Captains Courageous (1937)
The classic, extraordinary movie version of Rudyard Kipling's 1896 novel.
Two-sentence plot: A spoiled little rich kid falls unexpectedly from his unearned and privileged place in the world into a different and isolated world where no one believes or cares "who his father is" or how much money he has. Stranded in this stern environment for months without the ability to contact the outside world, fate bestows on him a profound education.
One of the most satisfying films you could hope to watch, thanks partially to the dramatic skill of Freddie Bartholomew, a child actor from the old days that almost no one today has heard of. The contributions of its other, more famous actors too, make this story realistic and compelling: Spencer Tracy, Lionel Barrymore, John Carradine, and even a very young Michey Rooney.
For the most interesting and useful info on this film, including comments from many people who've watched it, try Rotten Tomatoes.
No Trailers!
Even in the original trailers, there are too many spoilers. To guarantee yourself the best experience, I highly recommend that you not watch any trailer first, and that you not look the movie up on Wikipedia or YouTube or anywhere else, for the most part.
Words from the old introduction
You can peruse the original novel at zero cost on archive.org. Here's some of the introduction from that book:
INTRODUCTION
As EVERYBODY knows, a writer is by no means always the best judge of his own writing. But when Rudyard Kipling called “Captains Courageous” a favorite of his among all his books, he was only sharing the opinion of a majority of his readers down through the years.
From its original publication in 1897 to this very day, from generation to generation, its appeal has been unfaltering and for good reasons. It tells a lively story that invites us to turn the pages swiftly. In a broad sense it is a romantic adventure: that of a lad moving from one world to another literally in a matter of minutes. Within that romantic frame work it is also an absorbingly realistic picture of a dangerous, highly skilled way of life: that of the Gloucester fishermen who once sailed their sturdy little craft from the New England coast to the Grand Banks and brought them home packed with cod and halibut.
….
So it really is not surprising that even those who do not greatly admire some of Kipling's other works of fiction have a special place in their hearts for this one somewhat as those who may not like one or another of Robert Louis Stevenson's novels are unanimous in their affection for his Treasure Island. It may even be said that the two books rank together, and apart from all others, among seagoing tales that hold youngsters hypnotized and, as time passes, are cherished by their elders.
Useful Links:
Read or download the entire unabridged novel (with illustrations) for free at archive.org
Read the full, unabridged novel (with illustrations) for free at Gutenberg.org