Spencer Tracy!

In this movie, Spencer Tracy had the part to sink his teeth into, in Captain Jones. He had a fine performance and was convincing all the way, nuanced when the part called for it, and always hinting at depth when the part didn't provide explicit opportunities.

There was nothing false or thin about his spitting-nails gruff and angry persona throughout the film. Where a lesser actor could easily have come off as a cardboard character, he was the genuine article, and never lapsed.

And at the very end, when he underwent a change of soul, there was nothing facile or unconvincing in the change. With few words and volumes of expression in his eyes and face, he did a perfect job with this very difficult brief depiction of his redemption.

Tracy was truly an acting giant, even when not in the one-in-a-thousand film.

The real Captain Jones died shortly after the return voyage was completed.