Two Years Before the Mast

Based on a famous book by Richard Henry Dana, Jr., this grueling saga of shipboard oppression is set in the mid-19th century. Charles Stewart (Alan Ladd), the wealthy son of a Boston shipowner, is hijacked by Amazeen (William Bendix), the first mate on a ship bound for California. Francis Thompson (Howard Da Silva) is the tyrannical captain of the Pilgrim who was booted out of the U.S. Navy for mistreating his sailors. Now he wants to set a record sailing time, and he and Amazeen mete out s...