By Richard Harland Smith
The Captain's Kid
Brief Synopsis
A sea captain has to live up to his tall tales when he's attacked by gangsters.
Cast & Crew
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Nick Grinde
Director
May Robson
Marcia Prentiss
Sybil Jason
Abigail Prentiss
Guy Kibbee
Asa Plunkett
Jane Bryan
Betsy Ann Prentiss
Fred Lawrence
Tom Squires
Film Details
Also Known As
Make Way for a Pirate, Way for a Pirate
Genre
Drama
Comedy
Release Date
Nov
14,
1936
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
First National Productions Corp.
Distribution Company
The Vitaphone Corp.; Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.
Country
United States
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 12m
Sound
Mono
Color
Black and White
Film Length
8 reels
Synopsis
Little Abigail Prentiss arrives in the New England seaside town of Stanburyport with her aunt, Marcia Prentiss. Marcia has ordered Abigail's older sister Betsy Ann to stay in town, hoping to keep her away from nice but poor Tom Squires. Instead she finds that Betsy Ann has defied her and taken a train to the country. Marcia also wants to keep Abigail away from her somewhat disreputable uncle, Asa Plunkett, the man whom Marcia almost married in her youth, but Abigail is as hard to control as Betsy Ann. As soon as she can, Abigail leads their driver, John Scores, in search of Asa. She finds him at the jail, where he is spending time on drunk charges. Famous for his tall tales, Asa tells Abigail a story about a treasure buried on a nearby island. When Abigail later finds a map in the attic at home, she is convinced it will lead them to riches. She sneaks away from home that night and manages to stow away on Asa and Tom's boat with Betsy Ann, followed by two thieves who have overheard Asa's boasts. Asa and Abigail actually do find a treasure, but the thieves try to take it away and Asa accidentally kills one of them. After Asa is arrested Abigail tries to help him, but she only manages to make everything worse. Just when things seem hopeless, John recognizes the thieves, who wreck their car as they try to avoid being apprehended. Asa is then cleared and gets the reward for their capture. Marcia apologizes to Asa and he heads off to fish--with Abigail stowed away.
Director
Nick Grinde
Director
Cast
May Robson
Marcia Prentiss
Sybil Jason
Abigail Prentiss
Guy Kibbee
Asa Plunkett
Jane Bryan
Betsy Ann Prentiss
Fred Lawrence
Tom Squires
Dick Purcell
George Chester
Mary Treen
Libby
Gus Shy
John Scores
Maude Allen
Mabel
Granville Bates
Sheriff Pengast
Vic Potel
Jake Hutchinson
George E. Stone
Steve
Gordon Hart
Mayor
Tom Wilson
Bill Brown
Robert Emmett Keane
Bridges
Jack Wise
Weymouth
Joseph Crehan
Knickerbocker
Anne O'neal
Flora
Spec O'donnell
Bumpkin
Lillian Harmer
Mrs. Pengast
Fred Trowbridge
Judge
Homer Clark
Clerk
Joe Cunningham
Foreman
Hal Craig
Motorcycle cop
Jessie Perry
Juror
Jacqueline Saunders
Juror
Stuart Holmes
Juror
Leo White
Juror
Joseph E. Bernard
Juror
Crew
Milo Anderson
Gowns
Roy Chanslor
Contr to trmt
Earl Felton
Original Story
Bryan Foy
Supervisor
Ernest Haller
Photography
M. K. Jerome
Composer
Tom Reed
Screenwriter
Jack Saper
Film Editor
Jack Scholl
Composer
Frank Shaw
Assistant Director
Jack L. Warner
Executive Producer
Carl Jules Weyl
Art Director
Film Details
Also Known As
Make Way for a Pirate, Way for a Pirate
Genre
Drama
Comedy
Release Date
Nov
14,
1936
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
First National Productions Corp.
Distribution Company
The Vitaphone Corp.; Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.
Country
United States
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 12m
Sound
Mono
Color
Black and White
Film Length
8 reels
Articles
The Captain's Kid -
Warner Bros. groomed South African child performer Sybil Jason, who had made an international reputation for herself in British vaudeville with her impersonations of Maurice Chevalier, Jimmy Durante, and Greta Garbo, as a rival to 20th Century Fox superstar Shirley Temple. After testing Jason out in support of such Warners leads as Glenda Farrell, Kay Francis, and Al Jolson, the studio plugged the 8 year-old triple-threat into her own vehicle, granting their new acquisition name-above-the-title status in Nick Grinde's The Captain's Kid (1936). Based on an original story by Earl Felton, Tom Reed's screenplay casts Jason as a precocious but resourceful New England orphan who defies the prohibitions of spoilsport aunt Mary Robson to follow yarn-spinning drunkard Guy Kibbee on a quest for buried treasure. Playing to its star's strengths, The Captain's Kid permits Jason two lively production numbers before placing her in the expected peril in the second act... only to tie everything up in a predictably happy conclusion by the end of the third. Despite her copious charms and obvious talent, Jason never proved a true threat to Temple at the box office and Warners opted not to renew her contract. As fate would have it, Fox picked up Jason's option and plugged her into two of its later Shirley Temple vehicles, The Little Princess (1939) and The Bluebird (1940), her final film. Despite their short-lived box office competition, Jason and Temple remained lifelong friends up until Jason's death at age 83 in August 2011.
By Richard Harland Smith
By Richard Harland Smith
The Captain's Kid -
Warner Bros. groomed South African child performer Sybil Jason, who had made an international reputation for herself in British vaudeville with her impersonations of Maurice Chevalier, Jimmy Durante, and Greta Garbo, as a rival to 20th Century Fox superstar Shirley Temple. After testing Jason out in support of such Warners leads as Glenda Farrell, Kay Francis, and Al Jolson, the studio plugged the 8 year-old triple-threat into her own vehicle, granting their new acquisition name-above-the-title status in Nick Grinde's The Captain's Kid (1936). Based on an original story by Earl Felton, Tom Reed's screenplay casts Jason as a precocious but resourceful New England orphan who defies the prohibitions of spoilsport aunt Mary Robson to follow yarn-spinning drunkard Guy Kibbee on a quest for buried treasure. Playing to its star's strengths, The Captain's Kid permits Jason two lively production numbers before placing her in the expected peril in the second act... only to tie everything up in a predictably happy conclusion by the end of the third. Despite her copious charms and obvious talent, Jason never proved a true threat to Temple at the box office and Warners opted not to renew her contract. As fate would have it, Fox picked up Jason's option and plugged her into two of its later Shirley Temple vehicles, The Little Princess (1939) and The Bluebird (1940), her final film. Despite their short-lived box office competition, Jason and Temple remained lifelong friends up until Jason's death at age 83 in August 2011.
By Richard Harland Smith
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The film's working titles were Make Way for a Pirate and Way for a Pirate. On the film, the copyright holder is listed as First National Productions Corp.
