Down to the Sea in Ships is a 1923 silent movie about a devout Quaker captain of a fleet of whaling ships, William W. Morgan (William Walcott ). His daughter, Patience Morgan (Marguerite Courtot ) and granddaughter Dot Morgan (Clara Bow) accompany him on his ship, as well as Jake Finner (Patrick Hartigan ) and Samuel Siggs (J. Thornton Baston ), who plan to steal the whaling ships to transport African gold.

The film's title comes from the Bible, Psalms 107, verses 23-24. It contains semi-documentary footage of whalers at work, and was shot on historic locations in New England. The film's written interludes have quotes from Moby Dick and other whaling books.

Contrary to common belief, this movie was not the first Clara Bow made, although it is the first the public ever saw her in. Bow first was cast in Beyond the Rainbow , but her scenes were edited out prior to the film's release.

The film has been deemed "culturally significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.

The film was re-made in 1949. This version was directed by Henry Hathaway and starred Lionel Barrymore, Dean Stockwell and Richard Widmark.

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