributions of special effects to movies at its inaugural dinner in 1928, presenting a...
.